Chapter Four: A Deal is Made, 一笔交易被做出
"Curiosity in children is but an appetite for knowledge. The great reason why children abandon themselves wholly to silly pursuits and trifle away their time insipidly is because they find their curiosity balked and their inquiries neglected." –John Locke
I typed 'Ryou Shirogane' into the search bar and got tons of results, one of which was the news clip I'd watched earlier. 'Café Mew Mew'? What on Earth…? I clicked on the link. 'Welcome to Café Mew Mew's website! Click on 'Menu' to check out all the cool stuff we serve. Also, you can now order online or by phone and we can have your order ready to pick up in about twenty minutes.
-Thanks! Ryou Shirogane, manager"
He manages a café? Hm…let's see if there's an address…Bingo! To Café Mew Mew!
I dashed downstairs and grabbed my leather jacket and keys. "Hey, where are you going? It's almost dark." Mom called from the kitchen.
"I'm going for a ride. I'll be back in a little while." I waved to her and ran out the door.
Café Mew Mew
You have got to be kidding. This is the café? I stood in front of the frilly pink building with 'Café Mew Mew' shining above it in bright fluorescent lights. I guess I've got nothing to lose. I sighed and walked into the café (which looked more like a giant frosted cupcake if you ask me). The inside looked like a replica of a child's dollhouse: hardly anything in the vast room wasn't pink and the waitresses that strutted table to table wore lacy doll-like uniforms. I wonder if this Ryou guy is gay…
"Welcome to Café Mew Mew!" A girl that jumped out of nowhere screamed, making me flinch. "Oh, sorry! I didn't mean to scare you! Let me show you to a table!" she chuckled as she started towards an empty table.
"A-Actually, I was hoping to speak to your manager." I interrupted. The girl seemed genuinely surprised for a second, and then nodded happily. "I'll go see if he's available. Just hang tight right here, 'kay?"
A few seconds later she came back with a man with a long black ponytail trailing behind her. "This is Mr. Akasaka. Mr. Shirogane isn't available at the moment, but Mr. Akasaka would be more than happy to speak with you." She smiled, then returned to scaring customers by the door. "Can I help you?" Mr. Akasaka asked politely.
"Yes, I—Can we speak in private?" I asked, glancing at the crowded café. Mr. Akasaka seemed as surprised as the waitress had been, but smiled and nodded. "Of course. Please follow me." He led me towards the back of the café and motioned towards a door that was almost completely hidden behind a giant potted hibiscus.
The office had an altogether different mood from the café. It seemed to be more like something you expect to find in a business office with its plushy red leather chairs, metal desk, and wooden bookshelves without a touch of pink anywhere. Mr. Akasaka took a seat in the chair behind the desk and gestured me to take a seat in one of the two seats that faced the desk. As I did so, he laced his fingers together and looked upon me with interest.
"So, what can I do for you?" Mr. Akasaka questioned intently.
"I, um…I'm doing a paper for school on genetics and I was hoping that I could speak with you about… the Mew Project." I said quickly. Just keep the story the same… Mr. Akasaka paused for a minute and seemed to be very amused. "It's nice to see some people still remember the old days." He sighed; I noticed for the first time that he had a few tired wrinkles on his face.
"Unfortunately, I'm not at liberty to give any information without Ryou's permission--." A tall blonde figure barged into the room wildly. "Ah, speak of the devil." Mr. Akasaka chortled. "Ha ha. Keiichiro, we've got some trouble down in the lab and—who's that?" the figure asked, noticing me sitting in the chair.
"This is…um."
"Taro." I said.
"He wants to know about the Mew Project." Keiichiro stated solemnly. Ryou looked at me like I was a drowned rat that a cat had just dropped on his doormat.
"And why, pray tell?"
"He says he's doing a paper for school."
"Riiiiight. Sorry, kid, we're done with all that." Ryou yanked me out of the chair and started shoving me out the door. "Have a nice day." He sneered and slammed the door in my face.
"Did you have a nice ride?" Mom asked from the living room as I stormed up the stairs.
"Oh yeah. It was a real blast." I grumbled angrily. I tossed my jacket on my desk and threw myself on my bed to sulk. I can see why he wouldn't want to tell me anything, but he didn't have to be such a bastard about it. I self-consciously fingered the brand on my neck hidden underneath my sweater. I refuse to wear turtlenecks forever.
Café Mew Mew
"You could've been nicer Ryou." Keiichiro scolded.
"I really don't care about some brat that just comes in out of nowhere wanting to know everything."
"He seemed sincere to me."
"Not to me. And what was up with his dorky turtleneck? Who wears a turtleneck when it's eighty degrees outside?"
"That I don't know. But the point is that you should've been nicer."
"Why?"
"Because."
"Whatever. Come on; let's go clean up the acid spill in the lab."
"What on Earth were you doing with acid?"
"Trying out something." Ryou grinned.
School, 学校
Nozomi showed up for school on Friday. People constantly bombarded her with their condolences and questions. She walked down the hall like a zombie, not speaking with any of her friends and just hanging her head. At lunch she picked a table in the far corner instead of her usual one in the middle with all of her friends. Maybe I should go see how she's doing. It looks like her friends don't even notice she's not there… I swallowed my fear and took a seat in front of Nozomi. She stared blankly at me for a second, then returned her attention to her lunch.
"So…how are you?" I asked awkwardly.
"I would like to eat my lunch in silence." She growled.
"Okay." I shrugged and pretended to zip my mouth shut. She's still as cold as ever.
"…Why are you wearing a turtleneck?" Nozomi asked after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence.
"I'm cold."
"It's eighty-five degrees."
"That doesn't mean I can't be cold." I said defensively.
"It's also against the dress code. I'm surprised you haven't gotten in trouble yet." She said with the warmth in her voice returning. "So am I." I chuckled.
Mr. Suzuki stood in front of the class holding a large box covered by a white sheet. "Today I have an exciting announcement! I thought that since we're studying animals and the environment that we should get a hands-on experience. Does anyone want to guess what's in the box before I lift the cover?" Mr. Suzuki asked excitedly. He was a particularly high-strung person and ran on at least eight cups of coffee a day at the minimum. There were also several rumors circulating that he was clinically insane (you only had to be in his class five minutes to figure out that there's something seriously wrong with him).
"Is it a snake?" the guy next to me asked, deciding to humor him.
"Nope!"
"Dog?"
"Nope!"
"Cat?"
"Nope!"
"Guinea pig?"
"Close!"
"Hamster?"
"Nope!"
"Rat?"
"Nope!"
"Rabbit?"
"Nope!
"Okay, I give up." He sighed. Mr. Suzuki lifted the cover with a flourish and presented it as if it were a trophy. "It's a gerbil!"
"Oh yay." The girl in the corner of the room mumbled. The gerbil had tawny speckled brown fur and wide, curious black eyes. "Who wants to volunteer to be the first person to take him home?" Mr. Suzuki asked.
"But…I thought he was going to be a class pet?"
"He was, but the principal is afraid that he'll get loose and you know how she is about rodents. So we'll trade him between all of you!" Mr. Suzuki smiled.
"Then…what's the point in having a class pet if we aren't keeping him in the classroom?"
"There's absolutely no point! Now, who want to take him first?" he smiled psychotically and looked for his first victim. Looks like he's in one of his moods again.
"Oh, come on! Don't make me pick!" The class remained silent.
"All right…Um…Yamamoto! You're responsible! Here, you get to take care of Salami!" Mr. Suzuki grinned, dropping the cage on my desk.
"But I don't want it!"
"Too bad." He teased, half-skipping to the board and getting started on the day's lesson. Why would you name a gerbil 'Salami'? I glared at the board and tried to ignore the giant gerbil cage sitting in front of me. Salami sat up on his back feet and stared up at me with his bright black eyes, chattering his teeth. "What are you looking at?" I growled. There was something about Salami's smell that made me hungry. Really hungry. Man, that gerbil sure does smell good…What am I thinking? It's a stupid gerbil, not a hamburger! My mouth began to water heavily as I stared at the plump, juicy gerbil. No! I am not going to eat the gerbil! That's just sick and wrong…and weird!
Home, 回家
"What do you have there?" Mom asked, coming to inspect the gerbil cage.
"Salami." I grumbled.
"It looks more like a gerbil to me."
"His name is Salami. He's our class pet for science and Mr. Suzuki made me take him home since we can't keep him at school."
"Awww, isn't he cute? Look at his little pawsey-wawsies!" Mom stuck her fingers into the cage to stroke Salami's fuzzy head.
"Do we have anything we can feed him?"
"I think we have some carrots in the refrigerator." Mom grinned as she watched Salami twitch his pink nose. "Cool." I grunted, going to the fridge and pulling out a carrot and sticking it into Salami's cage. I'll fatten the sucker up for slaughter then serve him with a side of rice…
Yuri's Hideout, 藏匿处
Yuri tapped her fingers on her armrest waiting impatiently. The kindness and life in her eyes had dripped away over the years without Ronin by her side and she could feel her flawless ivory skin start to succumb to time, forming slight bags under her miserably beautiful eyes. A figure stepped from the frosty shadows and stood in front of Yuri expectantly. "What took you so long?" she snapped.
"You cannot rush The Gathering, my lady. The Spirits are tentative entities and must be dealt with the utmost care." The figure hissed, its deep voice as cold as the room's shadows. Its face was hidden behind thick grey-black hair and a high collar.
"Right, right. Will you show me now?" Yuri continued to tap on her chair.
"I shall." From the inner folds of his black foxtail poncho he produced two delicate white flowers in his black gloved hand. "I would like to see a spirit, not a flower." Yuri growled. "All in good time." He pressed his fingers to his lips and set the flowers on the cold stone floor. "The Yuurei are mostly drawn by scent. These fragrant jasmine petals should attract one." Above the jasmine a faint figure steadily faded into view, gently caressing the petals in its wispy hands as if they were a delicate robin's egg. It wore a plain white kimono; its long black hair that danced gracefully about the air; a white sash was tied on its forehead, and where there should have been a face was just a smooth surface. "So this is a Yuurei…" Yuri grinned in wonder at the amazing being before her.
"Yes. Their appearance may seem innocent, but once the command is given, they are lethal. They're souls of the dead that seek revenge from the living in any way possible. It's very common with murder victims." He looked upon the Yuurei like a proud parent. "So, we have a deal?"
"If they prove to be as lethal as you claim, then yes, we have a deal. May I ask your name now?" Yuri said clearly.
"Jiro the Obake. I can also command a few Youkai, but they, being comical and mischievous in nature, are harder to harness. Do you have the method of payment we discussed?" Jiro asked.
"As promised, the Scepter of the Mare Nectaris will be your reward."
"We have a deal, my lady." Jiro grinned.
Author's Corner!
Eep! I forgot the last author's corner! Sorry 'bout that. So about the story: I've always wanted to add one of those semi-insane teachers that everyone ends up having some time in their life. Thus, Mr. Suzuki was created for my amusement. ((chuckles)) I also wanted some more evil rodents ((flashes back to Held Loosely with the 'vampire vermin')). I just can't seem to get enough of the little critters. Most of the inspiration comes from my spoiled rotten guinea pig, Scarlet. She's just a ball of lard with fur. Tune in next time. ((theme music))
