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The five mews were gathered at the basement, and none had the courage to speak up. They all knew what was going to be announced, and none of them knew what to expect. They stood quietly, staring at the screen blankly, off in their own thoughts about how the new Mew could be like.

Ryou looked up at them with his arms crossed and a piercing expression. Even Keiichiro didn't show his usual smile.

"I think we all know why we're here." Ryou began. "Let's just get to the point." He began typing on his keyboard and seconds after a picture appeared. It showed a girl as she was being hit with a red ray, trying to cover her eyes, with black and red hair and dark eyes. She wore black boots, a red tank top with a jacket that reached her belly button and a mini skirt.

"These were the pictures the computer took." Ryou pointed out. "You're gonna have to find her. As you can see," Ryou typed a little more and a zoom began showing up near her neck. "There is a mark on her neck. It might be hard to see, but since you already know what she looks like, it's much easier."

"We're fine on our own." Zakuro growled. "Why do we have to accept another one?"

"Think of it like this." Ryou said, a bit irritated. "The more people have the power, the more it is distributed. Therefore, without her, you don't have the full power you had before. Got it?"

All of the mews nodded, but Zakuro held her head high.

"I'm doing this for the team." Zakuro explained. "And for the team only." Zakuro left the room in a huff leaving the others quite puzzled.

"What's gotten into her?" Ichigo asked the others.

"Onee-sama is acting weird!" Minto added.

"Just try to find her. We can't discuss more than this until she is here." Ryou finished.

"Wait! What animal is-?" Lettuce began, yet the door slammed before she could finish her sentence.

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The Mews returned to the Café after a long day of great searching. The looked all around Tokyo and posted up posters looking for the girl.

"Minna, what did you find?" Ichigo asked everyone. Everybody replied that they had found nothing except for Zakuro. The Mews, Ryou and Keiichiro looked at her expectantly, and she simply rolled her eyes.

"I found her." She sighed.

"Great!" Ichigo smiled. "Let's see her."

"She's coming at 6:00."

"That's in a few minutes. Yatta, Zakuro!"

"Thanks, I guess…"

"In that case," Ryou stepped in. "We're all going to have a long talk, ne?"

The door suddenly opened and everybody froze. Nobody had the least clue how she would be – they didn't even know if she would accept to be a Mew. Ryou hadn't told them her animal and so they didn't have the slightest clue what they were either up against or with.

The girl's footsepts echoed throughout the room as they all looked at her expectantly. She wore the same clothes they had seen in the picture, but for some reason, she was wearing a large, black cape. She stared at her feet all the way.

As she looked up, her piercing eyes showed great anger.

"W-welcome." Ichigo said, as she got up and walked towards the girl. "Watashi Momomiya Ichigo. And this is Café Mew Mew."

"Well then, Momomiya Ichigo," the girl replied madly. "You have a lot of explaining to do."

"C-come right in!" Ichigo stammered. "We'll all talk about it. We're very pleased to meet you."

"Wish I could say the same." The girl answered and walked off behind Ryou to the basement.

Kisshu suddenly teletransported in.

"Hello, koneko-" he began, and froze at the sight of the new girl. "You again!? Eh, this time, I am gonna kick your-"

"Mew Mew Strawberry! METAMORPHO-SIS!"

"Mew Mew Minto! METAMORPHO-SIS!"

"Mew Mew Lettuce! METAMORPHO-SIS!"

"Mew Mew Pudding! METAMORPHO-SIS!"

"Mew Mew Zakuro! METAMORPHO-SIS!"

"You can do that too!" Ryou said to the new girl, and he threw her a pendant. The girl dodged it and refused to touch it.

She watched as the Mews flew around gracefully and skillfully, attacking the monster whichever way they could. The pink one didn't seem to attack yet. Finally, when the blue mew hit its eye, Ichigo came into action.

"Ribbon Strawberry SURPRISE!"

As the mews celebrated (all but Zakuro, who seemed to be in her own thoughts), Minto suddenly looked at the girl angrily.

"You could have helped, you know!" Minto yelled. "It's hard work doing this all by ourselves. You have to pitch in!"

"Remember, Minto," Ryou stepped in. "It's her choice. Not yours."

"Demo-!"

"Minto, please."

Minto left in a huff, and Ryou decided to start talking about who the Mews were, what their mission was, information on the enemy and their tactics, etc. Surprisingly, she didn't interrupt once – she just waited until the very end, listening carefully.

"By your silence, I presume you're okay with this." Ryou finished. The girl stepped up to the computer and began typing (she had been observing Ryou do it right then) and went back to one of the battling pictures. It was the lion, attacking Ichigo and Kisshu laughing from behind.

"Hey, we don't know your name yet!" Lettuce chimed in.

"Kuaki." She replied coldly. "It means long autumn."

"You have a cookie, na no da?" Pudding asked excitedly.

"I'll think about your offer." Kuaki said, ignoring Pudding's comment.

"Naze, na no da?" Pudding spoke up. "We're saving the world, na no da!"

"It's not the only offer I've received."

"Kisshu!" Ichigo gasped.

"I'll see you people later." Kuaki said, and picked up the pendant with a napkin (so that she wouldn't be tempted to transform). As the door closed, the girls looked at each other with great surprise.

"It reminds me of when we met Zakuro." Ichigo said cheerfully. "And if she accepted, there is hope, right?" The mews exited the room, leaving Ichigo without an answer.

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