(Author's Note: Okay… so when I first posted the first chapter of this story, I thought it was a great idea. I STILL think that it's a good idea. BUT WHY THE HECK DIDN'T SOMEONE COMPLAIN TO ME THAT IT WAS ONLY 500 AND SOMETHING WORDS!!!!!!!! THAT'S PATHETIC AND EXTREMELY SHORT!!!!)

Mew Mai: Yayy! I'm back with a new fan fiction! First of all I must say this: RyouxLettuce 4ever!

Ryou: Well, of course. We make a great couple.

Lettuce: (blushing) Y-yeah.

Pudding: Yayyy! I'm so excited that Mew Mai is starting a new fan fiction, na no da!

Mew Mai: Okay! Oh yeah, the disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew! But I do own the characters: Hiroshi, Aika, and Kimi-ko. Time to start "Ryou and the Devil Spawn"… Muhahahahahahahahaha!

It was a sunny Saturday morning, the birds were chirping and the sky was a rich, light blue. However, Ryou was inside, doing research on several developments that he could make on the Mew Project. From his room upstairs, he heard the door slam open. He stood up and walked away from his chemicals and test tubes to see who in all of Japan would come to Café Mew Mew when it was closed. Before Ryou could get to the top step of the stairs, Lettuce rushed to him.

"Ryou? Um…do you think you could do me a favor?" He answered her with a kiss and she blushed, still not used to the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing.

"Of course," Ryou said. "What do you need?"

"Um, well…" She paused, unsure of how to word the question. Ryou waited patiently. "I hate to ask, but do you think that you could babysit my cousins until tomorrow? I was supposed to be babysitting them for the weekend, but I had long before promised Ichigo, Mint, Pudding, and Zakuro that I would spend the day with them. Please?" She flashed a hesitant smile at him.

How could he say no? "Of course, Lettuce. I wouldn't' mind at all." …Even though I hate little kids… The things he would do for Lettuce, never ceased to surprise him.

Her face brightened slightly. "Th-thank you," She whispered, looking at the ground.

Ryou felt guilty for making her feel… well, guilty, he supposed. She probably feels bad that she's asking me to take care of some kids for her. He put his hands on her shoulders and tried to make eye contact with her. "Hey, look, I'll be fine. I'm good when it comes to kids." He said, trying to reassure her.

She didn't seem to see through the like, but it still didn't seem to lift her spirits much. It but at least she would look at him now. "Okay…" She said softly, "Well…if you're sure, then I'll bring them here and drop them off at one o'clock, is that alright?" Ryou nodded and smiled warmly at Lettuce, trying to get her to smile as well.

She wouldn't. Instead, she hugged him and ran out the door in the panicked kind of air she had about her. Ryou smiled after her. It was one of the many things that made Lettuce adorable.

After the large pink door slammed shut, Ryou set an alarm for 1:00—for now it was 11:30—and went back to his lab, determined, for the moment, to figure out the reason the Carbon type substance refused to mix with the Hydroxide based substance.

*****

When 1:00 finally rolled around, Lettuce returned with three little kids. They don't look all that bad… He thought. Little did he know, that he was mistaken, very much so.

"Again, Ryou, thank you so much," Lettuce said, graciously.

He looked affectionately into her face and smiled. "Really, I told you that it's no problem."

Lettuce didn't reply to him. Instead she introduced the three children that had come in with her. She held her hand over the boy first. He had an obnoxious or arrogant face and brown hair that didn't seem as kind a color as Keichiro's. "This is Hiroshi; he's ten years old," Next, she pointed her hand towards the older girl, who had black hair and anxious blue eyes. "This is Aika; she's eight," Finally, her hand came to rest over the head of the youngest girl, who had a dull purplish color hair, and soft green eyes, rather like those belonging to Lettuce. "And this is Kimi-ko; she is three years old."

"Hiroshi, Aika, and Kimi-ko," Ryou repeated, nodding his head, "I've got it."

Lettuce nodded her head absently, ignoring his comment. Strange…normally she hangs onto every word I saw like it'll save her life… "I'll be back here to pick them up first thing tomorrow morning." She said softly.

Ryou glanced at the kids, wondering if they would think it was gross if he kissed Lettuce. He decided to kiss her cheek, just to be safe. "I'll see you tomorrow. I hope you have fun with the others."

As soon as Lettuce left, the boy, Hiroshi stepped forward. "So, you're her boyfriend." He said arrogantly, looking him over. "You don't look like much."

"Can you be my boyfriend, too?!?" The older girl, Aika, asked, trying to make her eyes big.

The smallest one, Kimi-ko remained silent but reached for his hand while sucking her thumb.

Looking at Kimi-ko, Aika spoke in a rather snobbish manner. "Mama said that Kimi-ko can't talk."

Without warning—or perhaps Ryou simply wasn't paying attention—Hiroshi kicked Ryou in the cough cough, hard!

Eyes watering in pain, Ryou glared at Hiroshi, trying to keep from swearing at the boy. He looked back at Kimi-ko, the girl who apparently couldn't speak. It looks like she's the only sane one here…This is going to be a very long night…

Mew Mai: Yeah, I know that this is short but I need ideas!

Ryou: (eyes still watering) I thought the kicking part was idea enough!

Lettuce: … I'm sorry…

Everyone: For what?

Mew Mai: You'll just have to wait until the next chapter to find out! And don't forget to review! Give me lots of ideas!

(Author's Note: Oh…so I'd actually told you guys that it was short… but it was really pathetic anyways! I can't believe that you guys didn't complain to me about how short it was! This chapter is still pretty short, actually, it's only about 1,000 words, but I couldn't add on anymore. The sad truth is that there's not much of the plotline in this chapter… -_-U)