Well, I own nothing, so let's get on to the material I don't own.
"Have you all found your designated mew?" Koakov asked, about to report to General Pai for the week. It was Friday, and the aliens had successfully attacked twice, started befriending mews, and made sure said mews didn't know the new students they were showing around were the aliens they were fighting. All in all it had been a good week for the alien operations, the Sergeant smiled as they each confirmed his suspicion that the mews were none the wiser of their true identities.
"We all did our job, but you, sir, still haven't found him," Recruse reminded her commanding officer.
"What are you talking about, Re-Ru?" Alpha asked, getting fed up with the youngest alien's superior attitude, feeling better than everyone else was Alpha's job, not the blinded fifteen year-olds.
"I've been ordered not to tell, just to constantly remind our commanding officer that he has another job too, one that he hasn't done, that also means I have t4o make sure we don't kill the brats before he does," she said with an arrogant smirk.
"Recruse, that's not fair," Coventry said stiffly.
"Coventry, stop getting so nervous, I'm getting sick of seeing lavender, purple's much prettier, and what did I say about calling me Recruse?" she teased him. He blushed, it was embarrassing getting shot down every few minutes, he was nervous in the presence of "superiors" and because of their social status everyone here was technically his superior, he murmured an apology.
"Ugh, pink really isn't your color, relax a little, Cove," she said.
He took a few deep breaths before saying, "Sorry, Recru- I mean Re-Ru," he still wasn't comfortable with Koakov's order for them all to be equals, and it was weird calling these people he had always been taught to grovel at by nicknames used by their close friends only.
"That's better," she said.
"If you two are done flirting, are we done here?" Alpha asked.
"Well, if your tone color wasn't green before it is now," Koakov mocked, "and yes, we're done, I have to go report to General Pai," he got up and left the younger aliens to talk.
"I'M NOT JELAOUS!!!!" Alpha shouted at him, he just rolled his eyes and kept walking. The young aliens talked amongst themselves for awhile before retiring for the evening, knowing they had a long day ahead of them tomorrow, they would lead another attack, and many of them actually made plans to hang out with the mews after the attack.
The mews had had a rotten week, Ryou had them training through their injuries, which after the last two attacks they all had their fair share of. Each and every one of them had the five had a grand time coming up with a story for the paramedics, and for the girls their parents.
"Look, I know you've all been working hard, but this is the third time there's been an attack and an innocent person has been killed, I can't speed up your healing, and I can't make the aliens go away, I'm glad you've at least starting returning some scratches, but you all still seem to be losing the bulk of the blood. The most we can do is try harder," Ryou said, his mind elsewhere, trying to think of an easier way to do this.
"Try harder?!" Ana screeched at him, her fists clenching.
"We've been straining our injuries to the point they're never going to get better, and we've been working our asses off, and you tell us 110% isn't fucking good enough for you?" Jamie said, fully prepared to punch Ryou in the face, but her newly injured shoulder screamed in protest, causing her to stop the attempt.
"I'm aware you've been putting in a lot, and that a lot's been taken from you, and I can assure you I'm doing to best I can with the part I have, but I don't have the muscle or the energy I used to or need for this, but I guarantee you that if I can succeed in tracking them to their current base we'll have an advantage."
"God damn it, Ryou, there comes a time when you ask too much, and we can't deliver, you've past that point!" Aya said, in agreement with Jamie.
"I can't feel any part of my body right now, because we've been doing this for so long, I'm uncomfortably numb!" Kokoro stated her objection without cursing. Ryou knew the entire team practically hated him. The grey-haired man sighed, but knew it would be easier, if he began to love them all the way he had the last mews, or even if started to love them like grandkids, it would only cause more heartache than was necessary.
"Guys, Ryou wouldn't ask this if it weren't important, we're getting our asses kicked, yes, but we can, and will beat them, if we don't start trying harder and die now it will have been for nothing. If I'm going down I'm taking one of those floating bastards with us," Noah said. Ryou was grateful that one of them got it, and luckily that one had leadership material.
"Thanks, Noah, look, I'm letting you all off now, do the exercises early tonight, and then get a good night's sleep, I have a feeling tomorrow's going to be a rough day," Ryou said with a half-hearted smile, and turned away as they went to leave.
They all were exceedingly glad, and Noah was the only one to stay, Ryou was leaning against a chair and the murmur of good-byes faded, he was about to go downstairs when he heard someone say, "Would you like help getting down or upstairs?"
"Noah, what are you still doing here? Go home," he said confused.
"No, you're here by yourself, Kokoro and Ana are waiting outside, but I told them I'd be a few minutes. I know you usually go downstairs after we leave, I figured I'd help out, and after I take both of the girls home I could come back and help you out," he said aware of the leader's hardships of living by himself.
"Two girls, that's a bit much don't you think?" he teased, "Look, you should go enjoy your evening, it's Friday, don't you have anything better to do?"
"My dad's out of town, and I'm off work, we normally watch movies all night, Aya invited me over but that's not until later, I have no problems helping you down the stairs and then making dinner for you and then running," he said. Ryou smiled and nodded, Noah really was the only mew that didn't hate the very thought of the old man. After he got Ryou in his chair in front of the large screen he got outside as quickly as he could with his newly sprained rib.
He led the girls to where he had parked his new car, he hadn't asked for it but his Dad got him an extravagant every year on the "anniversary of the divorce", that had consequently been the day he sprained his rib, so he was glad not to have to walk to school with that.
"What did Ryou want?" Ana asked bitterly.
"Nothing, I just figured he could use some help down the stairs, he's not in the best shape of his life you know?" Noah said as he turned the key in the ignition.
"You're so thoughtful," Kokoro said, and added, "he doesn't deserve that, he puts us in worse shape than him, and he's what? 104?"
"You guys should cut him some slack," Noah replied, turning uncomfortably with a grunt to back out of his parking space.
"Yeah right," Ana said bitterly, looking at her wrapped leg and feeling the bandages on her head, she should've still been at home one bed rest, but no, she just had to save the world.
"Don't be so resentful," he said, critically, Ryou reminded Noah a lot of his grandfather back in states, so he was used to general curmudgeon nonsense, and realized Ryou just wanted his old life back, something the fifteen year-old could relate to.
~After the Girls are Back Home~
The bell above the café door rang but Ryou didn't hear it over the sound of the keys and his hearing wasn't what it had been, "Eh, it's really warm down here, I think those machines get used so much they're about to overheat," Noah said startling the old man.
"Don't do that," Ryou scowled, "I'm always armed, if I had mistaken you for an alien you'd be dead," he said critically.
"Sorry, won't happen again," Noah said, "but really, it is hot, I'm taking my shirt off," Noah continued and pulled off the button up collared shirt revealing a not overly muscled wrapped torso.
"I see you've been doing what you can," Ryou said looking at the boys improved muscles.
"Yeah, I guess," he frowned at his body that he felt should've been in better shape.
"Look, I understand you've been doing the training the way you should and properly resting the injuries, but from what I see you're doing better than I expected," Ryou assured him.
"I know, but it's just not enough and that's frustrating. But whatever, I'm here to help you not complain to you, you get enough of that from the others. What exactly do you do down here?" he changed the subject.
"You seem to have gone soft, Ryou," Pai's face flashed up on the screen.
"Pai, or is it General Pai now?" Ryou asked with a smile.
"General Pai, but I'm just here to deliver a warning, you're going to be attacked tomorrow, I'll let you have your moment with the boy," Ryou smiled at his old friend as the alien who also now had snow-white hair informed him of what was going on.
"Thanks, General, I guess I'll see one of your soldiers tomorrow," he saluted the alien and the screen went blank.
"You're communicating with the alien General?!" Noah said, hinting at a treason accusation.
"Yes, but as you can see he's not completely on their side, now you know there's an attack tomorrow, that would be Mew Lettuce's husband, he'll forever feel guilty if he doesn't help us out somehow, because Pai doesn't hate humans," Ryou explained. Noah walked to the stairs, his back facing Ryou.
"Right, well, it's starting to get late, how about some dinner?" Noah asked, feeling embarrassed he had made that incredibly foolish mistake.
"Sure, there's all sorts of ingredients in the kitchen, what's that tattoo say? I think that reads, 'γνῶθι σεαυτόν gnōthi seauton,' what's it translate to?" Ryou asked.
"Know thyself, it's Greek, all right, I'll come down and get you when dinner's ready."
So, these seem to be staying shorter than I'd like, but I guess I can't call it short because it's about an average length for these chapters, oh well. I hope you liked it.
