Well, here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it.
"C'mon out, Kinomi-chan!" Ichigo shouted, banging on the closed door.
"NO WAY!!" I yelled back. I had locked myself in the employee lounge to change, and didn't plan to come out any time soon.
It was the day after that freaky incident with the transforming and the Mews and the Kish and….. Anyway, after all that, the girls explained everything. This was freaking me out to the highest degree, so after a while I went straight home and tried to figure out my life. So now I was apparently a Mew Mew. I mean, sure, I've thought about how cool it would be if I was one of them in the past- most kids I knew did- but I never expected it to be like this. Funny how you might want something, but then when you get it, you realize you want to go back in time and stop yourself from having it, to forget this ever happened…
I fell asleep crying. I was scared. Really scared. I had nearly died, and there was no telling how soon it would happen again. Would it even happen again at all? Or would I live the rest of my life on the run from killers like those three guys? Who were those dudes anyway? Ichigo had said that they were aliens trying to destroy the human race and gain Earth for themselves, then Zakuro had chimed in by saying that we were the only ones standing in their way. That the Mews were the only ones that could protect the Earth.
Hard to believe that just that morning I was wondering where to go for a milkshake, and if I had passed the algebra test or not. Now I had the whole fate of the world in my hands, and I just might get killed. Not really any mystery why I was in tears.
The next morning at breakfast, my whole family noticed something was up. I can't blame them. My eyes were puffy and red, my nose running, dark circles around my eyes. But as soon as I told them I wasn't hungry, everyone except my brother, Ichirou, was fussing over my, convinced I was deathly ill. I managed to go under the cover of feeling just a bit sick until they left: Ichirou to skateboard with his friends, Mom to her nail salon, and Dad to play golf with his American cousin, Joey.
A few minutes later a familiar face stopped in front of my house and rang the bell. It was Ryou. As soon as he saw me, he dragged me out to this sweet red sports car, pushed me into the backseat, and climbed into the front seat beside Keiichiro, who drove us to Café Mew Mew. No explanation, not even a 'Hello'.
Have I mentioned that I hate this guy?
Well, when we got to the café, everyone was waiting for me. Keiichiro gave me a uniform and led me to the employee lounge so I could change in private. I locked myself in, changed, and now refused to come out.
"Oh, you can't look that bad" Mint called. But I would never come out. Not in this outfit.
"Kinomi" Ryou called. "Either you come out or I'm coming in."
"Ok, Ok, fine." I unlocked to door and stepped out. I could actually feel my face turn red as my hair.
"It looks good!" Cheered Pudding. Lettuce and Ichigo nodded in agreement.
"Yes, almost as good as mine and Zakuro's." Mint commented mildly.
I looked myself up and down in the mirror. I'll admit, the Café Mew Mew work uniform looked pretty good, and it was a nice scarlet color, but I hated ruffles and puffs more than anything. And ruffles and puffs seemed to be what this dress was completely made of. I was not gonna wear it. "Can I please burn this thing? Or put it in the dumpster or something?" I pleaded
"Not if you want that 10 dollar paycheck…" Ryou answered.
"Fine." I muttered. I needed that extra money badly.
And so my first day of work at Café Mew Mew began. Ichigo seemed to be the only real waitress in the entire thing. Pudding was too busy with acrobatics to be concerned with serving food, Zakuro wasn't real good with people, and Lettuce was shy and the biggest klutz I've ever seen. Mint was pretty good until the clock struck noon. Then she just sat drinking tea and not helping.
I tried to help, but I don't think I did much. I cannot resist eavesdropping. I'll be serving a table, then hear a juicy bit of gossip and totally forget about serving. I never started rumors myself, or passed on gossip, but I delighted in knowing things no one else did. If I wanted to, I could hear a bit of gossip, then add it with what I already know to figure out the full story. It was actually pretty fun too, like solving a mystery, and my predictions have a 99.99 percent chance of being correct. So I can't resist listening in on other people. But, as yesterday proves, sometimes that's not such a good idea…
The chocolate milkshakes were hard, too. They seemed to be a popular choice, and more than once a customer had to actually pry my fingers off the glass.
CRASH!! Dang, not again. That was the fifth plate dropped today! "Kimoni-chan, could you clean that up?" Ichigo called. She was just walking out of the employee lounge, wearing a t-shirt and a miniskirt.
"What's with the outfit?" I inquired as I got out the broom.
Ighigo blushed slightly "I'm going on a date with my boyfriend, Masaya" She giggled at the look on my face, a mixture of horror at the prospect of being the sole waitress and mild surprise.
"Don't worry! Mint will be off her tea break soon, and no one comes in this time of day" Ichigo hitched up her bag on her shoulder and walked out the doors saying, "Bye Kimoni-chan, Mint-chan, Pudding-chan, Lettuce-chan, Zakura-chan"
"Bye!" "See ya!" "Later" Everyone called there farewells, then went back to their work (if you could call what they were doing 'work'). I walked over to the broken plate, broom in hand, expecting it to be just that: a broken plate.
I was wrong.
Turns out Lettuce was carrying the sampler platter - a gigantic plate of tarts, cakes, and other assorted sweets –, one chocolate milkshake, one vanilla milkshake, one fruit smoothie, and a lemonade, when she had tripped, dumping it all over the floor in a jumbled mess that looked like somebody had thrown up over a candy shop that had just been hit by a hurricane.
And I had to clean it up.
I sighed deeply and walked over to the utility closet, pulling out a mop and a bucket that I filled with soapy water.
"What's the mop for?" Mint asked without looking up from her tea.
"See for yourself…" I grumbled, walking over to the mess. Mint followed me.
"Yuck!" Mint's nose wrinkled with disgust when she saw that terrible green-white-brown-cake frosting-lemonade disaster of a mess.
"Gross!" Pudding was looking over my shoulder at the…..uh….. What the heck was it anyway? More than a mess, more than a disaster. Is there even a word for that?
"I know…" I dipped the mop into the water and started to clean, watching Mint cross to the far side of the room and sit down, looking a little horrified and disgusted. I didn't blame her.
One hour later the task was about halfway done. I sat down in a chair, panting. Please oh please let me never ever clean up an icing- shattered glass- lemonade- jelly- fruit- milkshake combo ever again…
"Tired?" Mint asked. The others had gone on lunch break fifteen minutes ago, Ichigo still wasn't back from her date, and Mint was the only one left. She helped out a bit, wiping down tables and bringing me more soapy water to wash with. There hadn't been any customers at all in the last hour.
"Sorta" I took off my right shoe and shook it. A tiny bronze disk fell out. I picked it up. There was nothing special about it, just a plain little golden-brown circle of metal. But it was one of my most valued possessions.
"What's that?" Mint was standing behind me, peering over my shoulder to see what it was.
"A clean-see coin" I said, using the name my mother had given it. "Mom taught me that if you're cleaning with soapy water, then halfway through the job you toss the coin into the water, and you can see your future in the bubbles." With that I tossed the little disk into my bucket of water and got down on my hands and knees, observing the bubbles.
"What do you see, Kinomi-chan?" Mint said.
"Shhhh…" I held a finger to my lips for quiet and stared at the bubbles some more. There were some spots on the water that were white with foam, yet some spots completely devoid of all bubbles. It was those clear spots that would tell my future.
The longer I stared, the more I saw. Bubbles popped and patterns changed. There was a sun in one corner, but it quickly changed into a teardrop. A candy drop sat right in the middle. And, most importantly, there was a heart. The heart turned into a
K, which turned into an X.
The sun-to-teardrop was easy. I would have good moment turn bad soon. The candy drop probably ment success, or maybe good luck. Or free candy…
It was the heart-to-K-to-X that was difficult. The heart ment that I would fall in love or someone would fall in love with me. But what did the K mean? His first initial? His last initial? Would we kiss? And the X. Would I not love him back? Would he not love me back? Would we go out, then break up?
………confusing…………
My thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Ichigo stumbled in, supported by Lettuce, Zakura, and Pudding. She looked to be in shock.
"Whoa, what happened?" I hurried over to Ichigo, Mint following right behind me.
Ichigo collapsed into a chair, eyes glazed over, and mumbled something that sounded like "Myzammookze Twasuziba"
"What?" Lettuce said gently.
Ichigo closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and said "Masaya took me to a sushi bar."
"How's that bad?" Pudding inquired.
"It's because she's part cat" I said, realizing what had happened. "Part cat…. And sushi, which is fish…." No wonder Ichigo was so horrified. She must've really pigged out on that sushi, or worse…. And on a date, too.
"And then we went to the pet store because he had to buy bird seed for his aunt……" Ichigo continued. She sounded horrified at herself. I didn't blame her. Fish, birds, small animals, cat food, catnip……
I think everyone understood the terribleness of a part-cat girl in a pet store, for there was now a big pile-up hug around Ichigo, and I didn't hesitate to join in. Hugs make everything better.
"You guys rock" came Ichigo's voice from the pile of people.
"Want me to make some ice cream? Extra special comfort food!" Pudding said cheerfully. Everyone laughed, but the joy was short lived
"Aw, look! A big Mew Mew love fest" Came a familiar voice.
Oh no…. not here, not now.
I looked around see Kish Tart, and Pie. Tart was the one who had spoken, the same smug little smile on his face that I once saw on the reporter for a tabloid magazine
"Afternoon, Kitty, Foxy" Kish was saying, headed right towards us. "You look so cute in your work uniforms!" Little heart at the end again.
Great. Now I had a nickname, too.
The girls and I untangled ourselves. I looked around. This place was too small for the inevitable battle that was coming. I think Ichigo had the same thought, or maybe she just wanted to get away from that pervert. Whatever the case, she turned and fled, us right on her heels. Right out the back entrance. Outside.
"Transform!" I heard Ichigo scream, and the shouts rang clear through the warm air.
"Mew Kinomi Metamorphosis!" I heard myself scream, and the familiar foxlike feelings were back. I stood there in my red outfit, ears pricked and tail fluffed out. It felt almost natural to be in this costume. Almost…
"Ya know running won't work" My heart leapt, I guess with fear, as I heard that voice. Kish. He was behind us. The Mews whirled around to face our attackers, our mortal enemies.
Kish.
Pie.
Tart.
And an army of gigantic spiders that were as tall as a tree. I could tell, one was standing right beside a tree, and it was at least two feet taller.
I hate spiders.
I have arachnophobia.
Very, very, very powerful arachnophobia.
I could feel my stomach tying itself into knots as I stared at the horrible things. Black, hairy horrors, sizzling poison dripping from sharp curved fanged that burned holes in the ground when it landed. I thought I might faint. The ground actually seemed to sway under my feet.
"What's wrong, fox-lady?" Taunted Tart. "Scared of bugs?"
I wasn't scared of bugs. But I was scared of spiders. I was actually hyperventilating. I wasn't even sure if I could remain conscious long enough to beat these monstrosities.
"Mew Kinomi, you ok?" Came Lettuce's voice. I tried to say 'yes' but the words wouldn't come. I glanced to Kish. He looked scared. Actually, they all did. But they weren't looking at us, they were staring at something behind us with a kind of horror I had never seen before.
I turned around, a little relieved that I could look at something other than the spiders. There was a girl standing there, leaning casually against the back wall of Café Mew Mew. She looked a bit like Kish, Pie, and Tart. Long deep purple hair that fell across her face, obscuring her eyes. A simple brown shirt and skirt, a long slit running up the side of the skirt. No shoes. Big pointy ears. An alien hippie? I doubted it.
"What do you want here, Kinu?" Pie said though clenched teeth. "This is our planet."
"Not anymore" Kinu said in a voice like dark silk, smooth and lovely, but cold. She looked up, and I could see her face clearly.
My heart froze in my chest.
Her eyes were red. Not red like she was crying or that pale pink-red you see in albinos. They were bloodred, a color that matched my gloves exactly. Her lips were thin, a dark cranberry color to match her eyes, and she had short fangs. Her skin was smooth and pale, her face symmetrical, her build slight and delicate. She was like some perfect creepy vampire china doll.
No wonder these guys were scared. I knew I was. First spiders, now this…
"Who are you?" Kinu asked in her delicate, cruel voice. She was talking to us…
"We are Tokyo Mew Mew!" Ichigo had struck a pose. "And for your evil actions, we will make you pay!"
What?! What the heck?! Was that our catch phrase or something?! Pretty stupid if you ask me…
Kish, Tart, and Pie had landed on the ground, right beside us. Kish was so close my hand brushed his. "What are you doing here?" Pie shouted.
"Oh, this planet just has so much energy…" Kinu licked her lips. "I couldn't resist."
"Leave. Now." I think Kish was barely able to squeeze the words out. This was not normal. I looked around to see the spiders still there. This was the worst possible situation to be in. And at that very second it got even worse.
"Enough talk" Kinu said, her voice suddenly icy. She snaped her fingers, long white fingers with inch-long bloodred nails, and the spiders' black eyes each turned as red as her lips.
They were under her control now.
And they were going for us.
"Strawberry Bell Bell!"
"Pudding Ring!"
"Mintoon Alo!"
"Lettuce Tannent!"
"Zakura Whip!"
"Kinomi Prism!"
The Mews summoned their weapons, and the fight was on. I was surprised to learn that Kish, Pie, Tart, and Kinu had weapons, too. Katana-style swords for Tart and Pie, tonfas for Kish, and a bow and arrow set for Kinu. Of course, I only had time to look at them for a millisecond before I noticed that a spider was about to kill me.
Flooded with fear, I leapt out of the way of the spider's dripping, snapping fangs, only to be smacked in mid-jump by a long hairy leg. I landed hard on my back and sat up, dazed. There were small cuts on my cheek from where the leg had hit. Sheesh, those hairs were sharp.
"Need a hand?" It was Mint, standing over me, her hand outstretched.
"Gladly." I answered. I took her hand, she pulled me to my feet, and we stood side-by-side, weapons held at the ready…..
"Mint Echo!"
"Kinomi Blaze!"
Our battle cries were barely audible over the commotion already going on in the spider/alien/Mew Mew battle, but they worked. The anticipated light, mine multicolored and Mint's blue, shot out at the monster, but to no effect.
Instead we just made it angry.
Its head swooped down, fangs snapping threateningly, and we dodged out of the way. Our backs hit the back wall of the café. We were trapped. The head swooped down again, and we had nowhere to run.
I closed my eyes.
Nothing happened.
I opened my eyes, and saw Kish standing in front of us, tonfas shifted so they were more like stick-things that could stab you than shields.
Driven right into the monster's eyes.
The spider stumbled back, grunting in pain. Its victims forgotten, the spider tried to run, but just ran right into a tree. It looked pretty funny, but what was important was that we were safe, sorta.
"Why did you save us?" Mint asked the alien, our enemy, who had just saved our lives.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures." Kish said without looking at us. "Kinu is the real enemy here."
HUH?
I wanted to ask Kish what that ment, but the next second he was flying off in another direction. Mint had run off as well. I just was kinda frozen there for a while. I had no clue why I was frozen, but I really was.
Frozen, while the battle raged on around me.
"HELP ME!!"
Huh? Who said that? I turned to the left and saw a spider some distance away, and-
No!
Lettuce?
I made a mad dash for the spider. It was definitely Lettuce. The spider had grabbed hold of her arm with those terrifying, venomous fangs, and was shaking Lettuce the same way a dog might shake a rag doll.
Indistinctively, without even really noticing what I was doing, I pointed my gemstone at the hairy horror and screamed "Ribbon Kinomi Blaze!!"
The burst of light hit the spider right in the eyes. THAT worked. Mid-swing, the spider reared back in agony and opened its jaws in a piercing shriek that scratched on my eardrums the same way nails scratch on a chalkboard. Lettuce was sent flying through the air, and I was running after her, determined to catch her. If I had run fast in that little race with Ichigo and Pudding, it was nothing compared to what I was doing now. I was practically flying. No wait…..
I was flying.
I was parallel to the ground, steadily gaining altitude. I didn't have time to wonder why, just had time to soar to Lettuce, and suddenly WHOMP!
Lettuce had landed safely in my arms.
She didn't seem to be breathing….
"No….." I whispered. She couldn't be dead, she couldn't.
I landed lightly on a tree branch, a little in shock. Don't be dead don't be dead please please oh please don't be dead!!
Lettuce opened her grassy green eyes, glazed with pain.
I sighed with relief. "You Ok?"
Lettuce raised her injured arm- it looked like it hurt to move- and looked at it. It was a bloody mess, with long painful-looking burn marks where the venom had dripped down. But she said in a faint voice "I'm alright"
I highly doubted that. I was about to say so when a slight movement caught the corner of my eye. I looked up and saw a great hairy spider on a full out run towards us. An angry-looking slash across its face told me it was the same spider that had been murdering Lettuce.
"Stay here" I said to her, setting her upright on a branch. "I'll take care of it" Leaving Lettuce to cling to the trunk of the tree, I flew off, once again parallel to the ground, right at the spider's face. At the last second I swerved up, avoiding those horrible fangs by centimeters. I had my weapon pointed at the thing. I started to say "Ribbon Kinomi-" but the spider pushed itself up and tried to grab me in its fangs. I dodged them and began again "Ribbon Kino-" but the spider lunged again. I tried to dodge, but this time I wasn't so lucky. I felt a terrible, unbearable pain in my ankle, and looked down to find the fangs buried deep into my skin. Now I really was gonna pass out. The spider was shaking me even harder than when it had Lettuce, revenge for my attack on him. I tried to pull myself away, but already it was taking all my energy just to stay conscious, though the deep blackness of being unconscious would be welcoming after this burning, heated, agony.
The spider's revenge would result in my death.
I knew I couldn't hang on to my consciousness much longer. I know it sounds pathetic, but it was true. I was being shaken so hard I felt like my ankle would rip off at any time. I couldn't attack even if I tried, that's how weak I was. I couldn't even scream. I thought I was gonna die for sure.
Until, that is, I stopped.
Really. One second flying through the air, than stopped.
Well, sorta. I was flying along gently, everything dark because my eyes were closed. Someone was holding me, flying smoothly and taking me with them. Then I got set gently down on something that felt like grass. Every bit of me hurt, especially my right ankle, which more than hurt. More like unbearable, burning, horrible, total agony. No word adequate to describe the pain there. I opened my eyes just a little, and was surprised by what I saw.
Kish was just a few feet away, pretty much beating that spider to a pulp with his tonfas. That spider was putting up a good fight, though. I looked to my injured ankle and winced. It was bloody, my shoe just a few scraps of cloth and string, long shiny burns all up and down my leg. I glanced back to Kish, but it was hard. My entire body was going numb, that's how strong that venom was. As I watched the alien fight the monster, a thought struck me.
Had he been the one who saved me?
Were the arms I felt holding me his?
No, I told myself. Impossible. Must've been Mint, saving me again. Or another Mew. Whatever the case, both Kish and spider were gone, lost in the loud screams and shouts of the fight. Ichigo was signaling for the Mews to come to her. I stood and walked to her, slowly, a bolt of purest agony shooting up my leg with every move I made. Black fog seemed to be seeping into my eyes, obscuring the corners of my sight. I guess I was lucky Kish, Pie, and Tart were there, for they were holding back the spiders, keeping them away. For now …
But, after a fifteen-second lifetime, I had made it. I couldn't feel the pain now. Maybe I was used to it, maybe I was to numb to notice it, but I wasn't feeling it anymore.
"They're too strong" Ichigo said to her teammates. She looked pretty bad, covered with cuts and bruises from the fight. Then again, that's pretty much how everyone looked.
"I'll need everyone's power" She continued.
"Better hurry." Pudding was pointing at the spiders, who were making a full-tilt mad-dash for us, having gotten past the aliens.
Ichigo took a deep breath, then raised her hands into the air. From every other Mew- me, Mint, Lettuce (hey, what was she doing here? Didn't I leave her on that branch?), Pudding, Zakura- came a little bubble of light. I actually felt my power leave me at that instant.
Whatever Ichigo was gonna do, she better do it fast. The spiders were nearly here, fangs snapping and drooling poison.
"Strawberry Bell Bell, Version Up!" Ichigo shrieked, and a weapon I have never even imagined formed around her. It was like her regular weapon, but with rings that wrapped around her and grown to huge size.
Ichigo took aim at the fanged nightmares, paused, then shouted "Ribbon Strawberry Check Surprise!!"
It was like a small pink hurricane sprang up, shooting in a straight line at the spiders. The spiders screamed, actually screamed, as they were engulfed in that destructive pink wind.
Then it was over.
The only things left in that path the attack had hurled down were tiny black spiders, blobs that were quickly scooped up by Masha, and…..
Kinu.
She looked perfect as ever, unscathed, untouched.
Creepy….
"So you destroyed my playthings?" Kinu said, her voice like soft grass that hides a venomous snake. "Pity. I had hoped that these toys would be enough to dispose of you, but I guess I was mistaken. Next time I won't go easy on you"
I shivered. She had been going easy on us?
"Well, good-bye." Kinu continued. "I'll be seeing you soon…" I blinked, and she was gone.
That was it. My legs wouldn't hold me up anymore. The spider's venom had taken its toll. I dropped onto the ground, my eyes closing as I fell. A soft thump behind me told me that Lettuce was out cold, too. Every bit of me was tired, numb, and I just wanted to lie there forever, to tired to move.
I did, however, manage to open my eyes and see through that black fog that was surrounding me. Ichigo stood, eyes blazing, interrogating Kish. "Who was she? You seem to know here." She asked in a harsh voice that carried well over to where I lay.
I saw Kish turn his head, apparently determined not to meet Ichigo's gaze, and I heard him say "She was the reason we left Earth in the first place"
I never heard anything else of that conversation. The black fog swallowed me up, and everything went cold and dark.
Well, how was it? Godd? Bad? R&R please.
BTW, Kish still has his Dragon Swords and Tart and Pie still have their anime weapons, they just didn't use 'em here. They will use them later in the series. Tonfas are those things Kish used in the battle with Deep Blue in book 7, just Google them. Amd if someone could tell me Lettuce's and Zakura's attacks, that would be great.
And, actually, sometimes what I make Kish say creeps me out...
Well, bye for now.
