WARNING! WARNING! This first chapter contains major spoilers. You may not want to read it if you've not seen all 52 episodes. WARNING! WARNING!
Author's note: Well, hi! Now that I've got the warning out of the way, I'll provide you with a little info. For ages now, I've had an obsession with this show, so I decided, now that I've watched all the episodes, to write my first fic on it (anime only, not manga). I hope you like it. ^^ It'll be set in Japan, so the schooling system and whatnot will be Japanese-related, okay? Oh and also, Kobayashi Haruka is my OC (original character). 'Kobayashi' means 'small forest' and 'Haruka' means 'fragrant springtime', so that's what's up with the chapter title. Lol.
Finally, I don't hate Aoyama Masaya, so I refuse to bash him. I decided, instead, to give his character some depth. Maybe this'll help raise people's appreciation of him... hopefully. I mean, he's a really nice guy. I'll admit, he's a bit too nice, but he's still nice... and I seriously doubt that he's hiding an inner evil somewhere underneath all the niceness. XD
Chapter One: Small Forest, Fragrant Springtime
It had been three long years since Tokyo Mew Mew, a team of five superhero girls infused with the DNA of Red Data animals, had destroyed Deep Blue, the leader of the alien invasion at that time... and, although, to the untrained eye, everything appeared to be fairly normal, a lot had changed.
Aoyama Masaya, now sixteen years old and attending his second year of Toronokokoro High School, reclined against the headboard of his bed. Clad in his blue pyjamas, he closed his eyes and thought about the people who were closest to both him and his girlfriend, Momomiya Ichigo, the Iriomote Wildcat Mew Mew, while the light breeze from the open window toyed with his dark blue hair. It had been a year now since the reforming of Tokyo Mew Mew after Deep Blue's defeat, where Ichigo's team had had to spend another year - since defeating the aliens had taken a whole year as well - fighting some new enemy. Throughout that year, he'd felt rather sad... because, ever since Deep Blue's end, he no longer had powers of his own to fight alongside them with, so he'd had to sit on the sidelines while his girlfriend and her team-mates went off to fight without him.
Once they'd defeated that enemy, however - Ichigo at that point being fourteen - nothing new had happened, so Cafe Mew Mew had been closed down and everyone had been allowed to go their separate ways and live their separate lives. Ichigo still kept in contact with everyone, though... and, thanks to her keeping him informed, he was up-to-date on their goings on himself.
Shirogane Ryou, the leader of the Mew Project and now nineteen, had, at one stage, dated Midorikawa Retasu, the Finless Porpoise Mew Mew - back when he was seventeen and she was fifteen - as she'd had a rather large crush on him at the time, so he'd thought that he'd give her a chance... but that relationship had suffered mysterious problems which neither wanted to speak about and that had eventually led to their break-up. Some months later, he'd started dating Fujiwara Zakuro, the Gray Wolf Mew Mew - when she'd just turned seventeen and he was still seventeen, not yet eighteen - as the two of them shared the same ideas and thought patterns, so he'd assumed that they'd make a good match for one another... but their relationship had also suffered in ways mysterious to others and that had led to yet another break-up. Ever since, he'd just been going from one girlfriend to the next, never sticking with one for very long, and the world had yet to understand it.
As for the three aliens that had, four years ago, arrived on Earth in an attempt to destroy humankind and take back possession of what was originally their planet, they were often peacefully coming and going, visiting the Mew Mews like old friends. Kisshu, he was glad to know, was no longer obsessed with Ichigo, as he had his own girlfriend back on his own rejuvenated planet called Sushi - the planet only being rejuvenated thanks to the power of the Mew Aqua that he'd taken back with him three years ago - and they appeared to be fairly happy with one another. Ichigo tended to refer to Sushi as a live wire with a love for parties, but who got rather temperamental if you messed with either her or her boyfriend. She had bright pink hair and silver eyes, the pink hair probably being what attracted Kisshu to her in the first place, and was, as Ichigo often told him, not exactly drop-dead gorgeous, but reasonably pretty.
Pai had comforted Retasu when Ryou had broken up with her, since, as they shared the same views on people from different planets caring just as much about their loved ones as each other, he'd found a friend in her. Afterwards, they'd continually spent time together before eventually dating, thereby settling into a strange human/alien relationship where he'd teleport back and forth between the planets to visit her. They were still dating now, Retasu now being seventeen.
Taruto, much like Pai was doing with Retasu, was visiting Earth on a regular basis to visit Fon Purin, the Golden Lion Tamarin Mew Mew, who was now fourteen. The two young teenagers had developed a very strong bond and Ichigo had often told him not only how obvious it was that the two had huge crushes on one another, but how much Purin's four younger brothers, Hanacha, Chincha, Lucha and Honcha and her one younger sister, Heicha, absolutely adored playing with him whenever he came round for dinner, which created yet another strange human/alien relationship. However, Taruto apparently had yet to get on with Purin's fiancé in her arranged marriage, Ron Yuebin. For reasons the alien wouldn't admit, he hated the man's guts, glaring at him and making snide comments whenever he came to visit.
Zakuro had spent her time with Aizawa Minto, the Blue Lorikeet Mew Mew, once Ryou had broken up with her - Minto being fifteen at the time - and, as anyone could easily imagine, Minto had been simply thrilled to be spending time alone, usually out shopping, with her number one idol that some believed she admired a little too much. Much to everyone's surprise, the two eventually declared that they had actually decided to start dating. No one was sure how to take this shocking news at first, but everyone gradually grew to accept it. They were still dating now - Zakuro now being eighteen and Minto now being sixteen - but in moderation, of course, just so that the paparazzi wouldn't get wind of Zakuro's yuri relationship and ruin her reputation. It would also be bad for Minto in a way, as she was rich and very well-known herself, so the two of them always made sure to keep it low-key.
Akasaka Keiichirou, Ryou's guardian and best friend - now twenty-five - had, according to Ichigo, been going about his daily business whilst all of these relationships were happening and had accidentally happened across his ex-girlfriend, Nishina Rei, the woman who worked with butterflies. Surprised, yet happy to see one another, they had spent time together and caught up on old times. It is said that Keiichirou had mentioned to her how the work that had broken them apart so many years ago now seemed to be finished and, strange as it was, they'd began dating again and their relationship had taken off from there.
"Masaya-kun!" a female voice called out.
Surprised at the sound of his name, Masaya looked out the window to see the girl next door, Kobayashi Haruka, who was clad in purple pyjamas - the pants being the length of shorts and the sleeves only reaching half-way to her elbows - standing at her open window, smiling and waving at him... and he watched as her long brown hair blew around her face in the breeze and her green eyes twinkled in the moonlight.
Smiling, he waved back. "Hey, Haruka-chan!" he called out.
Haruka giggled. "You okay? You looked deep in thought there."
Masaya chuckled. "Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
Haruka shrugged. "Well, okay..." She then threw him a teasing look. "Pardon me for breathing, Masaya-kun."
Masaya laughed; that was just like Haruka to come out with a comment like that. "Hey, are you heading off to bed yet?"
Haruka puffed out her cheeks, but her laughing eyes clearly told him that she was only pretending to be angry with him. "Well, if you wanna be like that..."
Masaya shook his head, completely unable to wipe the smile from his face. "No, no... I'm just not tired yet is all."
Haruka's face lit up tremendously, as though she'd just won the Nobel prize... and he knew that that was an act too. "Oh! I see!" She clasped her hands together. "You want to spend your night talking with me!" She pretended to swoon, the back of one hand hitting her forehead dramatically. "Oh, Masaya-kun, I can't believe that you want to spend your time with me, of all people! I think I'm going to die!"
Masaya laughed; again, that was typical Haruka, throwing jokes and mickey-takes around with as much ease as throwing flower petals around at a wedding. He smiled warmly at her and watched as she beamed back at him.
"Well, how about it? Wanna hang around and talk for a while? I'm really not sleepy."
Haruka grinned at him. "Sure! I've just gotta finish getting ready for bed first... then we can talk." She gave a slight wave of the hand before walking away. "See you in a minute!"
"Kay!"
Masaya sighed gently and closed his eyes; he'd only met Haruka when she'd moved in next door to him a year ago, but the girl meant so much to him... he couldn't even begin to describe how much... Various memories that he shared with her then began to flash through his mind, as though he were flipping through a slide show.
Noticing a moving van outside, Masaya walked down the stairs and out the door to investigate.
A girl with long brown hair and green eyes that he didn't recognise spotted him and smiled. "Hi there!" she said.
"Hi," he replied pleasantly.
"Nice to meet you. I'm your new next door neighbour. My name's Kobayashi Haruka."
"Nice to meet you too. I'm Aoyama Masaya."
The two smiled at one another and shook hands.
After a while of talking on Masaya's couch, a silence fell between him and Haruka. Then, suddenly, Haruka frowned, putting her face really close to his and throwing him an annoyed look.
Masaya blinked at her. "What is it, Kobayashi-san?" he asked.
Haruka narrowed her eyes at him. "After all this time of knowing you," she replied darkly, "I've come to one conclusion... you're too perfect, Aoyama-kun."
Masaya's eyes widened in shock at this declaration; no one had ever called him 'too perfect' before. "H-Huh?"
Haruka huffed and pulled her face away from his. "I mean, you're just... so perfect that you're like the Prince Charming of any little kids' fairy tale."
Feeling slightly uncomfortable about this statement, Masaya looked away. "Aheh..."
Haruka glared at him. "You're unnatural, being so perfect." She threw her face towards his again. "Are you trying to prove something? If so, just what are you trying to prove?"
Masaya was taken aback. "I..."
"That you can be any girl's dream?" She sighed, pulling her face away from his. She then turned a sad expression towards him. "I'm sorry... I just... can't stand perfection... It just looks so... false." She then widened her eyes. "Oh, but I like you, though... you're a nice guy... but I just wish you'd cut out the perfect act."
Masaya dipped his head, his bangs covering his eyes; maybe he'd have to tell her... he'd lose her as friend otherwise... so he proceeded to explain about how he was adopted at a young age and was raised to always meet his new parents' expectations, which were fairly strict. It was a case of 'be perfect to survive', as he knew that they wouldn't have liked him half as much if he'd rebelled against them.
Haruka looked at him, sorrow written all over her face. "Aoyama-kun..."
Masaya forced a smile, as he always did, no matter what his emotions were. "It's okay, Kobayashi-san... don't worry about it."
Haruka shook her head, smiling sadly. "No, it's not..." She then attempted a brighter smile. "Hey, tell you what... how about we make a deal?"
Masaya raised both his eyebrows in interest. "Hmm?"
"If you promise to come to me about your problems... ranting, crying on my shoulder, any kind of emotional release, then..." She paused for thought, placing a finger to her chin and looking at the ceiling, then she smirked at him. "I'll start calling you 'Masaya-kun'!"
Masaya couldn't help the very slight tint that appeared on his cheeks; she wanted to call him 'Masaya-kun' already? But she'd only known him for a month! His own girlfriend hadn't called him 'Masaya-kun' until two years after they'd started dating! He paused for thought; that was also about the time that he'd started calling her 'Ichigo-chan'...
"Um... okay." He paused, then smiled brightly. "So, then... can I call you 'Haruka-chan'?"
Her expression told him that she was slightly taken aback, but then she smiled in return. "Sure, okay."
Masaya let out a growl of frustration, burying his face in his hands.
"There," Haruka said in a cheerful tone, "now doesn't that make you feel a whole lot better?"
Masaya slowly pulled his hands away from his face, smiling. "Yeah, actually..." he replied, "it does."
Haruka beamed. "Great! Now, please, do continue!"
Masaya sighed. "Okay... so, yeah, my parents were being so hard on me yesterday. I was so tired from lack of sleep... and wanted so much to just go for a lie down... but they were being so stubborn about it... They were saying things like, 'If you don't start your homework as soon as you get it, how can you expect to get the best possible grades?' and 'You can't be tired now, you need to go and practice your kendo with your father in the gym! How can you be perfect at it if you're too tired to practice?' It was just stressing me out so much! Why do they push me so hard? Can't they see that I... I... can't manage everything they give me to do? I just..." He suddenly felt his eyes cloud over with tears. "I also can't stand how, while they're pushing me and pushing me to be my best all the time... because they just can't accept me being anything other than perfect... they're constantly arguing with each other... shouting, screaming... neither one wanting to back down and let the other win..."
"Masaya-kun..." Haruka's voice sounded really upset. "Do you really hide this many emotions from the world?"
Masaya nodded, staring at the floor. "Mmm-hmm..."
"That's awful... so many bottled-up emotions that you just refuse to show to the world..." She paused for a moment. "Does it hurt? Holding in so many emotions and forcing a smile for people?"
"S-Sometimes it does..."
"Oh... Masaya-kun..."
He suddenly heard a shuffling before two arms wrapped themselves around him and pulled him into a warm embrace. Comforted by the protection he felt... contented by the security blanket the hug felt like it was providing... he cried softly into her shoulder.
Haruka snuggled him closer. "There, there, Masaya-kun... it's okay... let it all out..." She paused. "And, when you're done, I'll return the favour by crying into your shoulder. My life's stressful too... and I need to vent just as much."
Masaya managed to choke out a laugh as he continued to cry.
"M... Masaya-kun?" Haruka asked while the two of them sat together on Masaya's bed.
"Yeah, Haruka-chan?" Masaya replied.
There was a short silence, then Haruka shook her head. "Oh, never mind... it's nothing."
"... Okay."
Another silence followed, then Haruka looked over at Masaya and grinned. "Hey, Masaya-kun... your hair's a little... out-of-place."
"Huh? Really?" Masaya reached up and brushed down his hair with his hand. "Is it okay now?"
Haruka giggled at him. "No. Here, let me do it." She shuffled over to him... very closely, Masaya couldn't help but notice... and ran her hand through his hair, straightening it out for him. He felt his heart pounding harder and harder against his ribcage at how close she was, causing his back to straighten and his face to burn... and, when she moved her face really close to his and beamed at him, it was more than he could take. "There we go! All nice and neat!" She paused to see him staring at her and he inwardly cursed himself for that. "Hmm? What's wrong? Masaya-kun?"
Unable to say anything, he felt his face moving of its own accord, straight towards hers, fuelled by his one and only desire at that moment. He watched with delight as she, face burning as bright as his own, mimicked him, closing her eyes and moving closer, before he closed his own eyes. Once their lips connected, he felt a surge run through him that was far more powerful than anything he'd ever felt kissing Ichigo.
Once they broke apart, she gave him a sad smile. "I'm sorry, Masaya-kun. I know it's hardly appropriate... what with your girlfriend that you love so much and all... but I... I..." She paused for a moment, apparently gathering her courage. "I love you..." She bowed her head. "I have done for many months now..."
Masaya's breath caught in his throat; Oh, my God, she loved him... she really loved him... He suddenly became overwhelmed, so many emotions slamming into him at the same time; he was overjoyed, as he knew that he felt the exact same way about her... but he also felt sad and guilty as he thought about Ichigo, his girlfriend of four years, and what her reaction would be if he told her... not to mention confusion about what the hell was going to happen now... Was there a chance that he and Haruka could have a future together?
"I... I..." He gave her a sad smile. "I know I shouldn't... I know I really shouldn't... but I love you too, Haruka-chan..."
Masaya looked up at the ceiling of his bedroom with another sigh; he knew that he loved Haruka more than Ichigo... that much was obvious to him... and he knew how much that would upset Ichigo once she found out... but only now that he'd experienced real love... true love... could he honestly recognise that the love he'd always had for Ichigo was no more than young love.
The more he thought about the matter, the more it made sense to him; their relationship had never been very serious... and, even though Ichigo's father, Momomiya Shintaro, had often glared at him, convinced that he'd slept with Ichigo many times over, the truth was that they'd never done that even once. Ichigo had always said to her father that she wasn't ever planning on losing her virginity until she was at least sixteen... but their relationship had never reached an intimate enough level for that to have even been thought about anyway.
He gave the ceiling a sad look; he'd always thought that he'd been born to protect Ichigo... but, after putting a lot of thought into the matter, he'd realised that the whole thing held a much bigger picture than that. He'd been born as Deep Blue, leader of the aliens that had once lived on Planet Earth millions of years ago... before a worldly explosion had made them evacuate... but separating into three separate beings had allowed him to help protect Planet Earth, the planet that he as Deep Blue had wanted to destroy.
He thought about the Mew Aqua that, once upon a time, had been concealed in his body; Mew Aqua and Mew Mews share a very strong connection... and he suspected that that connection was strengthened far more than it should have been with their small crushes on each other. She'd had a crush on him, because, like every other girl in the school, she'd liked the perfect popular boy... and he'd had a crush on her because she was cute. This meant that the Mew Aqua-Mew Mew connection had made their feelings for each other stronger, which, in turn, had eventually caused the protection of the Earth from certain destruction. This certainly explained why he didn't love any of the other Mew Mews... his love for Ichigo was only created through the original two-way crush... which he didn't have with any of the other Mew Mews. That could be why, out of all the girls in the school, she was the only one who actually plucked up the courage to ask him out... and why he was so quick to say 'yes'.
He then thought about the side of him that had been the Blue Knight... and how the love he'd had for her, created by his Mew Aqua's bond with her Red Data animal DNA, had made him transform into that side of him whenever he'd heard her voice calling out to him. In actual fact, he now realised that the Blue Knight had been created to protect all five Mew Mews... it was just that the only one he'd loved was Ichigo, so her voice was the only one he'd ever heard in his head. That had stopped once he'd lost his powers, however.
Once both the Deep Blue and Blue Knight sides of him had been vanquished, it was just a normal relationship... though he'd been so infatuated with her at the time that he still hadn't seen it as just young love. He'd often pictured himself in the future, married to Ichigo with children... although it was the creation of the children that he could never picture. It took him until he fell in love with Haruka to realise why.
He cast his sad expression downwards; in truth, he now knew, Ichigo had fallen in love with his perfection - him falling in love with her cute, adorably klutzy and childish nature - whilst Haruka had fallen in love with his imperfection. She loved him for who he truly was, beneath all the fake smiles and the perfect attitude towards everything in general... and that's what he loved so much about Haruka... her love felt real. She'd seen the real him, the him usually hidden deep beneath the surface... because she'd refused to keep looking at the mask of perfection... and had fallen in love with that side of him. He could never discuss the issues he told her with Ichigo; Ichigo saw him as a figure of perfection... and, besides, it would upset her to see him so weak and vulnerable... and he absolutely hated seeing her upset. He always found it heart-breaking to see that bright, cheerful, bubbly smile wiped from her face... and he never wanted to be the person to make that happen.
He frowned, feeling something tugging at his heartstrings; it was unfortunate that, if he wanted to be with Haruka, that was the way it was going to have to be...
"Masaya-kun!" he heard Haruka shout.
He turned to see her smiling brightly at him and couldn't help but smile brightly himself. "Hey, Haruka-chan!" God, he loved that girl... more than anyone could possibly imagine.
"I'm all done getting ready for bed now." She paused before smirking and flicking her hair. "So... wanna talk now?"
Masaya nodded. "Yep."
He was going to tell Ichigo tomorrow morning. It would break her heart... he knew that... it would break her heart, rip it out of her chest and trample all over it... but... he was madly in love with Haruka... and she was madly in love with him... so he had to do it... Besides, maybe... maybe this could teach Ichigo the same thing he himself had learned when he fell in love with Haruka... that the love they shared was only ever young love... and had never stood much chance of being serious anyway... Maybe she herself would fall madly in love with someone... the kind of love where you could see yourself sleeping with that person, marrying them and having their children... and, hopefully, still be friends with him after it was all over... He didn't want to break her heart so badly that she'd never want to speak to him again...
