Author's Note: It's been ages (for me) since I wrote! I love writing and I normally at least write a paragraph a night but I haven't for a few days. Yet, we are at the peak of our flight, our journey through The Mew Project, coming into the Zakuro arc and then we hit the Cherry Blossom incident! This chapter is much more light-hearted before things get to messy….

Note: I am Australian, and we have alternative ways of spelling certain words from America. Eg. Mum/Mom, -ise/-ize etc.

I know it is a major pain to do this, but please leave comments/reviews etc. because it really does cheer me up, knowing that this story is actually read and liked by people. Thank you and sorry for all this!

~Translation Note/Notes~

Pichi – Japanese Onomatopoeia for a bird chirp/tweet etc.

^^ - These marks indicate what someone is saying while stuck in their animal form.

Chapter 26: Internal & External Conflicts

"Hello? Anyone here?" Ichigo called out as she walked around the empty café, Masha fluttering around, his pink eyes scanning the rooms.

"Hello? Hello?" Masha called. Morning light poured into the main room, all the chairs sat upside down, hanging off the tables, just as Ichigo had left it last night. Silence gripped the area as Ichigo ran around, trying to locate either two of the men that lived in a Barbie-like café.

"Ichigo-san? It's peculiar to find you here at this time of day," Keiichiro's voice sounded as he walked down the stairs. Ichigo spun around, a bit taken back at this untidy appearance, his long, flowing hair was out of its ponytail and sat around his waist, hanging off his shoulders. He was dark under the eyes and his actions were slow, as if Ichigo had just woken him up.

"Ah! Akasaka-san, did I wake you? I'm so sorry," Ichigo bowed to the twenty-one year old. He blinked away the sleep and smiled at her.

"It's okay, what brings you here?" Keiichiro asked.

"I actually want to discuss something with you and Shirogane-san," Ichigo said and Masha popped himself on her head. Keiichiro looked at her, a little baffled but he nodded and motioned for Ichigo to follow him.

Alto sat on the windowsill, his blue eyes looking over the park. He closed his eyes and inhaled, his body slammed with information that ran through his brain. The smog that was already getting thick in the air stung at the back of his throat, leaving a tangy taste on his tongue. He licked his tongue over his fur to wash it out, only taking in the scents of the trees, flowering blossoms and the birds that fluttered nearby. Amongst all of that, he could scent that the aliens, where ever they were. Ryou tried to ignore the dark presence that the aliens created and enjoyed the sunlight.

"Ryou, I'm coming in," Keiichiro's voice sounded. Alto jumped up as he heard the sound of the door creaking open. He knew it wasn't just Keiichiro, he could smell the sweet scent of Ichigo behind him.

^Wait! Wait!^ He mewled, he mentally slapped himself as he heard his pitiful meows. He stumbled backwards to the edge of the windows, preparing to jump down if he saw Ichigo's pink hair.

'Anything to stop her from seeing me…' He thought. Keiichiro's brown eyes came into contact with a pair of brilliant blue cat eyes and heard a cat's cries.

'Damnit!' He thought and slammed the door shut in his and Ichigo's face, Masha jumping a little and letting out a surprised chirp.

"Ah owww! What's wrong?" Ichigo whimpered as the door collided with her nose. She rubbed her sensitive nose and looked up at Keiichiro who had gained his composure again.

"Ah, he was getting changed… Sorry Ichigo-san… Are you finished yet Ryou?" Keiichiro asked through the door as Alto jumped back inside and tore off the scarf, transforming back to Ryou. He cringed as his tail shrunk back in, his spine and body weight readjusting as his fur disappeared, revealing the bare skin and his blonde hair grew out. Ryou then eventually found himself on his bedroom floor on his knees and hands. He stood up and dusted himself off, breathing out to calm himself down.

'Thank god I changed before hand,' He thought as he looked over his white and blue vest and his black jeans.

"Yes, I am," He said, a little breathlessly as Keiichiro opened the door. He flicked Ryou an apologetic look as Ichigo walked into the room.

"Why didn't you reply when Keiichiro knocked? Stupid pervert," Ichigo hissed at the blue eyed boy, crossing her arms as she looked at him in an unimpressed manner.

"Watch it vulgar girl, that talk will make pretty boy dislike you," Ryou flatly hissed back. A vein twitched on Ichigo's forehead, she stamped her foot and he glared at Ryou.

"Pretty boy? Watch it Shirogane! Who has the powers here?" She hissed as Keiichiro rubbed the bridge of his nose.

'Oh lord… They're at it again…' He thought as Ryou snorted in irritation, 'How much longer is he gonna keep the truth from her?'

"Who gave you the incredible powers? Me! Who gave you Masha?"

"Ryou!" Masha chirped happily as he fluttered around Ichigo, not quite picking up on the situation.

"Yeah and who gave you a job? Me!"

"Who ripped away my normal life? You! Who doesn't give me enough credit? You! Who doesn't respect me in the least and doesn't care about me? YOU!" Ichigo hissed, stepping towards Ryou while pointing at him in an accusative manner. Ryou held down a hiss, letting it rumble in his throat softly.

"Why do you think so selfishly? We are saving the world! You should take on the attitude of the other girls!"

"Selfish! I'm selfish! You destroyed my life without a single word! NYA!" Ichigo shrieked as her blood ran along her body, heating her up and her soft car ears and tail spurted out. She however didn't hide them, letting her ears flatten down and her tail swing around in agitation. Ryou snorted again and spun around so his back was insultingly staring Ichigo in the face.

'Punish her, she is being an insolent kitten. She isn't listening to her parent, listening to me…' Ryou felt his other blood yowl. He put up his mental wall, trying to block it out before he huffed.

"Why are you here anyway?" Ryou asked, Ichigo blinked as her anger boiled down.

"Ah! I almost forgot! It's about the last Mew Mew!" Ichigo said, Ryou spun around, looking at her with a raise eyebrow.

"The last Mew Mew? What about her?"

"Good, good Fujiwara-san!" A young man said, his voice distorted by a strong metrosexual tone. The bright lights flashed over Zakuro, her eyes used to the constant white flashes from cameras. She sat the white block, the background a standard white screen, though she knew that a bit of photo shop would fix it up to a Cherry Blossom tree-filled park or a thick, humid forest on top of towering mountains within an hour or two. A few assistants flocked to Zakuro, touching up her makeup, their masterpiece before they retreated back as the photographer gave Zakuro some more instructions. "Sit on the ground, yes just like that and rest your upper body on the block. Yes! Cradle your head in one hand and rest the other in a flirtatious pose. Perfect!" Zakuro followed his instructions, posing in a flowing, ruffled dress, her arms, wrists and neck covered in gleaming jewellery. She then pulled her professional smile, her enthusiasm shining through easy as she lost herself in the shoot. Another wash of flashes washed over Zakuro and the photographer pulled away and clapped his hands, signaling the end of the shoot. Zakuro got up, stretching before an assistant led her back to the dressing room.

"Excellent work Fujiwara-san!" A young make-up intern bowed to her. Zakuro bowed back, smiling before she sat in the chair.

"Thank you for your co-operation and all of your work," Zakuro returned the basic and daily acknowledgements. They began to take the heavy make-up off, before giving her a lighter cover of make-up when the photographer walked in.

"Great work Fujiwara-san! These photos are excellent!" He chimed.

"Thank yourself, you were the one directing me," Zakuro replied happily however the young twenties photographer shook his head, his dark eyes brimming with excitement through his thick rimmed glasses. He approached her and held Zakuro's hand. Zakuro was happy to have an English photographer, she was used to handshakes from living in America, bowing to others now felt a little bizarre.

"You have changed Fujiwara-san, you're stance and smiles are more… What's the word I'm looking for…" He pondered for a minute, clicking his fingers as Zakuro's mind raced.

'I didn't do anything different! This is my standard shoot, I never do something different unless the photographer demands so…' Zakuro thought as he clicked his spare hand loudly.

"Your stance and expressions are more sultry and somehow seductively domineering. Your male fans will be all over this! You are growing up Fujiwara-san, excellent work!"

'What…? My stance and expression? Yet I gave a normal smile and I didn't try to be seductive…' She thought as the make-up artists pulled away.

"Thank you," Zakuro said, walking away although she felt she was walking in a heavy fog that clung to her. She walked out to the hallway to find Calum, dressed casually in a black, tight fitting shirt and ripped jeans, giving a young girl his autograph. She had a large blush painted on her face as she twirled around in front of him. Zakuro watched him tell the little ten year old something, causing her to nod quickly before she dashed off to her awaiting father. Calum and the father bowed to each other, the girl waving at him as she walked off, Calum smiled softly and waved back.

"You aren't much of a rock star, they were supposed to be jumping from lover to lover, excessively drinking and have drunken lecherous behaviours," Zakuro announced as she walked up next to him, "Although you seem to have the lecherous part down pat though," She teased him. Calum laughed before he turned to Zakuro.

"It's good to break away from the norm, to be an individual sometimes. I don't want to follow that path…" Calum then smirked, "What about you little miss model? Sleeping with a boy, on a lounge at his house, skipping school for it even. How scandalous!" He covered his smirk with his hand, looking down on Zakuro. Zakuro eyebrow twitched and she shot him a warning glance.

"Falling asleep next to a boy from exhaustion is much different from actually having sex with a boy," Zakuro jibed.

"You sleep from exhaustion from either one, so it's similar in a certain way," Calum teased.

"Yeah, yeah. Then you slept with your mother before you were born," Zakuro threw back his own words. Calum stopped dead, covering his mouth as if he was about to puke. He spun around and gained his composure back.

"Hey Zakuro, I didn't know you had finished yet," Calum said, a naïve smile painted on his face. Zakuro rolled her eyes, face palming herself before she started to walk out the door.

"Don't pretend that we never had this conversation just because I won," Zakuro hissed. Calum followed her, letting a defeated silence wrap around him before he sighed.

"Anyway, Zakuro, have you had anymore dreams?" Calum asked. Zakuro stopped, the glances of several people went unnoticed as Zakuro's mind went back into the heavy fog.

"No, nothing last night… I just woke up a little tired but…" Zakuro trailed off, slumping against a brick wall. Her opaline eyes casted off to the side, their unusually dark colour almost reflecting the internal conflicting thoughts, the deep fog that consumed her. Calum sighed as he looked at the downcast Zakuro yet she looked beautiful, her long locks spilling on her shoulders and the shin-length dress fluttering around. Calum softly patted the top of her head, she flinched at the action however the long strokes of his large hand felt nice, comforting even. She wanted him to control patting her, comforting her. She relaxed herself at his gentle touch and he smiled at her.

"Hey, cheer up, let's go out somewhere together," Calum proposed. Zakuro looked at him confused and Calum grabbed her hand before she said a word and he led her down the street.

"Wait! Wait! Where are we going?" Zakuro asked as she was tugged along. Calum glanced back happily at her.

"To our special place!" Calum called back. Zakuro looked at him, his vague words only confusing her more. She gave up, letting her body run along side Calum instead of being dragged along.

She shut her confusions and uncertainties in the corner of her mind, just letting her enjoyment break through. She took in everything, from every scent and every sound, letting herself savour this moment. Everyday she was plagued by the fog, her work and school, right now though it was washed away momentarily. Her legs powered forward, every muscle tissue working in her legs to propel her forward and it felt amazing to Zakuro, creating a wonderful, adrenaline-like tremble along her skin. Zakuro couldn't hold back a smile as she ran through the streets of Tokyo, not caring who looked at her and Calum, whoever may make up rumours or may be following her. She felt as if she was nothing but a normal schoolgirl…

The cool air that brushed passed her cheek burned slightly yet it tingled her heart, nostalgia smacking her hard as she ran through Tokyo. It felt like she had done this before yet something was missing. Her brain pulled up an image that Zakuro hadn't seen before yet she was easily lost inside of it. She pictured herself running under the cover of darkness, nothing but stars watching over her and the pale moon providing her with enough light to run around her territory. The light spilled onto the pavement and on top of buildings and created long shadows for Zakuro to hide in, while she scanned for any intruders. She had to search, to make sure there were no strangers in her land so she could protect herself and the pack.

Calum then halted in front of his father's sandstone church, his shoulders heaving as he caught his breath. Zakuro skidded to a halt, her eyes opening wide as that picture disappeared and her uncertainties flew back, flogging her mind viciously as her previous thoughts echoed around her mind.

'Protect? Intruders? Pack? What is wrong with me…?' Zakuro thought as Calum led her into the church. 'Why did that feel so nostalgic?' Zakuro added to her thoughts as Calum turned to her, her hand still within his as he bowed, leaning forward to kiss her hand. Zakuro jumped at it, his lips felt warm yet she could feel the tough hairs of his stubble, creating a juxtaposition sensation on her hand.

"Come here whenever you need guidance Zakuro. I'll be waiting,"

"This is terrible!" Lettuce wailed, her hands clamped around the broom as she sunk to the ground.

"Terrible! Terrible!" Masha remarked as his eyes read through the article at a superhuman speed.

"I told you that we had to be careful about our actions," Mint said as she sipped her tea, looking down at the newspaper in front of her.

"Yeah your one to talk, what about the other day?" Ichigo jibed, Mint frowned and snorted.

"There are times when our animal instincts control us," Mint sniffed, crossing her arms, "Anyway, you know what happened with that!" Mint pointed out, Ichigo shrunk back at this comment.

"I'm sorry Mint," Ichigo apologised, "I didn't mean to…" Ichigo trailed off, "How is Seiji-san?" Ichigo asked. Mint relaxed and gazed up at the ceiling.

"He recovered enough to leave this morning for Aquis Washington… I won't see him for a whole year…" Mint trailed off.

"He better not utter about the Mew Project," Ryou cut in. Ichigo shot him a warning, her blood boiling as she jumped to Mint's defence.

"He promised to keep it a secret, I trust him…" Mint replied to Ryou.

"Yeah! He is a nice gentleman unlike you," Ichigo sniffed, "Lousy pervert," She hissed under her breath. Ryou's forehead furrowed as Ichigo's comment buried deep inside, eating away at his pride like a parasite. He bit on his lip, hoping the pain would distract him when a little voice popped up.

"Ichigo-san… Shirogane-san is just helping us, he has us and our mission in mind. He didn't mean it like that…" Lettuce jumped to protect him. Ichigo and Mint stopped and looked down at their fragile little friend.

'Did she just…' Mint thought

'Jump to Shirogane's defence?' Ichigo finished the thought Mint and she both had. Mint jumped up, prying Lettuce's hands from the broom she was clutching and dragged her to the hall, leaving Ichigo and Ryou stunned in the main room.

"What just happened?" Ryou muttered, missing the significance of that statement, making Ichigo's rage boil again.

"Lettuce, did something happen that day you stayed behind to finish closing the café?" Mint whispered to her when they were out of Ryou's range of hearing. Lettuce's eyes widened as her mind flashed back to Ryou's soft yet strong body crushing into hers, specifically her breasts and how his heart beats pounded against hers. Even though it wasn't a sexual act at all, for the reserved Lettuce, it was close enough for her. A blush ran across her cheeks as her memories resurfaced and she glanced away from Mint's harsh gaze.

"No-nothing at all," She stuttered but this reaction made Mint smile.

"I think something did happen… Something between you and Ryo-" Lettuce slapped her hands over Mint's mouth, muffling her words.

"Min-mint-san!" Lettuce wailed.

'What if Shirogane-san hears us!' Lettuce thought, her blood running through her body, her emotions creating amuck and causing her feelers to pop up the top of her head. They tangled around her and Mint's body as Hitomi walked down from the changing room on the second floor. She glanced over the railing to find Mint trying to rip herself from Lettuce's death-like grip on her mouth. Lettuce's body was trembling slightly from nervousness, her hands beginning to become clammy as Mint continued to struggle.

'Why do I get the feeling this isn't going to end well?' Hitomi thought. Keiichiro walked down from his room on the third floor, carrying a bunch of newspapers and magazines when he came across Hitomi who was watching something down in the hallway, sweat dropping at something occurring downstairs.

"Hitomi-san what's the mat-" Keiichiro started when voices interrupted him.

"WAHH! Kyaa!" Lettuce and Mint both yelled as they toppled over to the ground, their bodies crashing into the hard wooden floor.

Ichigo, whose cat ears were flattened down, her fur sticking up as she glared defiantly at Ryou, who was on the edge of his ears appearing as well stopped their argument that Masha had been trying to stop and ran to the hallway, where Ryou halted, his eyes widening at the sight before him. He covered his nose as blood began to swell to it. Lettuce was laying on top of Mint's body, her legs splaying out in a way that it showed off all of her curves and unfortunately, the skirt had flipped to reveal the bloomers.

'Luckily Keiichiro got us those things, otherwise it would have been a lot worse for Lettuce' Ichigo thought as Lettuce pushed herself up.

"I'm so so sorry! Sorry! Mint-san, are you okay?" Lettuce blubbered as she sat over Mint.

"Girls, I know you want to attract more guys here… however please don't resort to Yuri tactics…" Keiichiro lightly joked.

"You know, that would work… Yet we would get even more girls here…" Hitomi sighed as Lettuce and Mint both blushed.

"We weren't doing that!" They both screamed as the front door of the café slammed open.

"Pudding is here na no da!" Pudding happily said as she skipped through the main room and stopped dead in the hallway to find everyone. She looked at the sweat dropping Keiichiro and Hitomi, then to the embarrassed Mint and Lettuce and then to Lettuce's exposed bloomers.

"Lettuce Onee-chan! I can see your bloomers na no da!" Pudding called out innocently. Lettuce let out a high-pitch click as she stood up, pulling her skirt down as she jumped up. She glanced back behind her, her body still trembling a little as s thick blush painted her face.

"D-d-d-did you see them?" She muttered and with that Ryou unleashed his nosebleed, falling to the ground as a blush touched his cheeks.

'So-so goddamn cute!' He thought as Ichigo hissed, her tail appearing in a few seconds. She growled at Ryou, whose nosebleed continued, painting the wooden floor.

"YOU PERVERT!" She screamed as her nails turned into claws.

"Pervert!" Masha cried out, not understanding the word though before he looked back at his owner, "Ichigo! Tail! Ears!" Masha fluttered around her, yet his words didn't register in Ichigo's mind.

"Hitomi-san… Can you please subdue them for me?" Keiichiro leaned over, whispering into her ear. Hitomi sighed and pulled out two bouncy balls that she won from an arcade machine and the old bell.

"Just give me a second," Hitomi sighed, "Balls for Pudding and Lettuce, bell for the little kittens and the bird," She murmured as she walked down the remaining steps.

"Now that I have your attention," Keiichiro said, an innocent smile on his lips and Hitomi pulled away the bell from Ichigo and Mint, who were watching it, entranced by it. They both snapped out of it and they glanced away, embarrassed at their actions, "Can we discuss this please before we open?," Keiichiro said as he pulled out several papers and magazines. He flicked to pages that were filled with old battlefields and blurred photos. The Mews looked through them, locating the battlefields and the corresponding Chimera Anima for it.

"So they are onto us already…." Ryou mused while he flicked through the number of pages.

"What about the new article?" Hitomi said, "In today's daily paper," Keiichiro picked it out of the pile and passed it to her.

"Mysterious girl – Dark Menace?" Hitomi read out the headline, "Footage from a surveillance camera as captured images of a strange girl, travelling the city at amazingly fast speeds every night at two a.m.," Hitomi read aloud, "That where I was last night!" Hitomi said, setting the article down. She pointed to a dark, fussy still photograph of the footage. It was a figure, slim and with long hair however that was all the girls could make out in the poor quality image.

"So that's the final Onee-chan na no da?" Pudding said as she sat on Lettuce's lap. Lettuce looked down at the articles in front of her, avoiding eye contact with Ryou, who was copying her, both of them acting like a couple after an awkward one-night-stand. Mint looked at them, holding back a smile as she looked at a model magazine where there was a side column article on the zoo incident. She turned to page, looking at previews for a model's photobook.

'Zakuro Fujiwara – Aquis Japan's top model' Mint squirmed as she read the page when something caught her eye. She stopped, looking at a image of the model who was laying on a deep red lounge, her exposed legs stretched out and the tight fitting short shorts and low-cut shirt showing of her voluptuous body and her beautiful hair sitting along her back. Mint snatched up the newspaper and compared the two images together.

'Their curves, the body structure and the length of hair… It both fits!' Mint thought, her eyes widening as her heart began to flutter like a butterfly.

"No! NO WAY! Pichi!" Mint chirped, stepping back from her chair. Pudding jumped up and looked the two images.

"Aha!" Pudding exclaimed, ripping the images out of the pages and showing them to the others. "The body shape and structure, length and style of hair and overall body size fits perfectly! This is our last Onee-chan!" Pudding declared.

"Zakuro Fujiwara the model!" Ichigo gawked, "How?"

"I can't believe it! Oh course it had to be her!" Mint exclaimed, "She is so bold, so independent and a strong, powerful figure in entertainment yet she will be all of that on the battlefield. Strong, easily dispatching Chimera Animas without breaking a sweat. She'll look so elegant as Mew Zakuro!" Mint squealed. Hitomi and Ichigo they looked at her, disbelief painted on their face.

"She is acting like a fan girl…?" Hitomi murmured as Ryou shrugged his shoulders.

"Who's Zakuro Fujiwara?" Ryou asked.

"What! Pichi!" Mint stormed up to Ryou and looked at him harshly, "Zakuro Fujiwara Onee-sama is one of Aquis Japan's best models and she is an up coming actress! She is a strong and positive role model for all young girls! She can speak English, Japanese, Chinese, German and French! She is independent and escaped her horrible parents to live with her uncle and follow her dream of being a fashion model and perfect idol of the world!" Mint ranted to Ryou as Hitomi cradled her forehead.

"Hitomi, you look up to Mint because of her status and her ballet ability right? So you are a fan girl in some form right?" Ichigo whispered in Hitomi's ear, "I take all of that back, that," She said, pointing at Mint, who was still ranting about Zakuro's elegance, "That, is a fan girl,"

"I know," Hitomi replied, a bit to harshly as her eyebrow twitched.

"So, even rich girls like Mint can be fan girls?" Ryou laughed. Mint pouted before her tail popped out. She pulled her skirt down to hide it before she scowled at Ryou.

"You're wrong! Zakuro Onee-sama is different from those idols and models! She is strong, not depending on stunts to gain popularity! She uses pure talent!" Mint blubbered at Ryou. He just nodded his head and then he glanced over at Keiichiro, exchanging glances with him.

"So how do we get to Zakuro-san?" Lettuce asked out aloud. Ichigo and Hitomi shrugged and Mint glanced back at the desk, her eyes scanning through the article.

"The agency she is contracted with right now is Irieh Pro, maybe we could go there?" Mint said.

"Pudding can get us in with this na no da," Pudding said, pulling out a small silk bag. She dug through it and pulled out a small incense stick, "This is a secret incense created in central Aquis China, deep in the mountains na no da. It is a type of inhaled sedative. It allows you to get by your enemies so you and quietly ki-"

"Why do you have those things?" Ichigo asked as Pudding gave her the incense.

"Wait! There's a modeling audition! We could do that and approach her there!" Lettuce said.

"Good one Lettuce!" Ichigo cheered, hugging Lettuce and slipping the incense into her uniform's pocket. Lettuce glanced down as the girls swept around her, cheering her and planning their procedure to infiltrate the Irieh Pro building. Ryou walked over to Keiichiro, leaning against the wall as Keiichiro warmly watched over them.

"They are getting used to their new duties aren't they?" Keiichiro said as he walked over to open up the café. Ryou smiled and walked off to the kitchen, picking up the papers before he left.

'I hope they are getting used to it and starting to get serious about this… Something big will eventually happen…' Ryou thought. He flicked through he paper to the front page. There was a picture of the trashed Central Library of Aquis Japan. The front of the building was smash, broken apart and rubble littered the ground around it. Ryou frowned as he read the article, there was an attack on the library but no one or no real evidence was found.

"Something big is happening… Isn't there?" Ryou said aloud, "What are they up to?"

"I can't find her!" Kish yelled as he teleported into the base. Sasujiro stopped, pausing his experiment on a newly hatched Para Para and turned to Kish.

"You checked the park? The city?" He asked and Kish nodded quickly. His body trembled slightly as thoughts popped up into his head.

"What if they found her? What if she did something stupid?" Kish asked, his voice getting more and more hysterical. Sasujiro blinked at this and placed down the Para para.

"I've never seen you like this Kish. You are merciless in battle but to our own kind… You're a normal being…"

"Yeah… The Mews and humans are my toys bu-" He trailed off, "That isn't important… Ah! Her communicator!" Kish ran off to the sleeping quarters to pick up his communicator.

"You didn't even check the communicator first?" Sasujiro echoed his thoughts, "You'll find her easy now… She'll be fine, she isn't dumb…" Sasujiro said quietly and continued his experiment.

"Keeki-chan? Keeki-chan? Come in!" Kish's anxious voice sounded out of the dented communicator. One of the small screens was cracked, blacking out half of the screen. The circular device sat in a narrow alleyway, large dumpsters clogging the pathway. The concrete was cracked, warped by continuous heating of the sun and eaten away by water that collects in the alley. Old, run-down apartments stood tall on both sides, yet all windows were blocked, not a single inhabitant wanting to look at the godforsaken alleyway. Dried blood dribbled up the concrete and led towards a small space in between two dumpsters where a body slumped forward. Beside a bare foot was a few dried bloody, golden gun pellets. The small figure moved slightly, her chest rising slowly from swallow breaths. Her mossy green hoodie jumper was stained with dust and deep red blood. Paru cooed softly, nudging the girl's neck, feeling a steady pulse. Keeki opened her hazy golden eyes and casted a glance at the communicator.

"Huh… They're back now?" She murmured. Paru nudged her, looking at the communicator. Keeki picked it up and clicked on it.

"Kish…" She tried to bite passed the pain that surged through her body, throbbing at the bullet wounds in her stomach and shoulder. She tried to put on her normal voice as best she could, "What's up?"

"Thank god! I was worried that you were gone!" Kish heaved a sigh, weight lifted from him at the sound of her voice. A few seconds of silence passed by before Kish piped up again, "I got you those books you wanted on our history… I put them in your quarters," Kish reported.

"Ah…Thank you Kish…" She hissed quietly, "I'll be back at night, I got to finish… this study…." Keeki lied but Kish took it.

"Okay, see you then," Kish said and hung up. Keeki then dropped the communicator down on the ground, her arm burning in pain from the action.

Her muscle tissue was burnt and torn in her left shoulder, sending electric shots of pain along her arm even when she lifted a finger. It felt as if someone was dragging a blade through her flesh, trembling through every muscles and every tissue of her body. She shrugged, holding her stomach as another wave of pain surged up her body, creating a whirlpool at her bullet wounds, sucking in every bit of spiking pain and heat. She heaved a breath, a sweat breaking out on her forehead and under her arms. Paru cooed again in an electric chirp, pressing its cold, moist body against her burning skin.

"God help us Paru… God help us…" Keeki mourned as she lazed back on the cool dumpster.

Zoey Hoshi: I should have gotten this out sooner! I'm sorry!

Ryou: You went from normal, light-hearted fluff to a heavy and mysterious ending? That's a cock-tease! What the hell

Zoey Hoshi: Hehehhe… That what all writers do right? Anyway, I promise to get the next chapter up sooner!