Leo had words ready for Shirogane. She had her fists clenched and a scowl on her face as she marched down the sidewalk ready to lay into him. Mamo rocked back and forth in her moving backpack. He poked his head out and called out to her.

"Think you could stomp a little less and walk a little bit more?" Mamo asked finally.

Leo stopped and offered for him to ride on her shoulder. He shook his head and sunk back into her bag.

"No, I'd just prefer it better if you didn't stomp," Mamo replied curtly.

"We're almost there you big baby. Geez."

Mamo rolled his eyes and relaxed. Leo finally stopped at a small research lab. She took a deep breath and opened the door. The inside of the lab was cool and Leo noticed Dannie, her former friend, sitting at the front desk. Leo tilted her head curiously and walked up to the desk.

"Where's you dad?" Leo asked frankly.

"Long time no see. Hello to you too Leo. Have you been well? I see you cut your hair short. Are you going for like a bad girl look? I mean it doesn't look bad or anything I just wanna know what the motive is," Dannie replied sweetly.

"I've been keeping it short. So what's going on here?"

"Ah, I have agreed to help restore Project Mew Mew with my father. It'd be a huge honor to assist in it. Recently we had a new intern and she's been such a large help in this whole thing."

"So what am I needed for?"

"Your DNA, silly. How can restore everything if we don't have DNA samples of the previous Mew Mews. If you can, see if Yogurt and Amber would come possibly tomorrow or later today as well. It'd make things easier."

Leo leaned up against the marble counter and let out a tired sigh. Dannie awkwardly twiddled her thumbs and she finally pushed her hair out of her face.

"Listen Leo, I'm sorry about how I treated you in the past," she muttered finally.

Leo looked over at her and shook her head.

"Water off a duck's back. I'm not worried about it," she replied indifferently.

"I mean I should've been a better teammate and I know the whole thing was hard for you especially with you and Rabbit falling in love…"

Leo bit her lip and accidentally shouted at Dannie.

"I said it was fine!"

Her loud voice startled poor Dannie. Dannie stared at her with shocked and questioning eyes. Leo faltered and immediately apologized for her outburst.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell. Just point me in the direction of Shirogane please and I'll quickly see myself out," Leo said as her apologetic voice quivered a bit.

"Down the hall and door to your left."

Leo thanked her before retreating. When she reached the hallway she found Ryou Shirogane heading in her general direction.

"I thought I recognized that voice. Heard you all the way from back here," Ryou said as he opened his arms and welcomed her.

"Pfft don't act like you're happy to see me, Shirogane. What do you want from me?" Leo asked bluntly.

"Wow. The eyeliner, the short hair, and the demanding voice. Are you going for like an angsty teenager look?"

"Ha ha. No. I'm here. Explain yourself."

Ryou beckoned her to follow him. She took a deep breath and went with him. He opened the door for her and she found Pai and Keiichiro having a conversation with each other. Pai looked up and a smile edged his usually stoic lips when he saw her.

"I see you came," he said as he stood up.

"Yeah. I'm here," Leo replied quietly.

A meek looking girl came from behind one of the computers and rushed over to Leo. She was eager to shake her hand.

"This is our new intern, Cho Fuji. She's a close friend to Anastasia and Dannie," Ryou said as he presented her with open arms.

Cho bowed quickly and smiled at Leo.

"A pleasure to finally meet you Miss Aoyama. I've heard so much about your bravery and sacrifice I just had to meet you!" She said she pushed her light brown hair from her face.

"Y-yeah, nice to meet you."

"I can't wait to study your DNA! What's your animal? Please tell me!"

Though meek looking she certainly wasn't. Leo stepped away from her uncomfortably and looked at Ryou. He understood how she was feeling and decided to help her.

"Now Cho, why don't you finish with the spreadsheets I'm having you work on," he said gently.

She lit up and quickly headed back to her seat. Leo relaxed a bit and finally she turned to Ryou and sighed.

"I understand you're attempting to revive this madness from the grave. Why not just leave it and keep it laid to rest?" Leo asked quietly.

"Because I've been having nightmares lately about a future threat and I just can't shake the feeling that something awful is going to happen. You understand right? Don't you ever just get chills in the back of your neck?"

Leo took a step back and rubbed her arm. She nodded slowly and Ryou placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I think I should've told you four years back when I first met you but… when we were finally testing Project Mew Mew we needed a test subject and I chose myself."

Leo looked up at him and Ryou averted his eyes. She bit her lip and shifted uncomfortably.

"If you really feel that way then I'll help but I'm hoping to not have to fight again," Leo replied finally.

Ryou nodded at her and escorted her to his desk. He sat her down and placed her arm on the table.

"Do you mind if I take blood from you?" he asked gently.

"Whatever you want to get done, I suggest you do it while I'm still here," Leo replied indifferently.

Ryou understood her approval and grabbed a needle. He wiped her arm with an alcohol wipe to clean the area first.

"It'd help a lot if you could get Amber and Yogurt to come. I know you three still see each other," Ryou said carefully.

"I'll talk to them but I'm not making any promises I can't keep."

"Very well. If you could return and help out around the place that'd help too."

Leo's shoulders slumped and she shook her head.

"I rather not."

"Suit yourself. Alright I'm all done. Let me just clean up your arm."

Leo watched him place a band-aid on the injection site. She stood up from her seat and gave him a quick bow.

"Leo, before you go, I want you to know that I'll be calling you often. Just so it doesn't take you by surprise," Ryou said after her.

She looked at him and quickly ran out of the lab. Pai shook his head and crossed his arms.

"She's going to eventually come around," he muttered.

"Yes I know but trauma is one hell of a drug."

Leo headed out and tried to get as far away from the lab as she could. Mamo wanted to ask her what was wrong but he held his tongue. She stopped for a moment and held her hands close to her chest before looking back. She took a deep breath and went to continue on her way when she noticed a familiar face ahead.

"Oh God," she muttered when she saw Usagi ahead.

He noticed her and waved at her. She went to turn a different direction but he called out to her.

"Leo!" He called to her.

She stopped in her tracks and he finally caught up to her.

"Hey what are the chances huh? I was heading out to pick something up for lunch. You wanna come with me?" he asked sweetly.

"I don't have any money. Enjoy your lunch," she replied curtly.

"No worries, I'll pay for you. How's sushi?"

Leo was about to turn down his offer when she felt her stomach growl. She winced and finally decided food didn't sound so bad at the moment. She nodded and thanked him for the offer.

"Well come on then," he said gently.

Leo reluctantly followed him and he looked at her with gentle, caring eyes.

"I love you hair by the way. I always thought it was cute on you," he said in a honey sweet voice.

Leo played with her bangs and her heartbeat sped up.

"T-thanks…," she replied nervously.

"Do you just not like it when your hair touches the back of your neck?" he asked jokingly.

"No I sorta just didn't want to keep it long. It's a long story okay."

"No that's fine. I was joking."

Leo looked up at him and he gave her a soft charming smile. She looked the other way and she crossed her arms. She wanted to understand why this boy was interested in her.

"Why do you like me?" She asked frankly.

Usagi stopped walking and faced her. He could see she was a bit shaken up. He chuckled warmly and gave her a very soft smile.

"Why not?" he asked finally after some silence.

"You're weird…," she muttered.

"Normal is boring don't you agree? Besides I can't help my feelings sometimes. It just feels right to like you. Am I answering your question or should I talk about it more?"

"No it's fine I'll accept that answer for now. It's just weird. I haven't had anyone have a crush on me in a long time that's all."

"If I make you uncomfortable you can always let me know and I'll leave you alone."

Leo giggled a bit and she let out a defeated sigh.

"I'll let you know after lunch."

"Ah smart girl. Hey I don't mind if you're using me for food. I offered anyway."

Leo looked up at him with a warm smile on her face. She liked his humor. She followed him when he continued to walk. She walked a bit closer to him and they made small talk the rest of the way.

They sat together at the park with their food and Leo ate her sushi with a happy smile on her face. Usagi pointed out several animals during their meal and she agreed with any cute compliments he had ready to toss the local wildlife's way. She would admire him and take in all of his features each time he was busy looking in another direction. She hated that he was as charming as he was. When he spoke shivers went down her spine and his eyes… his eyes were her favorite and yet her least favorite thing about him. She loved and hated them at the same time. She only knew one other boy with those same color eyes and each time Usagi looked at her it felt as though an emotional wound that was attempting to heal just ripped open again.

"And my favorite color is purple, how about you?" Usagi asked as he turned in her direction.

"What are the chances…," Leo muttered quietly.

"Is that your favorite color too?" he asked happily.

"No, it's pink. I just mean… there was one other guy I knew who liked purple too."

"Ah I see. Are you close friends?"

"No… not at all. It's complicated and I rather not talk about it."

"That's okay. I won't press you to."

Leo appreciated his gentle personality. He was very careful with every word he said to her. He handled her with care and she noticed it.

"Thank you."

"It's no trouble. I have a ton of homework that I haven't touched yet. I feel bad but I'll end up putting it off till tomorrow you know."

"I do that too," Leo replied with a giggle.

"Yeah I'm a huge procrastinator. The only thing that gets me through the day sometimes is painting. What's your hobby?"

"I recently got into photography."

"Oh nice. Maybe we should team up. Take a picture of something and I can try to paint it huh."

Leo pulled out her phone and jokingly snapped a picture of Usagi immediately.

"What's your number so I can send this to you," Leo said with a mischievous smile on her face.

"Hey I wasn't ready. You should've let me know first so I could smile for the camera."

"I just captured you in the most natural way I could. If you smiled at the camera it would've looked forced and weird."

"Is that how you like your photos?"

"No, I'm just messing with you. I just thought it'd be funny."

Usagi laughed and they both exchanged numbers. Leo quickly sent him the photo and he only chuckled at it. He expressed how much he hated it and she continued laughing with him about it.