Chapter 3: Great Expectations
That night, Erika slept in the same room she was stolen from 17 years ago. Apparently her parents had redecorated it every year on her birthday with things they figured the average girl her age would like. On her vanity sat makeup, and on her desk lay various teen magazines.
They really missed me. She pulls the comforter over her head. I'm Emiko? This is like dream. A good one? A bad one? I was happy living at the Robinsons... But... here is where I belong... Is this the life I want?
Her mind goes back to all the history lessons she'd pretended to ignore. The scars, the tragic deaths of previous Mews, the fearsome battles. Every Mew had died saving someone. Who would choose this life?
She peeks out at her uniform. The uniform of Mew Academy.
At her request, Evan would be attending too. She sighs as she thinks back to her conversation with her adoptive mom. The poor woman nearly fainted when she realized the real Mew Ichigo had called her! But her voice was so sad when she agreed to let Erika go. And she about fell apart when Evan declared he would stay with Erika. But, what could she do? The Mews were asking this of her. The very ones who kept the world she took for granted safe. Reluctantly, she let her children go.
Erika turns over in her bed. She missed that old boxspring mattress with the tear in the corner. She wanted so much to be back in her old room, chipped paint and all. But only I can be the Ichigo...
Frustrated, she grabs a pillow and gets up. She exits her room past two guards and heads down the hallway. She knocks twice on Evan's door. He doesn't answer, so she quietly lets herself in.
His loud snores ring out. Comforted by the same sound she'd heard every night for years, she pulls back his covers and lays down next to him. She then tucks herself in, much to the surprise of the peeking guards who shut the door and stand watch outside.
She stares at the ceiling. I must learn to be the Ichigo. Every past Ichigo was great, leading in wisdom and integrity. I won't be the first failure!
Within moments, she had fallen asleep.
When she awoke the following morning, Erika found Evan lying on a pillow on the floor. She stretches, then heads back to her room to get her toiletries.
After getting ready, just to confirm what everyone knew, Erika took the blood test that confirmed her to be the daughter of Ichigo and The Red Knight. With that legally settled, she could start her life as the heir.
She took a seat in the great dining room for a meal. As she looks around the table, she finds that only the sons and daughters of the sixth generations are present. She had been told that all of the others had flown out to various parts of the planet to engage in peace talks, military training, etc. They eat their meals elegantly, showing their years of training to prepare them to be future leaders of the world. All of them wear Mew Academy uniforms.
She finds a note from her mother and father next to her plate:
"Emiko,
Sorry we couldn't be there to eat breakfast with you and see you off on your first day at Mew Academy. A war broke out in Afghanistan, and we need to see if we can negotiate peace terms before the United States sends out troops. We love you, and we are so glad to have you back with us.
When we get back, please take us to your favorite places. We want to learn everything about you.
With Much Love,
Mom and Dad."
Moments later, Evan arrives, dressed in his uniform. He starts to pull up a chair, but stops when he sees the looks of the others.
"What are you doing?" Erika asks, oblivious. "Look!" she points to a beautiful array of jams, perfect toast, and various pastries. "This has got to be the best apple crisp I have ever tasted!" she holds it up to his mouth.
Evan glances toward the others, then takes a small, wary bite.
"See? Isn't it delicious?"
"Yeah. Um... I'm going to skip breakfast today." he says, testing the waters.
Erika grabs his sleeve. "Oh come on! Have breakfast with me!"
He freezes.
"Well, you heard her! Take a seat already!" the future Mew Zakuro demands.
He takes a seat, and a maid places a series of plates in front of him.
"Oh!" Erika exclaims. "I forgot my cell phone!" she gets up and runs upstairs, leaving Evan to the others.
"If you don't want me here, just tell me. I can stay out of your way," he states timidly.
"Never has someone completely unrelated eaten at this table. I mean, you don't have a Mew or Knight father, and you aren't dating her," the future Mew Minto states simply.
"But," the future Mew Zakuro adds. "Our leader wants you here. Therefore, we will learn to like you."
"Or at least not hate you," Emiko's younger sister adds.
"I understand. Thank you." Evan says.
"Make no mistake," the future Mew Purin chimes in. "Our ancestors owe the Ichigo line our lives. We exist today because her ancestors have saved them. It is our way of saying thanks. It has nothing to do with you."
"I-I will keep that in mind."
They hear footsteps descend the stairs. "Got it!"
As if on cue, everyone rises and heads outside. Evan follows and finds them entering a limosine. He steps inside after Erika, feeling completely out of place until he feels Erika pulling on his shirt. He turns to her. He looks at her expression, and realizes she feels the same. He places his hand over hers, and she looks up at him, calmed.
Class was horrible. It seemed as though everything they taught was miles beyond anything she had ever seen before. In school, she was taking Trigonometry, but this was Calculus. After an hour of hearing about integrals and derivatives, she was ready for gym class. Or, so she thought.
Erika had confidence about her body. She was thin and fit. But, when she entered the locker room, she felt as though she were 100 pounds overweight. She couldn't tell under their long-sleeved uniforms, but everyone had perfectly carved muscles. There was not a person in there without a six pack. Seeing this, she takes her uniform to one of the bathroom stalls to change.
As she walks into the fieldhouse, she realizes she had just entered hell. Everywhere she looked were obstacle courses that looked like they came straight from the military. I should have known... She thinks.
"Warm up! Gimme 5 laps!" the teacher calls out.
Okay, I can do this! Erika thinks as she looks around the track. She steps on the track and begins to run. People pass her left and right. 10 minutes go by. She looks around. I've barely even made it half of the way! She hears someone approach on her right.
"Move it! You're slowing everyo-" he stops when he realizes who she is. "Sorry."
"That's okay. Um... I run a 10-minute mile, and I've been running this track for a good 10 minutes, but I haven't even gone around half of the way. Isn't that weird?"
"Nah. You'll have to run a 5 minute mile if you want to get around this track in a reasonable time. Its not an ordinary track. The material pushes you back a bit to get more distance out of it."
"Are you serious! Then how do people run 5 laps on this thing!"
"You get used to it. Heh. 5 laps is just a warm up."
I really have entered hell.
By the time Erika finished her training, the other students in her class were already working on some sort of exercise. Exhausted, she takes a seat on a mat to watch.
"Vivian!"
"HAI!" a girl with well-defined, muscular legs and a scar on her face steps up. She does a series of three backflips, each time gaining more and more height. Finally, she pushes off on her arms and lands perfectly balanced on a pole approximately 4 incles in diameter and 7 feet off the ground.
Erika's jaw drops. They're like circus performers! Her mind goes back to the chases she'd seen on the Mew version of Cops. She'd always thought they were fake. Who knew people could really run up buildings or flip over gates. And she, without the powers of Ichigo yet, had been placed in the class without special abilities. This was normal!
"Corey!"
"HAI!" a man whose muscles made the short sleeves of his shirt tight steps up and does the same thing as if it were the easiest thing in the world.
Erika slinks down. I can't do this! I can't do this! She looks over to see what the other classes are doing until it was her turn.
She sees the future Mew Zakuro in a match with the future Mew Retasu.
"Now watch their form!" the teacher says to his class. "Fight!"
The battle was like a blur. Everything moved so fast, but she could tell every move was executed with such perfect precision. It was beautiful, like the dance of swords themselves. Neither could get a hit on the other, but both were working at full strength. It was obvious that if even a part of any hit connected, the receiver would be badly injured. It was also obvious that it was because they knew none of their hits would connect that they took the demonstration seriously. They had that deep of a trust between them.
She looks at their arms and her brows furrow. Why aren't they muscular like everyone else? As she stares, it becomes apparent that though they don't have protruding muscles, they have all the strength, if not more, than the other students. She shrugs. Guess I'll learn... she thinks as she turns to her own teacher.
She finds him angrily staring back along with the others in her class.
"I am well aware the future Ichigo cannot perform this basic exercise," the teacher begins.
It was as if he had punched her.
He continues, "Being the case, why aren't you paying attention to how the other students master it?"
"I'm sorry," she starts, "I'll pay attention."
It was like being in history class, but worse. There, no one expected her to pay attention. But here, life was about saving the world. Everything they did was to keep the planet safe. It was basically a school for the elite warrior. Being unable to do the basics was an insult.
She wanted to grab Evan's sleeve.