I do NOT own Tokyo Mew Mew!

Last time:

Rachael answered the phone, and looked at the caller ID. It was her home phone number! "Hello!" she said, eager to see if it was Ichigo calling. She had so many questions to ask, and she was prepared to answer all of the questions that Ichigo had to ask, too.

Switched!

Chapter 3 – Answers

"Hi, this is Ichi – Rachael speaking. May I talk to--."

"Is it really you, Ichigo?"

"May I ask who is speaking?"

"This is the real Rachael speaking! I have so many questions. I bet you have questions, too!"

"Stop talking so fast! I can't hear myself think."

"Sorry, I'm just so excited. Finally, I have hope of getting through this day in one piece!"

"There is no need to apologize, because I'm excited, too!"

"Oh, sorry."

"You sound like Lettuce."

"Sorry, I can't help it. It's just the way I am!"

"….." Ichigo didn't want to say anything, fearing Rachael might start asking for forgiveness again. 'Hopefully, she'll just change the subject on her own.'

"I think your friends are starting to think that I've been acting weird. Especially Shirogane-san," said Rachael.

Ryou walked into his lab. Something was definitely wrong with Ichigo, and he was going to find out what it was. If there was something wrong, why wouldn't she tell him? He thought about when he told the mew mews about coming to work on Saturday. She seemed to be fine that day, perfectly normal.

'Something must have happened last night,' Ryou thought. 'It's almost like Ichigo went through a transformation. That's it!' He turned on his laptop and started searching through information relating to Mew Ichigo. He quickly printed out his information and walked out. He knew why Ichigo was acting so strange!

"I wouldn't be surprised if he knew what happened between us!" Rachael said.

"He's probably already researching it," Ichigo predicted. "Even I can tell the difference between your behavior and mine based on the conversation so far. I would want to find out what is happening, too. He is so--."

"Sorry, I have to go, Shirogane-san is coming!" Rachael hung up just as Ryou approached her.

"Ichigo, I need to talk with you for a second. Come with me," he headed upstairs to his room with Rachael following him. When she walked through the door, he locked it. "Have a seat."

Rachael looked around. Seeing as there weren't any chairs, she sat down on his bed. Ryou sat down next to her. His eyes glared at her, but she took no notice and just stared back at him innocently.

"What is it you want to talk about, Shirogane-san?" Rachael asked him.

He slid onto her lap. "Oh, nothing…I just wanted to get to know you a little bit more," he said.

Rachael blushed. 'What should I do?' she thought. 'I thought Ryou was just a friend towards Ichigo.'

"You're blushing," Ryou commented with a smirk. 'This girl is so easy to manipulate,' he thought to himself. He put his arm around her.

Rachael couldn't move. His arm around her sent shivers up her spine. Her face was completely red.

Ryou played with her hair. "You've never had a boyfriend, have you?" Ryou said, waiting for the answer.

"N-no…" Rachael sputtered.

"That's weird, considering you were so cute," Ryou took a photograph out of his pocket and showed it to her. It was a school picture of Rachael! She was wearing her school uniform, and posing for the camera.

"W-where did you get that?" Rachael asked, not at all surprised that he knew who she was. She had forgotten all about pretending to be Ichigo.

Ryou smiled, "I have my resources. The name, Rachael, is pretty cute, too. Doesn't it mean 'Innocent Baby Animal'?"

"Yeah," Rachael said. It didn't look like she even noticed Ryou's face getting closer and closer to hers.

"It fits well," he told her giving her a kiss. Suddenly, Rachael transformed into a small black cat.

"Huh?" Rachael said. She looked around confused. "What happened?! Why am I a kitty?! Where's Ryou?!"

"This way," said a grey kitten.

Rachael pounced over to him. "Is that you, Shirogane-san?"

Ryou was surprised. 'Did she know who he was?' He shook it off. "My name is Alto."

"I'm sure of it! You are definitely Shirogane-san!" Rachael said.

There was no use hiding it now. "Stop calling me by my last name, it's so annoying!" he said.

"I knew it! You are Shi--." Rachael didn't know what to call him. She said slowly, "Ryou-san." Immediately her face turned red.

"Hn." Ryou looked away, concealing his face as he blushed. "Anyways, how did you know that it was me?"

"Ummmm…" How did she know it was him? It was a mystery even to herself. "…Probably because…" she trailed off trying to think of a good answer. "…you have blue eyes…I guess…" she said.

Ryou fell. "It could have been someone else with blue eyes, you know!" He was expecting to hear something a little more profound than that.

Ryou sighed. This girl was so simple. She hadn't even realized he figured out who she was yet. 'What an idiot,' he mumbled to himself.

Ryou suddenly kissed her out of the blue. Rachael turned back into Ichigo. She looked down to see Ryou still in the form of a cat. "Ryou, you look so cute as a kitty!"

Ryou transformed back into himself. He smirked.

"Why are you making that face?" Rachael asked.

Ryou slid back on Rachael's lap. "Baakaa," He sing-songed into her ear. He then left out the door.