Chapter 2 Meeting The Mews -Olivia's Dream Come True
Lettuce woke up early that morning feeling nice and refreshed. She got dressed in a simple tank top and flowing skirt, enjoying the bright morning. The breeze had a calming effect to it. Nothing had happened in half a year, it was reassuring but she somehow missed it.
Even after the aliens had left, the Mews still worked at the café, more for enjoyment than money since the world no longer needed saving. The Mews had grown in that half a year.
Ichigo was now fourteen years old and was turning into a beautiful young girl, her strawberry red hair just brushing the top her shoulders. She was more mature, but she still had the same bright shining eyes and temper.
Mint, although slightly younger than the red haired Mew, was thought to be even more sophisticated than in the past. She was seen with her hair down more often. Despite all this, she still didn't work much and preferred teasing Ichigo instead.
Lettuce had grown to be a stunning young lady at age fifteen. She had more self confidence and her hair was out more often. She no longer wore her hair in braids. If it wasn't left loose, she donned a long ponytail. She had also gotten smaller green glasses; they suited her newfound confidence well.
Pudding had grown some and was now twelve. Her hair was much longer because she let it grow. It was now worn in pigtails down to the chest. Despite being older, she still acted childish and was the same cute girl from before.
Zakuro was now seventeen and her eighteenth birthday was coming up in September, which was next month. Despite getting many offers for movie roles, Zakuro had stated she was happy here in Tokyo.
The aliens and Mews had now formed a truce. They had exchanged a few messages in the first few weeks afterwards, but really Tokyo Mew Mew hadn't heard from them since.
She had reached her destination: the cheery pink cafe. Lettuce was about to walk into the cafe when her foot hit something. She looked down at the thing she bumped into. It was a soft slipper, clad on a foot. Her eyes followed it up the legs and onto the body of a young girl. In her arms was a toy, more specifically a plush sheep. The young girl was covered by a pile of leaves, clearly using them as a blanket.
There was another lump of leaves close to the sleeping girl. Lettuce knelt, carefully shifting some of the leaves to reveal a second girl lying beside the first. Putting a hand to her mouth, Lettuce thought frantically of what to do.
Should she phone an ambulance? No, they were most certainly still breathing. 'I could try to take them in...' Lettuce thought. She glanced over to the unmoving girls. 'No, no no,' She shook her head furiously. 'I can't possibly have the strength to take two girls in," Pacing around the cafe, she frantically tried to think of what she could possibly do; several possible decisions came to her mind. The problem? Choosing one.
She came to the realization that she would need help and fast. She looked around, hoping to see a familiar face. She would be happy with anyone even the aliens!
She was relieved when she heard footsteps behind her.
She spun around to see Keiichiro walking to the cafe, holding a few bags of groceries. "Keiichiro-San!" she called running over to him.
"Lettuce, what ever is wrong?" Keiichiro asked worriedly noticing her expression.
"Oh, Keiichiro-San. I need your help!" Lettuce pleaded.
"What happened?" Keiichiro replied.
"I found two girls passed out in front of the cafe. I don't know what to do. But we can't just leave them there! They could freeze or worse, die!" Lettuce exclaimed worriedly. She led him over to where the girls laid stiffly.
"Are they alright?" he sounded concerned.
Lettuce nodded and answered "Yes, I think so."
"We will have to take them in for now," he said. He bent down and gently placed the larger girl over his shoulders in a fireman's carry.
"Lettuce, can you carry the other girl?" he requested kindly as he stood. "If you need help then -" he was interrupted by Lettuce.
"No, no, I can do it," Lettuce said quickly. She bent down and picked up the young girl, almost tripping doing so.
"Lettuce, if you need help..." Keiichiro repeated unsurely.
"No, I'm fine!" She regained her balance, and managed to hold the girl without tripping. The two walked back to the cafe, Keiichiro checking every few minutes to check if Lettuce was okay with her load.
Only to find the door was locked..
The two looked at each other. With his hands being full, Keiichiro had no choice but to
kick at the doors in an approximation of a knock, hoping that Shirogane was awake and would open the door for them.
After a few minutes of doing this Lettuce started to help. Shifting the girl into a more comfortable position, she became aware that if the door didn't open soon she would drop her.
Finally, the door opened. "What the..." Shirogane trailed off, not being able to finish his sentence. At this point, the load became too heavy for Lettuce and she lost her footing, forcing the girl out of her grasp. Keiichiro had his hands full, leaving Shirogane the only person to catch the girl.
Shirogane ducked down and caught her.
"I'm so sorry!" Lettuce exclaimed, flustered.
"It's okay, now let's go inside and you tell me what happened," Shirogane said calmly.
After Lettuce quickly explained the situation, Shirogane reluctantly agreed to let the girls stay. Keiichrio and Lettuce went to take them to the spare rooms.
When the girls were all tucked in their own separate rooms, Keiichiro and Lettuce stood in the hallway, discussing what they should do next.
"Lettuce, you should go make breakfast, I am sure they will be hungry," Keiichiro whispered as not to wake up the sleeping children in the rooms not too far away. Lettuce nodded and went to go make breakfast for their new arrivals.
Olivia woke up to the smell of breakfast. Breakfast, just like the old days. She let the memories flood back to her. Her dad and Coco were making pancakes with her the morning before their parents left and they would move in with their grandmother. Neither of the two girls had cooked since that day.
She would mix the batter while Coco would pour it on the stove. "Courtney, you are doing it great just like I showed you," their dad had said. No one calls Coco, Courtney anymore. She would only ever allow her dad to call her by her full name. One time Olivia called her Courtney, Coco had ended up crying.
Then a though hit Olivia that snapped her out of the flashback. If it was neither of them cooking, who was it?
She turned to get out of bed and observed the room she was in. It was a small room like a guest room. The walls were a faded pink with a little strawberry border around the bottom. 'Where am I?' Olivia thought worriedly.
She decided to explore to find out where in the world she was. She put her slipper clad feet on the hard wood floor and followed the smell. She was led by the smell to a kitchen. A young girl about fifteen was there preparing breakfast. "Oh, I was wondering when you would wake up," said the girl. Olivia noticed the girl was speaking Japanese, a language she also knew. She quickly switched languages.
"W-who are you?" Olivia asked in Japanese backing towards the wall, grabbing a frying pan off a counter.
"More importantly where am I?!" Olivia asked louder this time, more confident now that she had something to defend herself with.
"And where's Coco?" Olivia demanded, worried about her sister.
"Silly me, forgetting to introduce myself. I'm Lettuce. And you?" Said the girl, a little embarrassed.
'L-Lettuce? From Tokyo Mew Mew?' Olivia thought "She is probably a cosplayer,' Olivia found a logical explanation.
"I'm not telling you my name," Olivia said a little too loudly. "Now where is Coco?" Olivia asked calmer this time.
"Your friend, Coco is still asleep," answered Lettuce quietly.
Olivia recalled seeing two beds in the room she had been in. 'Perhaps Coco was in the bed next to her?' Olivia thought.
"And as for where we are. We are in Tokyo, Japan. In a cafe called Cafe Mew Mew,"
Lettuce said.
Olivia looked around the cafe, the heart windows, check. The pink interior, check.
Getting up she looked out the window. Right next to a park, check.
She then heard a voice. "Lettuce how are our visitors?" Olivia spun around to see Keiichiro.
'Either these are really good cosplayers decorating a café to look like Café Mew Mew or this is the best dream of my life!' Olivia thought. Looking at the girl very intensely, she studied the girl to make sure it really was Lettuce. From the green hair that no one in real life had to the glasses – it was Lettuce!
The frying pan went crashing to the ground and Olivia went full fan mode. "Oh my gosh! You're Lettuce from Tokyo Mew Mew!" Olivia said much too loudly and quickly for the green haired girl to understand. Olivia had almost jumped on top of the girl before realizing that it was morning and people were still sleeping. Keiichiro chuckled in passing.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Olivia," Olivia said, stepping back.
"Oh, well nice to meet you," Lettuce said still a little shaken up from the young girl almost jumping on top of her.
"So Lettuce," Olivia said. She had never thought she would ever actually talk to the girl in person.
"Yes, Olivia?" Lettuce asked timidly, afraid the girl might try to jump on her again.
"What were you doing before I came?" Olivia asked.
"Well, I was making breakfast in bed for you two. But since you are awake, would you like to help me?" Lettuce asked.
"I'm in!" Olivia replied. 'Why not. If I tried wishing on a shooting star...' Olivia thought to herself. Olivia grabbed a apron off a rack hanging on the wall.
"Olivia, could you get another bowl?" Lettuce asked.
"Sure, where are they?" Lettuce pointed to a top shelf. Olivia tried to reach it but she was much too short. She was petite in some ways.
"I can't reach it," Olivia said shaking her head, which was framed with a black bob.
Lettuce went over to help her get the bowl and they started to cook. Olivia chose to mix the batter for the pancakes, just like she used to five years ago.
While they cooked, they had a nice little chat. While they were talking, Olivia remembered she never asked how she got here.
"Hey Lettuce? How did I get here?" Olivia asked curiously.
"Oh, well Keiichiro-San and I found you and Coco passed our in front of the cafe. We brought you in and prepared a bed and breakfast for you two," answered Lettuce.
Lettuce looked over at the clock that was hanging in the wall. "The cafe is going to open soon," Lettuce announced as her face lit up. " Oh, I can introduce you to the rest of the girls!" Said Lettuce happily.
Soon after, four girls burst through the doors. "Ichigo, for once you came in on time," Lettuce heard Mint said.
"Yes, yes I did," Ichigo said, looking quite satisfied. "Now since I came in late yesterday, Shirogane says I have to wash the dishes," Ichigo grumbled walking over to the kitchen. She walked in and said her greetings, soon after Coco joined them.
Olivia bounced on top of older girl with a hug. "Coco, oh thank gosh! I almost though you hadn't come and..." Olivia kept on rambling.
"Good morning Olivia," said Coco, also switching languages after noticing how Olivia was speaking.
"If I may ask, where exactly are we?" Coco asked, looking around.
"We're in Tokyo Mew Mew!" Olivia exclaimed with stars in her eyes.
Ah, Tokyo Mew Mew, Olivia's most favorite anime in the whole world. She always wanted to meet them. She turned around to look at the rest of the mews and smiled. And now she can.
Coco's brown eyes widened, one covered by her side bang. "What?" Was the only word that could come out of her mouth.
"We're in Tokyo Mew Mew! You know what that means right?" Olivia said, her eyes shining.
"No," Coco said with a puzzled look on her face.
Olivia smiled and said, "We get to meet the Mews!"