A/N: Apparently there was some glitch with the system; thanks to SonicXMinagirl for bringing it to my attention. So as I suppose it's not you guys' fault that no one could review the last chapter, here's the next—and last—oneshot.

Zoo

Any of the Café Mew Mew waitresses could tell you that it was exceedingly rare for their boss—Ryou Shirogane, director of the Mew Project: the reason they were there—to give them a day off, much less to take them on a "field trip."

And yet, the first thing the teenager in question said when he walked in the door was: "Let's go to the zoo."

"The zoo?" chorused all five girls: Momomiya Ichigo, Aizawa Mint, Midorikawa Lettuce, Pudding Fong, and Fujiwara Zakuro. Despite their differences, their astonishment at the blonde's words was shared and exactly the same.

"Shirogane, why—" began the redheaded cat-Mew Mew.

"Well, it has been a full three years since the aliens left." Ignoring Ichigo's, Lettuce's, and Pudding's distraught expressions, Ryou continued, "Yet you five have continued to fight leftover Chimeras and other enemies, and I for one think you deserve a day of rest and celebration."

"Look! Aren't the kittens so cute?" Ichigo squealed.

"Meh. I want to look at the monkeys!" replied Pudding, who longer referred to herself in the third person or added "na no da" at the end of every sentence.

"I would like to visit the aquatic creatures—especially the porpoises," admitted Lettuce.

"Huh! Any fool knows that the birds—lorikeets in particular—are the most fascinating," Mint scoffed.

"As for me, my preference leans in the direction of the wolves. How about," suggested Zakuro, "we split up so we can all check out the animals we'd like?"

"Fine by me," Keiichiro answered before Ryou could say anything. "But I myself am rather fond of the wolves. Would you mind if I went with you?"

"Not at all," replied the wolf-Mew Mew, giving him a smile as radiant as it was rare to behold.

The birds' sanctuary was filled with the cacophony of dozens of birds flying around at the same time. Looking around cheerfully, the blue-haired girl laughed aloud in pure delight as she tried to turn in all directions at once. Though she'd said that lorikeets were the most fascinating, the fact was that Mint loved all birds. "They're all so adorable!" she gushed.

"Oh, I don't know about that."

Turning to glare at the young man who'd inexplicably followed her, Mint scowled. "Then what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see the most adorable bird of all."

"What—"

But before she could finish the question, Ryou's lips were on hers. Without consciously deciding to, the petite young woman laced her fingers together, winding her arms around the back of his neck and pulling him closer—her secret crush for years.

"I do not understand why water creatures would leap into the air."

The green-haired girl turned from her favorite animals with a quiet gasp. "Pai-san!"

His usually serious eyes may or may not have held more life than usual. "Hello, Lettuce-san."

"It's been years—how have you been? How are you here? Are Taruto and Kisshu with you? And—"

Neither of them could ever quite recall the exact sequence of events afterwards, but somehow they ended up locked in a tight embrace, lips together and fingers wound into each other's braids. Unlikely as it seemed, both somehow managed to forget their customary shyness as they lost themselves in each other.

"Taru-Ta—! I mean, Taruto. Hi." With unusual restraint, the once-ultrahyper monkey-Mew Mew waved briefly at her once-best friend. "How have you been?"

"I—I'm fine." The no-longer-pigtailed alien now-teenager was taken aback by the changes in the girl who stood before him. "And you?"

"Pretty good—well, I missed you lots."

His eyes lit up. "Really? I—I missed you too!"

Somehow, without being quite aware of doing it, he leaned down and gently pressed his lips to hers. Before consciously deciding to do it, she sighed contentedly and pulled him closer. "Taru-Taru... You're still the same as you always were."

He grinned, drawing back teasingly. "So are you. By the way... Got any candy for me?"

"Yo, Koneko-chan."

The redhead whirled, surprise and not a little happiness mixing on her face. "Kisshu! Wow—you've... grown."

"So've you." The mocking amusement in his voice was familiar—in a strangely comforting way. His golden eyes raked her body up and down, over and over. Clearly, the aggravating alien teen would never get tired of watching the girl he wished was his girlfriend. "Ne, Koneko-chan, would it be déjà vu if I-?"

Changing his mind about asking, the green-haired young man swooped down to steal a kiss from his Koneko-chan, just as he had the very first time they'd met.

Unlike the first time, though, she ended up tugging him closer, slim fingers tangling in his forest-green hair. Quietly she whispered his name.

He blinked, confusion in his amber eyes. "What about the stu—the treehugger?"

She shook her head. "He dumped me last year. It's okay," the redhead added quickly upon seeing the murderous expression on the alien boy's face. "Truly, I'm fine—it just gave me a chance to see the truth: that the one I really loved, and the one who really loved me... Well, let's just say that Aoyama and I weren't meant to be." Smiling happily, Ichigo twined her arms around the alien teen's neck with a content sigh.

A/N: Thanks to everyone for your longtime support and flattering reviews. I may or may not write more TMM fics, but I promise that I'll finish the ones I've started—eventually. (Doing otherwise would be unforgiveable, as I've gotten rid of "Another World." I do apologize if you were really interested in that fic.) Anyway, it's been a great 26 chapters, and thanks again for reading.