I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew.
The planet was astonishing. Forests and rivers everywhere. Hills and flowers. Cities that seemed to be part of the harmony. Fields, mountains, in a few words the most beautiful scenery ever behaved.
The five girls mouths fell open when they first arrived. Their ship landed in a valley full of peace and happiness. The air was clean and fresh, as if there had been a rain shower just a few minutes ago, though the sky was blue, there was no cloud to be seen. Birds flew happily through the air and a little hedgehog passed by, heading for a couple of trees where it probably had its home.
"This is their planet?" a young girl with blond hair and brown eyes asked. "Well" a more matured one with green hair and blue eyes remarked "The Mew Aqua did its job properly. The effects are… amazing…". "He already said something like that…" the blond girl answered absent-minded.
The girls stood on top of a hill, looking down on the valley, enjoying the light of the… what was it, the sun? How did they call it here? They had never expected it to be this stunning. It made them unable to move. As if they were dreaming and if they moved they'd wake up. And no one wanted to wake from this dream of perfection and beauty.
Nevertheless, after a little while of staring with an open mouth, people were approaching the hill. They were with three. They were all smiling. "Look!" a girl with blue hair and brown eyes said and she waved to them "It's the boys!".
All of a sudden, three of the five girls bodies tensed. All three of them gulped. They hadn't seen them in… what was it, six years? Of course, they had had contact with them. Ryou had set up a communication system that worked kind of like a telephone. Yet still… Meeting them would be different then talking through a phone. They were getting a bit nervous.
The girls decided to go towards them and walked down the hill in a slow tempo. First, there were the girl with the blue hair and a woman with purple hair and blue eyes. Behind that, there were the three others. "Hello there!" the girl with the blue hair said while smiling. As a reaction one of the boys waved.
All three of them were very different. You had a cheerful teen, a smirking one and a quiet one. It was quite a funny view. No one would ever expect any kind of relationship between those three. Still, they were the best of friends.
The worrying of the girls from before had been useless. Before things could get uncomfortable, the boys took control.
"Koneko-chan!". The smirking one lifted one of the girls up and spun her around. The girl let out a laughter. "Kish, put me down!". "But I haven't spoken to you for a month! A freaking month!". He slowly put her down, but caught her in a intense embrace. "I missed you too…" the girl whispered with a little smile. She closed her eyes.
Now, I can hear you think it: what the hell happened? Those two hated each other when he left! Well, I'll explain it to you:
Two years after the aliens left, Masaya decided to put his whole life into saving the planet from pollution and left on a journey. Translation: bye-bye Ichigo. Though she was completely enchanted by his noble intentions, he did dump her. She was left heart-broken. The one that picked her up after that was, surprisingly, Kisshu. She had talked to him through the communication system and, because he wasn't in the position to steal kisses from her (he was on another planet) they became close friends. He took care of her after she had fallen apart. She was most grateful to him.
From that moment on, they had spoken at least every week. She came to know a lot about him, his wishes, his fears, his standards and he came to know a lot about her too. She found she actually liked the guy. He wasn't a bad man. He was strong and caring and kind and funny and exciting. When she was talking with him, it was like an adrenaline-rush. He became very special to her.
And he… He just never got over his koneko-chan.
"Come on" Kish said, an excited twinkle in his golden eyes "Let's get out of here. We have a lot to talk about. A whole month has passed!". She didn't understand why, but her breath hitched and for a second she could only gaze in his eyes with a glassy look.
God, his eyes were pretty. Like little stars…
He noticed and raised one eyebrow, a victorious smirk around his thin lips. She was falling for him.
Ichigo snapped out of her reverie and shook her head lightly to get everything ordered inside her mind. "Where do you want to go?".
"I promised you to take you to paradise, didn't I? Well, I found you one". Ichigo felt her cheeks begin to blush. Yes, he promised her that. A long, very long time ago. She couldn't believe he actually remembered… On the other hand, she also did. So why shouldn't he? "Fine. Let's go then".
Kisshu's smirk grew and he grabbed her hand. "Good kitten!". He started to run, dragging her behind him. "Kish, I told you not to call me that!".
The others watched them leave with a smile. "Well" Zakuro noticed "We won't see her again until we leave". "Probably" Mint answered plainly. She stretched her arms. "God, I am desperate for a good cup of tea". "Luckily we have tea on our planet" Pai noted. Nevertheless, he wasn't looking at Mint at all. He was staring at Retasu, who was staring at her hands. "Yes, luckily" Mint said content "Zakuro, are you coming with me to find some?". "Yes, that sounds nice". The two girls walked down the hill and headed for the city in the middle of the valley, leaving the four others behind.
"Can I show you something?" Pai asked Retasu. Retasu wasn't really surprised by his direct kind of talking, but she did blush. She wasn't used to this. "Of course" she answered a little shy.
God, she felt like a high-school girl all over again.
Pai lead Retasu away and the only two left on the hill were Pudding and Taruto. They were surprisingly… shy.
"So…" Taruto said "You're here, huh?". "I'm here" Pudding confirmed. "What do we do?". Pudding smiled at him, finding her own relaxed self back a bit. "We talk, Tar-Tar". Taruto's eyes narrowed. "How many times do I have to say this: don't call me that". "Why not? I think it's cute". "I'm not cute, Pudding". "Then what am I supposed to call you, exactly? Handsome? Or do you prefer pretty?". "Pretty is for girls!". Pudding let out one of her warm laughs. "Fine, I'll stick with cute. Content, Tar-Tar?. "Wha-No! Nothing changed!". "I know". Pudding's brown eyes shimmered while a sneaky glance came into Taruto's caramel eyes. O-oh.
She couldn't dodge his attack. Before she knew it she was caught up tightly in his arms, her back pushed against his chest. "What did you call me, little monkey?". "Yes, I know you're taller then I am now. It cost you quite some time, didn't it?". Taruto let out a playful groan and tightened his grip a bit. She knew she shouldn't tease him like this, but she just couldn't help it. He was so easy to manipulate! Besides, this position wasn't uncomfortable…
She smelled like sunflower seeds.
Pudding tapped one of his arms. "Yes, yes, Tar-Tar. I missed you too. You don't have to squeeze me". All of a sudden Taruto turned her around in his arms. His face was inches away from her and his eyes were surprisingly soft.
"I really did miss you, little monkey".
Pudding felt her heartbeat speed up. She already knew she was in love with him, of course. She had known for the past year. She never told him, though. She never had a chance to anyway. Maybe this was the right time.
"I really missed you too, Tar-Tar. You've changed…". "Changed?". "Yes. You've… matured". Taruto smiled at her. "Six years do quite a lot to someone". "Yes, I suppose so…". "I'm still me, though". Pudding smiled. "Luckily. Otherwise I couldn't call you Tar-Tar anymore. That would be a shame, wouldn't it?".
Taruto already opened his mouth to protest, his eyes getting a bit darker. "Nevertheless, I can't deny you are a lot hotter then when you left" Pudding added playfully. Absolutely stunned by this announcement Taruto unintentionally loosened his grip a bit, causing Pudding to escape and run off laughing. This gave him the chance to fully take her in.
She had also changed a lot in the past six years, as regards the outside.
She was wearing a lovely, little, yellow summer dress that showed her figure to advantage. Her blond hair reached to her shoulder blades and her eyes stood wiser. You could seem that time had passed, as it never stops.
After a second of waiting to admire the girl, he ran after her. "Get back here, little monkey!". As an answer Pudding only laughed. "Can't handle the fact that I am stronger then you are?". Pudding stopped running and turned around to face him. He was heading towards her fast. Her eyes narrowed. "You are what, Tar-Tar?". "Stronger, little monkey". "You think you're stronger?". "I know I'm stronger". Puddings hissed softly.
Now who was manipulating who?
Taruto looked at her in triumph, a friendly smile on his face.
She couldn't stand it.
"Whoa!". Suddenly Taruto felt how he was thrown on the ground and rolling over it with a little monkey on top of him. She pressed his wrists next to his face and crooked her head a bit. "What did you say, my pretty Tar-Tar?".
But after he recovered from the surprise, he wasn't going to let her play him again.
Within a second the rolls were turned around and he was on top of her, her wrists pressed next to her face. He brought his face to hers, an unknown glance in his eyes.
"I've got more muscles, monkey". "I've got more technique, Tar-Tar". "We'd make a great team". "Probably". They both smirked.
"Get off me" she said. "No" he answered plainly. "Why not?". "I kind of like it here". He looked content. Pudding blushed, cursing herself immediately for showing how much he did to her. He'd only use it against her.
She didn't know that she was doing exactly the same amount to him.
She was unbelievably beautiful, the way she lie there. It was just… irresistible.
So, not knowing, not caring about however she might react, he closed in and bridged the last bit of space between their faces, kissing her.
She was absolutely shocked.
Surely she hadn't seen that one coming.
But, after a quick recovering, she couldn't care less about the prologue. She just kissed him with all she had.
This was the perfect way to tell him that she-
"I love you, little monkey…" he whispered. She smiled a little. Exactly. To tell him that. "Love you too, Tar-Tar".
And he kissed her again.
Pai lead Retasu through fields and hills, eventually heading for an enormous greenhouse. "Pai?" Retasu asked with huge eyes "Is that where you're taking me?". "Yes" he answered brief. Retasu didn't ask further, though she felt her curiosity burning inside her like a passionate fire. What would he want to show her? Would it be beautiful? A plant, maybe? Maybe he wanted to teach her something… He knew she loves to learn things. Yes, that might be it. He would teach her something new, like a teacher does to his student.
Why did her heart suddenly felt empty?
When they reached the greenhouse Retasu noticed there were a lot of people nearby, wearing lab uniforms and carrying notations. Employees of a laboratory? What was this place exactly? "Good morning, sir" the guards greeted Pai when they had reached a small door on the backside of the huge building. They said his name with respect. He came here a lot and everyone knew how much of a genius he was, that was clear. Retasu looked shyly to the ground. She felt as if she was infiltrating in his life and everyone was staring at her. Of course they were. She was an alien after all. So why wouldn't they stare?
But did they really have to stare this curious and disapproving? As if she wasn't good enough to be there. As if they didn't believe she was smart enough to walk with Pai. It made her feel rather uncomfortable.
She hadn't been this shy for over three years.
Pai gave a simple, uninterested nod to the guards and kept looking at her, though she didn't notice because she was staring to the ground, as said before.
She had changed in the past six years.
She was wearing a long, blue skirt that reached to her ankles and a white top with a blue shawl. Her hair had grown and she didn't wear it in her two braids anymore. There was just one, green braid left that went all down to her hips. On the end there was a white ribbon, just like there had always been. She hadn't changed enough to not have that anymore. But there was more.
Her eyes seemed to sparkle and she seemed more open then before, though she was looking down shyly right now. She had matured and got stronger, more self-confident. He noticed, as he notices every detail.
She noticed that he stood still and lifted her head to give him a questioning look. Was there something wrong?
Pai shook his head lightly and gave her a tiny smile that knocked the wind out of her. "Come" he said with a soft voice and he walked on. Retasu followed timidly.
There were plants all around her, species she had never seen before, things she could have only dreamed about. It was so unbelievably beautiful it took her breath away several times. "Oh…" she found herself whispering with eyes like saucers.
Pai kept on smiling that little smile of his. He knew she'd like it here. "Follow me".
He went on through the heaven of green and lead her to a little pond. There he beckoned her to sit down. Surprised Retasu sat down on the edge of the pond and watched how his hands broke through the surface of the water, causing a rippling effect, and came up again with a little plant in his hands.
It was a green flower, still in its bud. It looked small and insignificant next to all the beauty of the greenhouse, but Pai treated it almost with tenderness, something she had never seen in him before. His hands carefully took the flower with him and beckoned her again. She followed him to a dark room in the back of the building.
"Pai…?" Retasu asked "What is that kind of flower called?". Pai didn't react on her question. "It is a very special flower. It stays timid and shy in its bud when it is under water, where it grows. But when you put it in the sunlight…". In one swift movement Pai opened a curtain and rays of sunlight floated in through a small window.
In surprise Retasu looked at the flower. While the sunlight embraced the little bud, it opened up and released a stunning light blue flower that seemed to shimmer wherever the light touched it. Retasu's breath hitched and her mouth fell open a bit. She took a doubting step towards the flower, almost afraid to scare it so bad it would get back in its bud, though she knew that was impossible. "So pretty…".
"I found this specie two years after we left your planet. It reminded me of you".
Retasu high-speed turned her head to him. What did he just say?
Pai gave her a penetrating look that made her lips tremble. "It is called Retasu Lettucia".
Retasu felt her cheeks begin to blush again. How could he give her so many compliments in so little words? "T-thank you" she stuttered.
Pai gave her a little, mysterious smile which caused her heart to miss a beat, shivers to run through her back and her blue eyes to widen until they almost popped out of her head. That smile could be the most beautiful thing she had ever behaved.
She had never seen him smiling before like this. In the past few minutes he had smiled more then she had ever seen him smiling. It was a rather satisfying, though unbelievable, sight. It made her feel all warm and sparking.
Retasu found the courage to walk towards the flower, attracted by the fact that it carried her name. Curiously she touched the blue petals. They were soft like silk and still a little wet. Retasu looked up again and looked around her. Suddenly she felt her vision getting blurred by tears.
"Why are you crying?" Pai asked, freezing immediately. He didn't know what to do. He didn't understand her reaction.
Retasu smiled through her tears. "I'm sorry. It is just that… your planet is so amazingly beautiful… and you keep on smiling… it just makes me so unbelievably… happy…". "Those are tears of happiness?" Pai said while approaching her carefully. "Yes". "We have a name for that kind of tears here". "Really? What name?". "Drops of gold".
Retasu caught her breath when Pai wiped away her tears softly, taking her face in his hands. One of her tears fell on his hand, he lifted it up to look at it. Retasu felt as if she would faint and shuffled her feet a bit.
Knowing her own clumsy self, she probably shouldn't have done that.
She tripped over her own feet in no time and fell over. "Wuah!".
He caught her just in time and lifted her up, bridal style. Retasu's eyes widened again. This was not happening. This just was not happening.
His face seemed close. It was handsome from closed up.
For heavens sake, what was she thinking?
He carefully put her down on the table next to the flower, her legs hanging over the edge of it, half in the sunlight, causing shadows to fall over her face. He put his both hands next to the two different sides of her legs and leaned towards her, causing her to freeze. He crooked his had a bit and took her in. She was so beautiful.
"I missed you".
She didn't say that. She did not just say that. O god, she was a fool. An enormous, huge, unbelievable-
"I missed you too".
Alright, she was getting delusional.
But his lips moved as the words reached her ears and his eyes softened a bit. "But-but-but-but why?" she stuttered stunned. Pai took one of her hands and pressed it against his cheek.
Retasu felt another shiver racing through her spine.
"Because you are like that flower. No, that flower is like you. And that flower is the best part of the changes on this planet". "A-a-a-a-ah…" she emitted unintelligent. She just wasn't able to think clearly any longer.
Her hand was still touching his face, something she had dreamt about for years. Was this really happening?
As if he guessed her thoughts (which he probably really did, brilliant as he was) he decided to prove her that she wasn't dreaming.
He let go of her hand, that immediately fell back on her lap, and grabbed her shoulder, pulling her closer to him. His face was inches away, black eyes like a storm staring at her. She still wasn't sure she was awake.
He proved it to her in the next second, by pressing his lips onto hers and wrapping his arms strongly around her.
She couldn't be dreaming. If she'd be dreaming, she would wake up now. She could not imagine this feeling, so it had to be real. She wasn't creative enough to think it up. Which meant…
O lord, he was kissing her.
She felt happiness taking over her body and swept her arms around his neck, running his fingers through his hair and feeling every feeling she had been shutting out for the past couple of years.
She couldn't help but feeling a little victorious.
Love. She had made him love. Just like he had made her love. She might really be his true love.
Moreover, he might be hers.
"Kish, where are you taking me?". "Just another minute, Koneko-chan. We'll be there soon". "But where is 'there'? We've been walking for hours!". "No, we've only been walking for a quarter of an hour". "Doesn't matter, it feels like hours!".
Kisshu let out a snigger and kept on walking through the forest he had taken the girl to. He held her hand and carefully lead her through the wilderness, making sure she didn't hurt herself. A few minutes after they reached the trees he had lead her of the path, right into the forest.
"Just a little patience, kitty-cat. We're almost there". "You're still not telling me where 'there' is?". Ichigo had given up making him stop calling her kitten again. It didn't work anyway. He wouldn't stop, whatever she might come up with. So why keep on trying? Besides, it sounded pretty cute now she had gotten used to it. He said it with almost a sweet undertone. A pet name, that's what it was.
"Nope" Kisshu answered showing his fanged smirk.
She couldn't believe it herself, but she had to admit she missed that smirk like hell. It was addictive.
"You really are incorrigible". "I know". Ichigo couldn't help but laughing. "God, I missed you". His smirk turned into a little smile. "I missed you more, Koneko-chan".
He was still holding her hand, something she noticed because of the heat it continuously radiated. There was this strange tension in the air, as if they were both waiting for something special to happen. But she didn't know what it was.
"Come on". He kept on dragging her behind him for a couple of more minutes. She started to hear this weird noise, like a thunderstorm. She just wanted to ask him about it when he stopped in front of a couple of large bushes and high-speed put his hands over her eyes. "Kish, what are you doing?" she uttered. "It is a surprise" he whispered from behind her in her ear. Her face started to blush when hearing his low voice. What was happening to her?
"I don't like the not-seeing part of this surprise". "Pity" he answered plainly, not giving in the slightest bit. Ichigo crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Fine. Let's move on quickly then". "There's no way to hush this, kitten". "Hush what?". He lead her through the bushes and took away his hands. "This view".
Her mouth fell open when seeing what had caused the thunder sound. Litres of waters fell down an enormous waterfall, landing on hard stone and floating away in a small spring. There was a rainbow on the bottom of the waterfall, caused by the drops that were touched by the sunlight. It was a fairy-like sight.
Ichigo took some steps to watch the waterfall more clearly, mouth still open and hands fold. "Kish, this is beautiful… What is this place?". She turned around to face him and found him smiling, in perfect harmony with his surroundings. "This is our paradise, Koneko-chan".
Ichigo gave him a glassy gaze. Yes, it was definitely like a paradise. There was no way to deny that fact.
"Come on, I'll take you to my favourite spot". Kisshu grabbed her hand again and dragged her along towards something you could call a stair, formed by nature itself. They climbed up the rocks and ended up on top of the waterfall, next to the place where the water fell from the edge. Soft grass was swaying in the warm breeze and Kisshu immediately dropped himself, his hands behind his head, closing his eyes, enjoying the light of the sun (was it called sun?).
Ichigo sat down next to him and pulled up her knees, still amazed by her view. "How did you find this place?". Kisshu shrugged his shoulders. "I was wandering around a bit in the forest a couple of years ago when I found it. Amazing, isn't it?". "Absolutely" Ichigo endorsed. "Do you come here often?". "Yeah, almost every day. Well, when I have the time to". "And then what do you do?". Of course, just sitting and watching the scenery was enough, but she still was curious. He never told her about this place.
"Thinking, mostly" he answered, his lips curling in a little smile. "About what?". "Most of the time? You". "Me?". "Yes. What you told me, or just some dreams. I always dreamt of your face when you'd first see this place". "And? Did it match my real face?". "No. My dreaming was poor compared to the way your face looked like that moment". Ichigo smiled a bit and lie back on the grass next to him. "I'm glad I didn't disappoint you". "You never do". "Never?". "Never". "Wow…". Kisshu chuckled and opened one of his eyes a bit to look at her profile.
She had changed.
Her red hair had grown a bit and now reached her shoulder blades. She had put it up in one ponytail. She was wearing white shorts and a pink top. Her eyes had grown wiser and she had matured a lot.
But her eyes had still the same chocolate-brown colour. Her skin was still soft like whipped cream. She still smelt like strawberries.
She was still his Koneko-chan.
She was even better then before, now she had finally got over that creep of an Aoyama. Hell, he hated the guy. First, he had made Ichigo fall for him, which broke his heart, and then he had dumped her and left her heart-broken! He would give everything for that jerk just to-
"What are you thinking?". Ichigo reached out her hand and caressed his green hair a bit, worried. His eyes had suddenly darkened a bit and a frown had appeared. She gave him a concerned look, which he answered with a comforting smile. "Nothing. Just some insignificant things. It doesn't matter now". Ichigo smiled and closed her eyes again with a sigh.
He watched her carefully, trying to remember every single detail of how she looked like that exact moment. His paradise was finally complete.
Suddenly he jumped to his feet and went to stand in her sun. Ichigo opened her eyes, an absent-minded look in them. He reached out his hand to her. "Do you trust me?". Surprised Ichigo took his hand and let him pull her up. "Yes, of course I do. With my life". Kisshu smirked and dragged her to the edge of the waterfall.
"Then jump with me". Ichigo gave him a suspicious look. Was he serious? Kisshu only looked at her, a serious look in his eyes.
"To jump?". "Yes". "From here?". "Yes". "In the water?". "Yes". "With you?". "Exactly".
Ichigo hesitated for a moment. It was quite high and she could get hurt real bad… But then she looked at Kisshu and her worrying disappeared. Kish was with her. He wouldn't let her get hurt. So she smiled and nodded. "Fine. Let's jump".
Kisshu's face cracked open in an astonishing smile and Ichigo's breath hitched for a second. "Let's go then!" he said excited and he turned to the waterfall. Ichigo took a deep breath and did the same. They looked at each other for a moment, both smiling. There was no fear in their eyes.
And they jumped.
"Woohoo! Yeah!".
The water was colder then Ichigo had expected. She felt her hand slip out of Kish' hand and panicked, searching wildly for his safe grip. It cost a moment before she could see.
He was close. He floated in the water right in front of her brown eyes, an enchanting and enchanted smile on his face. Ichigo couldn't move anymore. She felt her lungs begin to scream for oxygen, but she didn't swim up. She just stayed underwater, looking at him.
Why hadn't she seen this before? Why hadn't she seen him before? All this time she pushed him away… Though he had been there for her all along. Who picked her up when Masaya dumped her? Kish. Who betrayed his whole planet to save her? Kish. Who didn't care about the weird things she said and did or how much she hurt him? Who still loved her? Who would never leave? Kish. It had always been Kish.
And finally she understood the feelings that had run through her body for a year or five now. Finally she understood why he was her best friend, why she wanted to be with him the most of all. Why she had been so nervous coming here.
A little, astonished smile appeared on her face with this revelation, as she felt her vision fade out to black. No air left.
But she wasn't scared.
She felt his strong arms around her and suddenly all the water was gone and there was oxygen all around her.
Soaked to the bone they lie back on the hard stones. He had teleported them to the place from where they had arrived to the paradise. She was completely out of breath.
Kisshu rolled over and pushed himself up above her exhausted body. He gave her this penetrating golden look that would have swept her of her feet if she hadn't been lying down already.
It was the soft look only he mastered.
"You really do trust me". "Yeah, I told you so, didn't I?". "Yes. Yes you did".
All of a sudden his lips were on hers and his arms held her tight.
She had missed his kisses.
And as she kissed back, not able to ignore her love any longer, she felt his joy flowing into her.
Finally it said. Finally you see.
We belong together.
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