Hey guys! Sorry this one took so long, but I have been so busy! Anyways, hope you enjoy it. =)

Chapter 10

Mewtastic Dilemmas

………Megan's House………

"Ok, clothes, check… gloves, coat, and hat, check… pictures, check… presents, check." Megan said out loud as she checked all her packed belongings. In a few hours, she would be on her way to the airport to leave for home, back to the U.S. It was three days before Christmas and she couldn't wait to see her family and friends again! But first, she had to make a stop at Café Mew Mew to see her Mew Mew friends one last time before she left. Wesley decided to throw a little going away/Christmas party for her and the girl's before she left where they would eat, talk, and exchange presents for a few hours. And, from the looks of her watch, she was running late! Quickly zipping up her travel bag, she grabbed her jacket, hat, gloves, everyone's presents, and headed out the door in the cold wind.

…….Cafe Mew Mew……..

"Whew, Hey guys! Sorry I'm late, I was a little busy making sure I had everything packed." Megan apologized as she walked in and set the gifts down on a nearby table. After taking off her jacket, hat, and gloves, she gasped at the lovely display before her. The café was beautifully decorated with tinsel, red, white and green streamers, and tons of sparkling lights. There were only two long tables present in the room, both set with white Christmas table clothes. One of them was along the wall on the left side of the café filled with turkey, sweets, and other filling foods. The other was in the center of the room where the Mew Mew girls were already sitting. Then, there in the back of the mini restaurant was where Ryou and Wesley were standing. Behind them was a fairly big Christmas tree filled with lights and decorations. Megan had never felt more at home since she came here! She knew that Christmas wasn't really a celebrated holiday in Japan, so she didn't expect such a big scene.

"Wow Wesley, this place looks great!" Megan said excitedly as she walked jollily over to the tree to get a better look.

"Thanks Meg, although I did have a little help." Wesley said with a smile.

"A little? I did all the decorating." Ryou exclaimed while crossing his arms.

"Yea, but I mad all the food. Plus, this whole thing was my idea." Wesley went on, his smile growing slightly bigger.

"Yea, whatever." Ryou huffed.

"Oh, well, thank you too, Ryou." Megan laughed before giving him a quick bear hug. "Oh, what's this? This is cute! Very stylish!" she laughed when she noticed the santa hat Ryou and Wesley were wearing.

"Thanks! This was actually Ryou's idea!" Wesley answered.

"Was not!" Ryou said sharply, growing a little red around the cheeks.

"Aww, Santa's helper is a little flustered." Megan teased before she made her way over to the girls. "Hey ladies, what's happening?"

"Hey Meg! Not much, just talking about how much we're going to miss you." Ichigo said as she got up from her seat to give Megan a hug.

"Yea, two weeks is a very, very long time!" Purin whined.

"Oh, don't worry guys! You'll have so much fun while I'm gone! You'll hardly notice that I'm missing! Anyways, let's not talk about that now, we're suppose to be having a good time! 'Tis the season to be jolly,' ha ha." Megan said, taking a seat.

"Yea, even though I don't celebrate Christmas, I know that it's a holiday that is spent happily with friends and family. At least, I think that's what it's about." Minto said, taking a sip of her tea.

"Yea, that's part of it, but it can be celebrated in many different ways. But anyways, I say we dive into the buffet, I'm starving!" Megan exclaimed before getting up from her seat as the rest followed. After a very festive dinner of eating, talking, and laughing, the gang decided it was time to exchange gifts. As Megan silently counted her gifts, she noticed that she only received six presents instead of seven. Looking at the tags, she saw that Ryou hadn't gotten her one. A little bit angered that she had given him one while she got none from him, she put it in the back of her mind, remembering that the Christmas season was about giving, not receiving. So, she started to happily rip through all her other gifts and was very happy with what she had received.

From Ichigo, she received a picture frame that had "Best Friends" written all around it and a goofy picture of the two of them in it. Megan's left arm was around Ichigo's neck while she winked and her right hand gave the peace sign. Ichigo, being in a headlock, only just stuck out her tongue with a slight smile. It was a perfect Kodak moment.

From Retasu, she received some painting supplies and a stand for her camera. She really needed one of those, since she didn't have enough room to pack her old one back at home.

From Minto, she, like all the others, received a large sum of money on a gift certificate at one of her favorite clothing stores in Tokyo. She grew excited, knowing that when she came back from the U.S., she would be able to hit all the killer deals!

Then, from Purin, she received a small, soft tan bunny with a little purple bow tied around its neck. Even though she wasn't huge on getting stuffed animals, Megan immediately fell in love with it and even named it Chester.

The next present she opened was from Wesley. He had gotten her a cook book filled with some of the most amazing recipes even he himself had made. He was even nice enough to give her a few of his own secret recipes, which he had never given or told anyone, not even Ryou. It's not that he didn't favor Megan over the others…it was just that no one but Megan had taken an interest in cooking.

Then, lastly, from Zakuro she got a brand new digital camera that looked very expensive. "Zakuro! This must have cost a fortune!" Megan gasped as she gleefully took it out of the box to examine it.

"Oh, it was no big deal, one of my photographers ordered a different camera online, but they sent this one instead. He was going to send it back, but I asked him if I could just buy it from him half price and then I would also do the next three photo shoots for free. He immediately took the offer and now, it's yours!" Zakuro explained.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!" Megan yelled as she went over and tackled Zakuro to the ground with a huge hug. Luckily they were all sitting around the tree so it didn't hurt when they crashed to the ground. Everyone laughed at the sight, since they all knew that Zakuro wasn't a big fan of being touched.

"Yea, it was… no problem." She gasped from Megan's death-like grip. Megan smiled at her when she let go and started to take random pictures of everyone in the group. They all seemed so happy; it was one of the most perfect Christmas' Megan had experienced. Even though she was excited to be going home for a while, she began to grow a little sad because she wouldn't hear any of those laughters and see any of those smiles for a long time. Ok, two weeks isn't exactly a long time, but it would feel like it. After all the "thank you's," and "you're welcome's," they all decided to play some Twister.

…………..Outside Café Mew Mew…………………

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Kisshu thought as he peered through one of the café windows. He was at Megan's house, hoping that she would be home so that he could apologize to her and assure her that he never was using her in the first place. Yes, he did try to convince her to join his side when he thought that she was angry enough to leave the Mew Mew's, but he realized after that day, she wasn't the type of human to give up on her friends, no matter what. And he didn't resent her for that… he actually was… proud? He never had been proud of anyone in his life! Maybe himself, but that was pretty much it. He hoped that, one day, he would be a close friend to her and that she would stick up for him if he was ever put down. He never realized it, but all he ever wanted was a friend… a true friend. Sure, he had Pai and Taruto, but all they ever do is put him down from time to time and tell him how worthless he is. Still, if he were ever in trouble, they would immediately come and help.

Heaving a huge sigh, Kisshu continued to stare aimlessly into the frosted window.

……….Inside Café Mew Mew………

After a few rounds of playing Twister, everyone kind of mingled in their own little groups. Megan was once again by the tree only this time, by herself, as she took a few pictures with her new camera. She was also trying to avoid Ryou, since she noticed that he had given everyone else but her a present. She regretted getting him one of his new favorite playstation games of all time. Not only was it expensive, but she had to find out from Wesley what his favorite game was and then browse all around Tokyo until she was able to find it. Apparently, it was a very popular video game in Japan, since she had to look in 12 different stores. She knew she was being a little selfish, but it was kind of a smack in the face that she was the only one who didn't receive a gift from him. Shaking it off, she looked through the camera lens and took pictures all around the room.

Purin and Retasu were beginning to clean up all the plates and silver wear and looked like they were picking up more than they could handle. Megan was able to catch the moment with a click of a button as Retasu was struggling on balancing the huge stack of plates in her hands, while Purin was juggling forks and spoons in the background, laughing all the while.

Scoping around the room, she spotted Minto and Zakuro sitting down and simply chatting while sipping on their cups of tea. Megan quickly took the picture of the two most sophisticated people in the room. She knew Minto would be begging for this picture once she saw it.

She spotted Ichigo playing with Masha next. She was tickling him and laughing as he cheerfully chirped and squirmed underneath her fingers. It was probably a little risky taking a picture of Masha, since no one except the Mew Mew's and the cynaclons knew about him. Still, it was too cute of a picture to miss.

Struggling to find Wesley in the room through her camera, she quickly moved it to her right only to be taken by surprised when she saw icy blue eyes staring right into her green one's through the lens.

"Geeze Ryou, you freakin' scared me." Megan gasped as she clutched the camera to her chest.

"Sorry, I just wanted to know if you were going to set that camera of yours down any time soon." He asked. Looking at him curiously for a bit, Megan went and sat the camera down on the table.

"There, happy now?" she asked, giving him a slight glare before she began to walk past him. She decided to go talk to Ichigo, but, he stopped her by grabbing her arm and then leading her behind one of the pillars so they wouldn't be too visible to everyone else. Megan cocked an eyebrow towards him.

"Something you want?"

"Yea, I wanted to give you this…privately." Ryou answered as he pulled out a fairly small, yet beautifully wrapped box. Megan's heart stopped for a second.

"Oh my gosh! He did get me something!" She thought as she smiled before taking it gently. When she unwrapped it, a black velvety box appeared in her hands and Megan's body was filled with excitement and anticipation. When she opened it carefully, she gasped when she saw a beautiful diamond necklace.

"Ryou…" was all she could say in awe. She looked back up to him and saw that he was smiling, really smiling; one that would melt the heart of any girl.

"Thank you, Ryou. It must have cost a fortune!" Megan said in almost a whisper.

"Actually, it was my moms. Before you freak out or anything, it was given to her by a close friend before she died and so, I thought that… well… since Wesley isn't really into jewelry, I thought I would give it to my next closest friend." He shrugged with a small, nervous laugh.

"Ha ha, well then, I'm sure glad Wesley isn't into these sorts of accessories, or I would have been very jealous! My gosh, look at how they sparkle!" Megan sighed in admiration.

"May I?" She heard Ryou say as he slowly took the necklace out of the box. Megan happily turned around and lifted up her hair so he that he could clasp it without trouble. Calmly and gently, he brought the necklace around her neck and easily clipped it together. As Megan let go of her hair, she whirled back towards him and threw her arms around his neck into a firm hug.

"Thank you so much Ryou… it's beautiful." She whispered into his ear as he wrapped his arms around her waist somewhat tightly.

"As are you." He let slip. Megan's eyes grew big as she looked up into his eyes. She could tell he didn't mean to say it, out loud anyway, since his expression looked baffled and his cheeks grew hot. "Well, w-what I meant w-was…" But he stopped when Megan gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Thanks again Ryou. Now, how about a picture? Just me and you?" she asked with her eyes filled with happiness. All he did was give a small smile.

"Sure, just so you can show all of your friends back at home how hot I am, ha ha."

"Yea, yea, you're a real catch." She said sarcastically as she went to grab her camera. "Hey Ichigo! Could you take a picture of me and Ryou please?" Megan yelled across the room.

"Sure I can! If I can fight aliens, I think I could handle taking a few pictures!" She said as she walked over and took the camera. "Ok, say CHEESE!"

"Cheese?" Ryou asked.

"It's an American thing." Megan said to him as they posed for the picture.

……..Outside Café Mew Mew………….

"Wow, what a silly game they were playing! Humans are really bizarre and I think I'll never understand them." Kisshu sighed as he watched everyone in the room. He searched around for Megan and found her fiddling with some black object.

"What in the world is that thing?" He wondered out loud as he continued to stare. Then, his face grew warm as he saw Ryou approach her. "I hate that man! He's the reason I'm in this mess with my princess in the first place! One of these days I'm going to get my revenge on him. Wait, what's this?" He asked himself as he watched Ryou grab Megan and lead her behind a pillar. He could see parts of their bodies, but not their faces. So, he decided to find a window where he would be able to. Going more to the side of the café, he found a window where he could see Ryou's face, but the back of Megan's head. He wished he could hear what they were saying.

Then, he noticed Megan looked down at her hands and he saw what he thought was a wrapped object. He realized he was right when she began to rip the paper off. Then, he saw a black velvet box and wondered what could possibly inside it. When she opened it up, he noticed that she was staring at whatever it was for a long time. Then, she began to talk back to Ryou. Wondering what on earth she had, he continued watching as she turned around and pulled her hair up. Kisshu couldn't help but noticed how heavenly she looked tonight. She was wearing a thin red sweater and some dark blue skinny jeans and her hair was down and straight. Sure, she may have looked normal and plain to anyone else, but to him… she looked like an angel. Then, he saw what was in the box: a diamond necklace.

Even though he wasn't from Earth, Kisshu knew that when a human girl was given something as beautiful as that, it was usually because the person who gave it to them thought of them as someone special. Kisshu's heart felt like it dropped right to his stomach. She looked so happy about the gift. He was actually glad when she turned back around so that he wouldn't have to see that expression that was caused by another man; a man that he, in this moment, hated more than ever. But, what he saw next made his world fall apart. He watched as the girl he cared most about hug him and then give him a kiss on the cheek. He was so angry and he could feel the hot tears coming. He quickly shut his eyes tightly. All the anger and evil feelings he felt when he first came here quickly came shooting back after being gone for the past two months. Ever since he thought he had a chance with Megan, his feelings for the human race dropped dramatically, but not enough to want to stop the mission he was sent here for. Now, they were back, if not more than they were before. Then, he silently made a vow to himself.

"He's in the way, he always is. I can never be with Megan if he's here. She falling for him, I can see it, and she's falling fast! Tonight, I will take matters into my own hands. Tonight, Ryou is going to die, and I will make sure she witnesses it all! That way, she won't be able to leave for America and she'll stay here…with me. Wait a minute, that's it! Instead of killing Ryou right away, I'll just kidnap him when she leaves for her ride and then she'll find out about it and miss her flight because she'll have to come to help save him! Then, I'll make her choose between me and him. If she chooses to stay with me, then he lives and will be set free. If not… then he dies." He thought evilly with an eerie smirk. He then flew into the trees to hide and waited for everyone to leave.

……….Inside Café Mew Mew………..


*Beep* *Beep*

"Megan, your cab's here!" Wesley called as he looked out the front window. Megan looked over to him from the table they were all sitting at with a sad expression. She was winning in their game of Uno!

"Already? But we're almost done!" she sighed as she put down her cards.

"Yea, sorry, but if you don't get on it now, you might miss your flight." He said with a small smile.

"Well, alright then. Thanks again everyone! I'm going to miss you all lots!" Megan said as she gave everyone one last hug.

"We'll miss you too! We just hope we won't get into too much trouble without you." Retasu laughed.

"Oh, you'll be fine without me for a while! Well, I guess I'll be going…I'll see you all later, ok?" she said with one final wave. She was a little gloomy that the Houstos' couldn't take her to the airport because of a small family matter they had to attend across town. So, they brought all her luggage over to the café and bid her their goodbyes while giving her money for the taxi cab, which would come around 6. Having several heavy bags, Ichigo volunteered to go with her to the airport and help her carry them around. Both getting into the cab, they waved at the group of friends as they drove off.

………………………………..

As they all made their way back inside, they all sat down and rested while talking about what their plans for the week was. Ryou, on the other hand, grabbed his black jacket and made his way towards the door.

"Ryou, where are you going? It's starting to get dark out there." Wesley asked from his seat.

"I'm just going for a quick walk around the block. I'll be back in a few minutes." He assured as he went outside. It was definitely getting chillier, but he didn't mind. He had other thoughts racing through his mind. Like, searching for some Mew Aqua and looking out for any dangers caused by the cynaclons. After turning the corner around the block, Ryou stopped, hearing a loud and cynical laugh echoing in the air around him. He couldn't tell where it was coming from, but he kept his guard up and looked around him. Then, the laughing stopped and someone began to speak.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't one of the Mew Mew's fearless sidekicks. Taking a nice walk I see?"

"What do you want?! Show yourself!" Ryou yelled at the voice. It sounded oddly familiar.

"Oh sure, just let me make sure you don't go anywhere." It said with a small laugh. Suddenly, a glowing yellow net flew from a nearby tree and wrapped itself around Ryou, causing him to fall down. After trying to squirm free, he looked up to the sky and glared at the person who was behind it all.

"Kisshu, what do you want with me?" he demanded to know.

"Ha, like you don't already know. You should know by now that Megan is all mine and I won't have anyone stand in my way!" Kisshu said harshly.

"You better stay away from her! If you so much as touch her, I'll –"

"You'll what? From the looks of it, you won't be able to do anything! But I'll tell you what… we'll let our little pixie decide what she wants. In the meantime, let's get you to somewhere more private." He said as he began to float away. Ryou then felt the net pick itself and him up into the air and follow closely behind Kisshu.

…….Cafe Mew Mew…….

"I'm surprised Ryou isn't back yet. He's been gone for almost a half an hour! I thought he was just going around the block?" Retasu as, growing a little uneasy.

"Don't worry, Ryou's a big boy, he can take care of himself. He probably just has a lot on his mind, so he's probably taken a longer rout." Wesley assured.

"Maybe your right… well, I better get going, I'm starting to get tired." Minto said with a yawn.

"Yea, we all should probably go. Thanks for everything Wesley! Tell Ryou thanks from us when he gets back too!" Zakuro said as they all made their way out the door.

"See ya girls later!" Wesley waved before they all went out the door.

……………………….

"Well, I guess I'll see all of you tomorrow!" Retasu said, also heaving out a yawn.

"Yeah, see ya- wait! What's this?" Purin asked as she swiped a piece of paper that was stuck to the door. After quickly scanning it, a look of worry spread across her face. "Guys, you better take a look at this." She said shakily.

"What is it Purin?" Minto asked.

"It's a ransom note… for Ryou." She gulped. Quickly, they all gathered around Purin as Zakuro read it out loud.

Dear Mew Mew's,

If you ever want to see your dear Ryou again, then you'll make sure Megan comes to the park ALONE within the next two hours. Tell her to meet at 'our' spot; she'll know where it is. If she doesn't come alone, or even at all within the time limit, Ryou will then die. So, if I were you, I would quickly get a hold of her before she leaves all the way to the other side of the world. You better hurry! His life depends on it…

Your most favorite hated enemy,

Kisshu

"Well, what are we going to do!" Minto asked.

"Get Megan and Ichigo for starters. Right now, she's our only hope to get Ryou back safely." Zakuro informed.

"Right, but what if we don't get a hold of her in time?" Retasu asked, sounding quite scared.

"Then, we'll have to go and try and save him ourselves." Zakuro went on.

"But, he said only to have Megan come, or he'll die!" Purin pointed out.

"True, but if we don't come within the next two hours, he'll die anyways."

"This night just got really complicated." Minto sighed. "Well, Megan's plane doesn't leave for another 20 minutes. I'll see if I can get a hold of her or Ichigo on their phones. Retasu, you and Purin better go and inform Wesley and see if you can come up with a plan B if Megan can't come."

Nodding their heads in understandment, the two of them scrambled back inside while Minto and Zakuro started calling Megan and Ichigo.

………At the airport……

"Whew, thanks a lot for helping me with my luggage Ichigo, you're a real life saver!" Megan said as she took a seat on a nearby bench. She had thirty minutes until her plane left, so they decided to relax a bit.

"It was no problem! Besides, I get to spend a few more minutes with you before you leave." Ichigo smiled, taking a seat next to her friend.

"That's right, ha ha. Oh, and thanks again for the picture and picture frame. It was really great!" Megan thanked her.

"Yea, it took forever to choose the perfect frame, but the photo was easy to pick! It totally just screamed 'Best Friends Forever!' ha ha."

"Yea, totally. I actually got a lot of great gifts from everyone! I don't think I'll have to return anything! Ha ha." Megan joked.

"Yea, funny... Speaking of great gifts, Ryou definitely overdid himself with his." Ichigo said with a wink. Megan lifted up an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"Hello! Have you seen that very expensive looking bling bling around your neck? He totally has a thing for you!"

"C'mon Ichigo, we're just friends, which is why he gave it to me. Besides, he didn't have to pay for it, it was his mothers."

"Hi mothers! Oh my gosh, he's in love with you!" Ichigo gasped.

"Please, his mother received it from a friend of hers and so he thought he would just pass it down to me. Because we're friends." Megan assured, her cheeks pink from embarrassment. Ryou obviously liked her, he pretty much said so himself! But love? No way! Besides, he said so himself that the gift was just because they were friends.

"Ok, whatever you say!" Ichigo sighed in defeat.

"Anyways, why are we talking about me and Ryou? What about you and Masaya? I haven't heard you talk about him in a while?"

"Really! Oh my gosh, how did I not tell you, we're going out on Christmas eve to exchange presents and spend time with each other. Come to think of it, I didn't give him a gift yet!" Ichigo panicked.

"Uh oh, you better hurry up! You only have a couple days left!"

"Ugh, don't remind me! What do you get a guy anyways?"

"Don't ask me! Wesley told me what Ryou wanted and I just pretty much figured Wesley could use a few new kitchen supplies." Megan answered.

"Thanks for the advice." Ichigo said sarcastically slouching slightly in her seat.

"Anytime! Hey, you know who I haven't seen in forever? That Blue Knight! I wonder where he has been?" Megan thought out loud.

"Yea, he really hasn't been around… although, we haven't gotten into any big troubles recently. He usually only comes if we're in danger." Ichigo reminded.

"Yea, that's true."

"Attention passengers on Flight 426, your plane will be leaving for America in 20 minutes and you are asked to board the plane as soon as possible, thank you." Came a voice from the many speakers throughout the airport.

"Well, that's me." Megan sighed as she got up. "I guess I'll be seeing ya later Ichigo." She said before giving her friend one last hug.

"Yea, have fun at home, but not too much fun so that you'll change your mind and not come back at all." Ichigo joked.

"Ha ha, I won't, I promise." Megan smiled as she gave one last wave and slowly made her way towards the gate. Ichigo watched sadly as her pal walked away, but was soon interrupted when she heard her cell phone ring. Quickly grabbing it from her jacket pocket, she answered.

"Moshi Moshi, Ichigo speaking." She was surprised to hear a very finicky Minto on the other side of the line.

"Ichigo! Thank goodness you answered. Is Megan still with you?"

"Um, not quite, she's walking towards the gate to board right now, why?"

"Ichigo, you HAVE to stop her RIGHT NOW!" Minto yelled.

"Why, what's wrong?"

"I don't have time to explain, just stop her from boarding that plane! Ryou's life depends on it!" Minto continued to yell. Ichigo suddenly felt like the world had stop. Quickly snapping out of it, she slammed her phone shut and began to run towards the gate Megan was just about to go through.

"Megan, WAIT!" She bellowed loudly, receiving quite a few stares, one of them being Megan. She was about to hand the lady her ticket before she heard her name.

"Ichigo, what's wrong? You look like you just witnessed a murder." She said, stepping out of the line so others could board.

"Megan… you can't… get on that… plane." Ichigo huffed.

"What do you mean?" Megan asked, releasing a small laugh.

"Ryou… is in… trouble. And I think… you're the only… one… who can save him." Megan's face then resembled Ichigo's. Ryou was in trouble? How badly? And why was she the only one who could help him? Then, it hit her. Kisshu.

"Grrr, what are you planning now?!" Megan thought angrily as she clenched her fist. Not only did she now have to kick his ass, but now she would be missing her flight back home! But, this was Ryou's life here, and from the sound of things, she was really needed.

"C'mon Ichigo, we better get back to the café." She said angrily as they began to run outside. "Ok, listen to me, I don't know how much time we have, but I'm going to fly back to the café while you catch a cab, ok?"

"Yea, ok. Be careful!" Ichigo yelled after her as she ran to the side of the building to transform. Then, in an instant, she flew off into the sunset and towards the café.

So, how was it? What will happen to Ryou? Will Megan get there in time? And if she does, will she be able to save him even if it means she can't save herself? Just keep on readin to find out and plz leave some R/R! ^_^