(A.N./ …And it's time, oh loyal readers, to release a new story! This one is release-as-you-go, so it might take me longer to update. Never worry, though, because I have some fun stuff planned for the plotline. But of course, if you have any suggestions, feel free to put them in a review; I'd be happy to apply them to the story! Enough of the jibber-jabber, hoopla, and rumpus (fun words), though, to the new story!)
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One stormy night in Tokyo, clouds gathered eerily above the Kanto region, threatening thunderstorms. They cast shadows on a dark, scary-looking mansion, which stood high above the residential houses in the area. It was surrounded by brass gates that reflected the moonlight in an unnerving sort of way.
Inside the mansion, however, were four preteen girls in frilly pajamas, sipping tea and eating pastries off a platter while discussing the days events in excited chatter (no rhyme intended). The four girls were Ichigo, Minto, Retasu, and Purin, the fifth of the Mews absent from their all-girl sleepover party.
Minto sighed wearily,
"Honestly, you girls are making such a racket. Maybe it was best that I sent the maids out for a night after all…" Ichigo blinked curiously,
"You dismissed your maids for a night?"
"Yes," Minto replied, "They need breaks every once in a while or they won't function well enough." Ichigo smiled,
"You've really softened up, haven't you, Minto?" Minto scowled,
"I have not! Like I said, the maids just need-"
She was interrupted by a tremendous crash of lightning outside her window. Ichigo tensed a bit at the loud noise, her cat features popping up and staying out. Purin, who was occupied making a pillow fort, abandoned her source of amusement. She ran over to the window and stared, transfixed, at the pouring rain outside.
"Man, it's really dumping, na do da!" she exclaimed, eyes round in excitement. Retasu nodded, sipping her tea delicately. Despite her acts of gracefulness, her fingers trembled nervously, and caused the tea tray to rattle against the dish. Minto seemed unfazed by the storm, and just sent an airy look to the rest of the girls. It was almost as if she had said, out loud, "You guys are as mature as a kindergarten class!"
However, Minto was resolving to be kind for the day, for she had learned a life lesson from her "onee-sama", Zakuro (the one not present at the sleepover) today, that taught her a lot about getting along with others. She popped a small pastry in her mouth and finished swallowing it before muttering,
"I hope Mother, Father, and Brother get home safely…"
Purin stepped away from the window,
"Your parents and brother aren't here, na do da?" Minto shook he head,
"No, they are at a concert event at my brother's school. He plays for the head of the orchestra there." Ichigo thought this over for a few moments before asking,
"Does that mean that you're home alone?" Minto nodded,
"You could say that." Purin jumped up and down excitedly,
"We've got the whole mansion to ourselves, na do da!" Ichigo and Retasu sighed at Purin's sugar-high mood began to show. She continued, "We can explore and play hide and go seek and-"
CRASH! She was cut off by a massive peel of thunder and bolt of lightning. Not moments later the whole room went completely dark. All four of the girls shrieked in surprise. Ichigo was "nya"-ing, Lettuce was whimpering, and Purin was panicking. Minto was the first to recover,
"Does anyone have their cell phone?!" Ichigo spoke,
"I left mine back at Café Mew Mew!" Retasu spoke next,
"I don't have a cell phone."
"Me neither, na do da!" Purin said, beginning to get a little more of a distressed tone in her voice. Minto spoke,
"Okay, I have about three, I think…" The Mews sighed, relived. Minto continued, "But I don't exactly know where they are."
"Wh-what about flashlights?" Ichigo offered.
"I don't know where those are, either," Minto said. Everyone sighed in disappointment. The droning of the rain outside reached everyone's ears as they sat in silence. Retasu shivered at a breeze she felt, but it quickly passed.
"I guess we'll just have to stake it out here alone, na do da," Purin said sadly. Her voice brightened as she spoke again, "What about hide-and-go seek in the dark?!" Ichigo immediately protested,
"And get lost in this mansion?! No way!" There was a small silence before Retasu spoke meekly,
"What about our pendants?" Purin squealed excitedly,
"Retasu-oneechan, you're a genius na do da! We can call Ryou and tell him to tell Minto's servants, na do da!"
"Maids," Minto corrected spitefully.
Retasu reached behind her onto the dresser to feel around. Her hand found no contact with the metal of the pendants they had all set there.
"That's weird," she said, "Didn't everybody set their pendants up here on the dresser?" Everyone replied with "mhm"s or "yup"s .
"Why?" asked Ichigo. Retasu spoke quietly,
"Well…um…they're sort of gone."
"Wha-a-at?!"the rest yelled. Using whatever light was coming through the window to the west of Minto's room, they all scampered over to the dresser to look for themselves. Sure enough, their pendants were gone.
"I could have swore I set mine right here!" Ichigo said in a panic. She searched the floor around the dresser, but to no success.
"Something's up around here, na do da…" Purin said, using her super-detective voice she loved. A smirk crept up Minto's face as she said,
"Maybe it's a ghost!" Ichigo automatically squealed and dived under the covers,
"Eeek! I hate ghosts!"
"We're aware, Ichigo-san." Retasu said quietly. She was desperately trying to come up with some kind of logical explanation for why they would be gone.
"Okay, here's a plan," she said, "Each one of us is going to split up and try to search the mansion for either a cell phone or a flashlight. Either would be useful in this case. When we find one or the other, we should meet back in this room and try to contact the other three by…yelling or screaming," she concluded.
"That sounds…okay…I guess…" Ichigo said nervously. She was still trying to get over the thought of being eaten by a ghost, or something worse, like being tortured, or stabbed, or…
In spite of herself, Ichigo was getting more and more scared by the second.
Purin spoke excitedly,
"Sounds fun, na do da! It's like playing detective, na do da!" Minto nodded,
"That sounds fine. Ichigo, you take the area by the guest and family rooms, which is downstairs to your left. Retasu, you take the area by the kitchen and dining room, which is downstairs on your right. Purin and I will search the upstairs bedrooms and bathrooms." Ichigo nodded slowly, pretending to understand what she just said.
Purin, being energetic all over again, jumped up, skipped over to the other side of the room, opened the door, and charged down the halls with a laugh and a giggle of excitement. Minto got up and trailed after her, keeping her own pace. Retasu took Ichigo's hand comfortingly,
"Come on, we'd better get started searching the downstairs." Ichigo whimpered and got up. They walked out the door and down the steep steps, clinging to the handlebars as not to trip. They most likely would have, too, if the stairs were free of their grips.
Finally, when they reached the bottom at an old-lady pace, Retasu let go of Ichigo's hand,
"Now we have to spilt up. I'll go this way, you go the other way." Ichigo nodded,
"K-kay." Retasu whispered a goodbye and began her search on her side of the downstairs. Ichigo slowly turned from where she was standing and timidly began to walk in slow, small steps, keeping her eyes glued to the darkness in front of her.
Suddenly she felt a cold rush of air around her and breath on the back of her neck. She shivered with wide eyes, much too scared to turn around to confront what she confirmed to be a ghost. Of course it was a ghost, it's a big mansion, after all. Big mansions usually have ghosts. The voice that spoke from behind her, though, was not one of a ghost…
"Can't sleep, Koneko-chan?"
Oh no.
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