CHAPTER FOUR: Zakuro Fujiwara (Mew Mew Pomegranate)
"The Interview"
Seven minutes before they went on air, the backstage area of one of the most popular Japanese talk shows, Groove Central was a blur of activity. No less than a hundred people milled about, members of different acts and celebrities of moderate status mingling together in a mass of organized confusion. Zakuro, despite her ability to charm everyone with a smile or simple request, did not partake to such crowds. She wasn't exactly claustrophobic, but the presence of so many people at once was overwhelming and altogether discomforting. She decided to keep to herself in the safety of her dressing room until she was called to go on air.
Naori, her stylist, and the only friend she had that didn't eventually balk under her generally cold attitude in the workplace was putting the finishing touches on Zakuro's makeup when their manager stepped inside for a moment, not so subtly encouraging the older woman to finish up and get off the set. She begrudgingly complied, rolling her eyes at the broad man's retreating back as he disappeared down the hallway. Zakuro flashed her a brief sympathetic smile in the mirror as the door closed behind him with a sharp snick.
"Honestly, that guy should loosen his tie once in a while. It's not like you don't always look your absolute best," Naori tsked with obvious annoyance, flicking her pastel pink hair over her shoulder as she pulled back from the styling chair to admire her work. "I'm not trying to butter your biscuit here, but you have some killer natural looks for fifteen, Zakuro. I swear you don't even need the stage glam." Popping the gum in her mouth, the older woman flashed Zakuro a grin as they stared at their reflections in the vanity. "You're a really great kid."
Zakuro couldn't help but return with her own smile, the warmth in it evident at the older woman's genuine praise. "Thank you, Naori-san," she replied.
The stylist waved her hand dismissively as she began packing away her supplies. "You know I dote on you, Zakuro. You're like a little sister to me." It didn't take her very long to have herself organized, and she paused to appraise the young model before her one final time. "Keep your chin up, okay, kid? You've got people watching out for you," Naori smiled broadly as she spoke, and gently clasped Zakuro on the shoulder as she turned to leave. "See ya at the show next week!"
Another snick and she was alone.
With a whisper of a sigh, Zakuro turned back to the vanity, the smallest of smiles gracing her lips. "Come on out, Masha," she called softly.
A quiet pop! came from within her purse, followed by the sound of Masha's AI yawning. "Hello, hello!" he chirruped, coming to float in front of Zakuro.
She cupped her hands and cradled the tiny robot in her palms, her faint smile becoming clearer as he nestled against her, his internal engines working in a way that produced a gentle purring sound. Zakuro chuckled to herself at the noise. Masha was far cuter than any of the live animals she'd seen on her way to her dressing room earlier, even the more exotic breeds. She began to pet him, stroking the little robot's faux fur absentmindedly as she made her way across the room, coming to a stop before the sole window and gazing out at the city below.
There was not a cloud in sight and the gentlest of breezes on the wind, the sun hanging low in the sky but not yet set. Switching Masha to her other hand, Zakuro used her free one to push the window up a few inches, just enough to allow a small gust of wind to blow inside. Encouraged by the ruffling of his fur and a shaft of sunlight on the windowsill, Masha floated down to settle in front of the opening, the whirring of his engines growing a tiny bit louder as he declared his satisfaction. Zakuro allowed herself another gentle smile at the view before her. But despite the sense of peace covering Tokyo like a blanket, the girl couldn't keep her unease at bay any further. Her mind wandered back to earlier that morning when she joined Ichigo and Retasu for the lunch shift at Cafe Mew Mew. The morning had been slow considering it was midweek, so the girls had nothing much better to do than clean the store and tend to what few customers chose to come in.
"Zakuro, may I have a word with you?"
The girl in question looked up from where she had been wiping down a table, eying the shorter redhead with mild indifference. She appeared nervous but had a determined look in her eye that Zakuro knew she couldn't say no to. "Yes? What is it, Ichigo?"
Ichigo shifted to her other foot, glancing around for a moment before she reached into her apron pocket, pulling something out and holding her hands towards Zakuro as if offering it to her. The elder girl looked on, slightly curious as Ichigo's hands unfolded, and Masha floated out of her grasp with a soft trill. "I want you to take Masha with you today," Ichigo started, as the robot fluttered back and forth around Zakuro's head. She gave the robot an odd look, a mix of concern and something Zakuro couldn't place.
Reaching up with one hand, Zakuro stopped the small robot's flight and placed him onto her shoulder without much thought. He nestled comfortably against her neck, a familiar action brought on by months of spending time with the girls. Zakuro smiled fondly at him for a moment, but it was quickly replaced by a frown and furrowed brow as her attention returned to the girl before her. "Why this all of a sudden?" she asked, studying Ichigo curiously. "I know you and Masha share the closest bond out of all of us, why give him to me now?"
"I overheard you telling Shirogane why you couldn't stay for the full day. And, well," here Ichigo looked a bit nervous again, idly rubbing the back of her arm as she glanced away, "I know you can take care of yourself, but it'd make me feel a lot better if you had Masha backing you up. You know, just in case."
"In case of an attack?"
Ichigo nodded. "After the last few times we've fought, they seem to have changed their attitude. Quiche is a lot more mean to me lately," she stated, the depth of her frown matching Zakuro's own. "I just, I don't..."
She fell quiet, looking down at her feet for a long moment before a soft touch on her shoulder made her glance back up, peering up at Zakuro through her lashes. The older girl smiled reassuringly, which seemed to ease the tension out of the redhead almost completely. "Thank you, Ichigo. I'll take good care of him until you want him back."
They shared another smile before the chime of the front door rang through the store, followed shortly by a group of voices, both unfamiliar ones and those of their fellow waitresses. Together they went back into the main seating area, already being called upon by fresh faces; "Just a moment, we'll be right there!"
Ichigo was smart to be so cautious about the situation with the aliens, especially in recent weeks. She hadn't been the only one to notice the odd (as if the aliens weren't already odd enough) increase in particularly aggressive activity coming from their enemies and the monsters that fought for them. Bu-Ling had been seriously tossed around during a rather rough fight against a chimera the week before, and she was still taking time off from work to recover from the injuries she'd sustained. Zakuro stared out the window, her brow furrowed in thought. Perhaps now was the time to-
"Alien! Alien!"
Masha's shrill warning caught the purple-haired girl off guard, her mind coming back to her as she glanced between the little robot in her palms and the door to her dressing room. Not seconds later, the distant sound of panicked and confused screaming reached her ears, the noise steadily beginning to grow louder as her heightened senses picked up the disturbance. She was out the door faster than she realized, her mind fixed with determination as she headed towards the source of the screams.
The hallway was vacant of any staff or other random guests or personnel, so Zakuro transformed openly as she ran. Turning a few corners, she eventually made her way into the backstage area, where all the night's animal exhibits were temporarily kept for future use in the show. The usual attendants were absent, and the passerby that came to gawk and admire the exotic animals were gone as well. All of which were likely scared off by the cackling, tiny alien boy floating several feet away, currently shoving his fingers into the cage of a very distressed parrot and petting it none too gently.
He noticed her rather quickly, but only spared her a sneer before looking back at the upset animal. "So, the purple one came out to play, huh? Figures one of you old bags would show up to ruin my fun."
Zakuro narrowed her eyes at him, hand poised behind her back, ready to summon her weapon at a moment's notice. "Why are you here?" she asked firmly, watching the alien carefully.
Tart turned towards her with a loud laugh, his childish voice filled with sarcasm. "The usual, duh! Messing stuff up, gathering information, kicking your butt. That sort of thing," he taunted. As he spoke, his hand encircled the distraught parrot, cutting off its cries as he forced the bird's spirit from its body. It took the form of a small orange crystal that Tart snatched from the air before it could fall back into the cage. He formed a Para Para in his other hand, holding the creature casually. "Also, I was really bored with Pie's recent experiments, so I wanted to scare some humans."
Of course, he wanted to scare some people, Zakuro thought dryly. Tart was very similar to human boys, much more than he would likely ever be willing to admit.
He smirked mockingly at her as he threw the Para Para into the air, the orange crystal containing the parrot's spirit merging instantly with the jelly-filled parasite. As light suddenly exploded through the hallway and she was momentarily blinded, Zakuro heard the infuriating alien child laugh obnoxiously from somewhere above her. "Have fun with him, Mew Mew!"
The telltale sound of air distortion met her ears and she knew Tart had teleported away to who-knows-where. The light faded as fast as it came, greeting her with the unpleasant sight of the Chimera Parrot. Though not much changed except for its size and talons, mottled feathers scattered the floor around it, continuing to fall steadily from its secondaries. It hissed at her and lunged forward, gnarled beak snapping at her fiercely as it began to scream. "Comes you! Closer, death!"
She had to give up ground to keep herself safely out of reach of the chimera's sharp bite, the monster's fangs closing mere inches away from where her neck had just been. Her ZaCross Whip appeared in her hands within a moment of her calling, glowing bright lavender as it charged itself up. The chimera leaped towards her again, curved talons catching her left arm just before she could jump back out of range. Zakuro growled at the sudden, but brief pain, glancing down at the two thin scratches below her shoulder with irritation. A soft tinkling of notes came from her weapon, signaling it was ready.
Just in time, too, Zakuro thought, as she threw the whip out towards the advancing Chimera Parrot. It was ready for her, hissing and rearing back with its wings flared. A strong gust of wind buffeted the purple Mew, knocking her back a few steps and threatening to break her guard. She was barely given time to recover before the monster was on her again, talons lashing out fiercely. She ducked beneath several attempted blows before the chimera left her an obvious opening; it had backed away suddenly, rearing back to get its wing buffet attack ready once again. Zakuro darted as close as she dared to the creature and launched a glaringly bright purple attack from below, lashing the chimera through the tufts of feathers on its chest.
The Chimera Parrot shrieked in pain, angrily snarling garbled nonsense at her as it reeled back in agony, wings flapping about itself in confusion. Zakuro tried to dart to safety, but the chimera was more than ready to unleash its anger on her. Her attacks had goaded it into a frenzy, and it paused in its screams to brace itself in a wide stance, facing her with wild eyes. It began to twist its neck in a strange way, reminding Zakuro of a cobra rearing back before it struck. The realization hit her and her eyes widened, but she was too slow to move out of the way.
A deafening scream filled the air, so powerful that it made the floor and walls visibly shake. Zakuro clamped her hands over her ears to try and block out the noise but suddenly found herself airborne as several strong physical sound waves crashed into her, sending her flying into several clothes racks across the room. She gasped in pain, the wind knocked from her lungs and the continuous sound waves making it difficult for her to focus. With a growl of determination, she forced herself to roll onto her stomach, using the pile of racks as coverage from the Chimera Parrot's onslaught. It seemed to calm the monster down somewhat for her to be out of sight, its piercing screams quieting back to its messy, mocking speech, but the wolf Mew knew her cover wouldn't last long.
Zakuro grit her teeth angrily as she stared down the chimera, ignoring its garbled screeches of "Closer! Closer, death comes! Comes death, you!" I don't have time for this.
With a flourish she pulled out her ZaCross Whip once more and ran down the hallway, preparing her attack as she charged the mutated parrot head on. Her weapon twinkled merrily as it glowed, a brilliant violet light shooting from it that curved viciously behind the wolf Mew as she ran. The chimera's wings lifted, on the verge of attack, but it wasn't fast enough for Zakuro.
"Ribbon," she yelled powerfully, bracing herself several feet away, "Zakuro SPEAR!"
She flung her arm outwards and an even brighter violet light pierced the air, shooting forward and coiling itself tightly around the chimera's body, ensuring it could not escape. The bands of light squeezed the Chimera Parrot fiercely, forcing themselves tighter and tighter until the creature screamed, and burst into a bright white light. Zakuro shielded her eyes from the blast, only stepping closer once the light faded away.
The gentle sound of glass hitting carpet caught her attention and she went over to where the chimeras had previously stood. A tiny orange crystal rested on the ground, and a glowing blue Para Para was floating nearby. Masha swooped forward and swallowed the parasite, chirruping happily "Collect! Collect!" as he did so. Zakuro smiled at his antics and picked up the crystal containing the parrot's spirit, going over to the animal area and returning it to the fallen bird. A gentle light covered the bird for a moment before vibrant color returned to its once gray feathers, and its eyes slowly opened. It cawed at her when it took notice, to which she nodded back. She could accept that as its thanks to her.
Thankfully, it seemed none of the animals were actually harmed in the fight. Zakuro had just righted a couple of cages when a clatter came from the door behind her. She turned, startled, and saw not only the security guards but the show hosts, her manager, and her parents hovering just outside the doorway. Several curious faces peered at her, and she stared back, Masha freezing on her shoulder. An uneasy silence stretched between them as neither side moved, unsure of what to do.
Zakuro broke it first.
Without a word, she was out the opposite door and making her way down the hall. The loud clamor behind her heralded the unwanted party was hot on her trail, and she had little time to make her getaway. Thank you, Naori, for having those maps of the studio in your purse a few weeks ago, Zakuro thought as she ran through a few corridors, taking a couple of shortcuts she hadn't known about until recently. Relief settled in her stomach as she made a left and finally reached the hallway she needed.
She darted into her dressing room in record time, and not a moment too soon. Seconds after Zakuro transformed back into her civilian clothes and took her seat, her manager burst through the door, the two hosts and her parents close behind him. They took in the sight of Zakuro sitting primly by herself, looking a bit flustered as she met their confused stares.
Her mother was the first to speak. "Zakuro, what happened?" There was an odd catch in her voice that the model had rarely heard before.
"Did you see one of those Tokyo Mew Mew girls come by?" one of the hosts asked hastily, looking impatient. His lapel bore the name Okira.
"The purple Mew Mew suddenly ran through here a moment ago, she startled me," Zakuro lied coolly. "She went out the back window." As she spoke, the model motioned at the thick bay window hanging slightly ajar behind her. This confirmed their suspicions, and she had to hide her amusement when they looked so crestfallen at having lost such an opportunity.
A crew member carrying a large microphone popped his head in as he was jogging past. "Miss Fujiwara, you're on in two," he called before disappearing down the hallway.
Okira looked torn, glancing uncertainly at his partner after the crewman passed. "We should follow her! It'd be huge for our ratings, Yura." He almost started out the door if not for the other host, Sasagawa's hand on his arm halting him in his tracks. The smaller man looked ready to protest, but Sasagawa held him firm.
"There's no time for that now. The opportunity is long gone," he insisted. "Besides, Miss Fujiwara is going to be on air soon."
"What if we just got in a quick interview? It wouldn't take long, just -"
Sasagawa shook his head. "We don't have anything prepared. There's no time."
Okira opened his mouth to retort, but Zakuro's manager stepped forward in between the two. "Regardless of the loss of opportunity, we need to get this show going. That supergirl is gone by now, and we're running six minutes behind schedule thanks to that alien attack backstage," he said, pointedly glancing at his watch.
They got the hint easily enough and made their exit after a hasty farewell to the Fujiwaras. Zakuro's manager turned towards her parents, smiling warmly at them as he gestured towards the door. "Mr. and Mrs. Fujiwara, if you'll allow me..." he said pleasantly, leading them out the door and most likely to their seats within the audience.
Zakuro was allowed a moment to recollect herself before she was due onstage. She couldn't help the knowing smile that gently curved her lips, nor the sigh that left her as she all but facepalmed, shaking her head in disbelief. "How did I even get out of that?" she asked aloud. She received no answer - not like she was expecting one from an empty room. She briefly imagined what could have happened, had her family and coworkers discovered her true identity... and she didn't like it.
She sighed again, softly, recalling Ichigo's meeting with her that morning. These girls will be the death of me, she thought, eying her bag, where she knew was Masha curled up, hidden away. A small, traitorous smirk crossed her lips, gone as quick as it came. I don't think I mind, though.
"Wouldn't you know it, folks? One of Tokyo Mew Mew came to our studio a few minutes ago! We weren't able to talk to her, but it was pretty surreal, don't you think? An alien attacked our studio, and she swooped in to save the day. Pretty amazing, am I right?" asked Sasagawa, gesturing toward the audience as he spoke to the other host.
Okira nodded eagerly. "Without a doubt! I know I'm not alone when I say I'd love to know the identity of that purple Mew Mew!" He smiled as laughter broke out in the audience. "Unfortunately, while this is a huge deal for lots of fans out there, we don't have the airtime to share gossip." More laughter, mixed with a few 'aww's. "Here on the show with us tonight is renowned supermodel Zakuro Fujiwara, who will..."
Zakuro tuned them out as the customary introduction continued, her eyes drifting towards the audience as she mulled over the battle that occurred mere minutes before - it felt like an age - with the youngest alien. She couldn't understand how they had known she would be alone today, especially without any comm devices hidden throughout the cafe. She hid a grimace as she toyed with the idea that the aliens could be watching them, but she dismissed it as fast as it came. There was just no way it would be possible.
When the host beside her acknowledged her presence, she was ready for them with a cool, easy smile. As the questions inevitably began and the main event was staged, Zakuro sighed to herself with a hint of exasperation and amusement. Now, if only that alien kid had chosen to attack during the show...
Ahhh... hello everyone~ *hides behind a rock*
So it's been three years and almost nine whole months since I actually updated this story. Wow. My writing style sure has changed a bit, I think? I can't tell between Retasu's chapter and this one. aaahhh well
I'm so sorry I left you guys on hold like this. I'm such a massive procrastinator and I've been consumed by work and, recently, drawing art and stuff (yay art, maybe I can do covers for my stories? that'll be the day lmao). So YIKES I AM SO SORRY BHDJSVDS
Purin's chapter is gonna be a while longer, but I swear I won't be forcing you guys to wait for three more years for her. I made myself finish Zakuro's chapter, and hers is sitting in the same place just waiting to be completed. Have no fear, your friendly neighborhood fox has got it covered!
Thank you so much for sticking around! It really warms my heart to see the occasional favorite or follow~
Kraehenhexe