Hi everyone! My junior year began this past Thursday, and here's a chapter to celebrate because education. So, I hope you enjoy this chapter and hopefully I'll be able to get out another one sometime in the near future!
Also, just a note, I made a mistake in the previous chapter. I accidentally called Lettuce's teacher by his given name, not his surname. I fixed that in this chapter, so it's the same person just this time it's all proper and stuff.
Chapter Twenty-Nine:
Lettuce sighed as she walked through the stacks of the library. She wished that she could feel like her life was finally getting back to normal, that she could be happier. Now that Mini-Mew was back with her and safe, that she and Ryou had made peace with each other, that she and Zakuro had more or less cleared the air between them, and at that moment in her favorite place in the city.
But still, she felt like something was still off. She couldn't put her finger on it, though.
She didn't have to go to the Café that afternoon. Kisshu apparently hadn't taken the defeat well when the girls rescued Mini-Mew, and had taken his anger out on Tokyo every day for the past week. Lettuce could only imagine that his anger kept growing as the Chimera's kept falling. Keiichiro announced a mental health holiday for everyone, which everyone gladly accepted. Mint had ballet anyways, and Ichigo managed to snag Aoyama for an afternoon out. Zakuro said she was going to go home and sleep. And heaven only knew what Pudding was going to do.
So Lettuce was perfectly happy to stay at the library all day long and read.
And then she recognized Endomurasaki-San.
It had taken her completely by surprise, seeing him as soon as she walked out of one aisle of books. She had gasped and jumped and hid, though she didn't know why.
Then she poked her head out, her heart pounding.
He sat there, reading. She couldn't tell what, though, only knew that he was deeply engrossed in it and completely comfortable.
She didn't know why she was so surprised to see him. She had seen him at the library before. She had seen him only two hours previously, when he stood at the front of her classroom.
She didn't know how long she stood there, but she jumped at hearing someone say,
"Is something the matter?"
Lettuce turned to see the young librarian, looking at her in concern.
"Oh, um, no, nothing, gomen-nasai," She said softly with a bow. With that, Lettuce scurried off, cheeks red.
She found herself making excuses to herself to wander over to where Endomurasaki-San was reading. She felt excited every time, and a little giddy. Was it simply because she was hiding? That she knew he couldn't see her? She didn't know but scolded herself for it regardless. Still, she would just wander over after reading a few pages of her own book.
And then she tried to get a book. She had promised herself it would be the last one for the day. That she'd make her selections and check them out and go home. But this was on the top shelf. She was just short enough that she couldn't reach it even standing on her toes. She was about to give up and in search of a footstool when…
"Here."
Lettuce froze as an arm reached up in front of her and grabbed the book.
She turned and saw, handing the book out towards her, was Endomurasaki-San.
She turned scarlet as he asked,
"Did I grab the right one?"
It wasn't. But Lettuce took it anyway, very flustered, and thanked him with a bow.
"You're Midorikawa-San, right?" Endomurasaki-San said. Lettuce nodded. "I thought I recognized you when I saw you in class, from the day you were in here with your friends. It was one of the reasons why at that time I asked if you went to Okumura. I thought I recognized the uniform from when I went to sign paperwork." He paused, and then said, "Actually, Midorikawa-San, will you come over and talk with me for a few minutes?"
Lettuce felt herself blushing from head to toe, but nodded and followed Endomurasaki-San. He sat down in a reading nook, much like a restaurant booth, and encouraged her to sit beside him. He reached into his bag and pulled out a stack of essays.
"Your Sensei left these with me before he went on his vacation," He explained. "He thought that reading the most recent essays of you and your classmates would help me in grading the work I assign you."
He showed Lettuce her own paper, marked with a 97 in red ink.
"This is a very good paper, Midorikawa-San," Endomurasaki-San said. "You're eloquent and concise. You know what you want to say and make it all work. It is a wonderful paper."
Lettuce's blush deepened as she squeaked out a 'thank you'.
"Actually," He said. "All four of your essays were wonderful."
Lettuce's blush quickly disappeared and her face paled.
"I… I don't know what you mean, Sensei," She said, stuttering some.
He then pulled out the Ayas' papers. They were all marked in red-ink as well, very high numbers like her own.
"You wrote all four of these, didn't you?" He asked.
Lettuce looked at her lap.
"No," She lied in a whisper. "But… But I did help them some. We… we worked on these together, a study group, bouncing ideas off each other."
"It's okay. You can be honest. I won't get you into trouble, nor the other girls. But I would like to have the truth. Did you write these?"
Lettuce bit her lip, still looking at her lap, and nodded.
"They are amazing," Endomurasaki-San said. "You wrote four completely different essays, all high-mark worthy, and with approaching the topic in four different ways. I am incredibly impressed. You look at all the angles of the story, all the different themes, and picked four to write about. It's clear that the one you put your own name on is your favorite. Do you plan to study literature when you go to college?"
"I… I haven't thought that far, really," Lettuce mumbled, both basking in the praise and feeling embarrassed. "But, how did you know?"
"Because I read the essays that your friends wrote this week. They are definitely not by the same people."
Lettuce was quiet, then Endomurasaki spoke again.
"Midorikawa, I promise, you won't get in trouble. I'll make sure of it. Do you do this for the other subjects?"
"Everything except P.E. and art," Lettuce mumbled. "I just help them a little, I promise."
"And that's fine, but what I'm seeing isn't," Endomurasaki said. "Midorikawa-San, it isn't helping the other girls, your friends, if you do their assignments for them. They need to learn this material. They'll need this information to pass their tests and graduate. And you need to be able to take credit for your own work, and they for theirs."
"I… I know," Lettuce said. And she did. She knew it deep in her heart and mind. But she didn't dare voice it to the Ayas, lest they dump her. That was more or less how their 'friendship' began, when after they noticed all the high marks she was getting in their first year, offering to let her into their circle if she helped them with their homework. She had rapidly agreed and didn't say a word when 'helping' turned into 'doing the work for them'. She told Endomurasaki-San that, feeling utterly humiliated.
"I see," Endomurasaki-San said with a nod. "But, please forgive me for saying such, these girls are not your friends if that is how they treat you. You shouldn't have to win their favor by doing that sort of thing for them. If you want to be their friend, a true friend to these girls, someone who wants to see them succeed, you need to say no."
"But then I won't have friends," Lettuce said before she could stop herself, finally moving her gaze up.
Endomurasaki-San frowned.
"Are they really your only friends?" He asked.
"My only friends at school," Lettuce admitted. "I'm very close with my coworkers at my part-time job."
"Midorikawa, I can't tell you who to hang out with, or who to be friends with." Endomurasaki-San said. "I am only going to be part of your life for a few more days. We might never see each other again after that."
Lettuce hoped not and her heart momentarily stopped at the thought before Endomurasaki continued to speak.
"But I do want you to be happy. And this can't be making you happy."
"Why do you care?" Lettuce asked before she could stop herself, and it sounded much more rude than she had intended.
"Because the first time we met, you had your arms full of dieting books," He said. "You said it was for a project."
"It is," Lettuce argued weakly.
"If I asked your science teacher, or your P.E. teacher, would they say it was for a project they assigned?"
"It's more of a personal project," Lettuce said.
"Midorikawa," Endomurasaki said, looking very serious. "I've taken an interest in you. You're bright, very intelligent, and a very pretty young woman. You're well-spoken and have a wonderful future in front of you, no matter what you decide to do with it."
Lettuce turned scarlet at that. But before she could thank him, he added something else.
"And you remind me of a friend of mine."
Lettuce blinked.
"I… I do?" She whispered.
Endomurasaki nodded.
"I met her in college," He said. "And she was, frankly, bullied by people who she called 'friends'. These so-called friends had a lot of the same behavior, making her earn their friendship, having her do their work. And one made her feel so self-conscious about her body and made her try to change herself drastically. Because of that girl's comments, she lost a lot of weight. Too much, actually, and she became sick because of it. She also became depressed, especially when the her friends abandoned her when she became too depressed to help them. The bullying became much more direct after that, and she tried to commit suicide."
"Did she?" Lettuce asked, eyes wide and sad as she studied Endomurasaki's distressed expression.
"No. This was before I met her, when she was in high school. She tried to overdose herself on medication, and it didn't work. Her mother found her and got her help." Endomurasaki gently reached out and touched a book on the table. "Her literature teacher brought her a gift, a book, while she was recovering. She had loved books, but stopped reading when her depression became so overwhelming. That book saved her, though. It made her realize that she had more to live for. So, after she graduated high school, she went to University, becoming a literature major. She still suffers from depression, but she is definitely much happier now. She's working on becoming a librarian with a full Master's degree, and found a lot of really good friends in college."
Master's degree? To be a librarian? Lettuce thought, but then tucked that information into the back of her brain.
"I often wonder what she would have been like, before I met her, back in middle school. I think you'd be very much like her," Endomurasaki said in conclusion. "And she is a wonderful friend and amazing person. But I don't want you to go down the same path she did. It nearly killed her, and the world needs a lot more people like her. People like you. Maybe one day, I can introduce you to her."
"That sounds nice," Lettuce said with a shy smile.
"Then I'll do my best to make it happen," Endomurasaki-San said, returning the smile. "So, tell me, what kind of books do you like?"
"W-Well, novels," Lettuce stammered out, feeling a bit embarrassed again and her gaze fell to her lap once more. "Classics. And I like some British novels, like Jane Austen and the Brontës. But also Harry Potter."
"Who doesn't like Harry Potter? Do you have any particular favorite?"
"Endomurasaki-Sensei," Lettuce said, jerking her head up and pretending to look scandalized. "That would be like asking a mother to pick her favorite child!"
Endomurasaki-San laughed and agreed.
"You're right," He said. "I can't pick a favorite, either. It's just one of those questions you ask. What else? Surely you read some of the more modern, romance stuff aimed at teenage girls."
Lettuce blushed and muttered, "On the occasion."
"Nothing wrong with that. Reading is reading, and you should read whatever you like, whatever makes you happy."
"What do you read that makes you happy?" Lettuce asked.
"This is going to sound nerdy, but manga. Not the pervy stuff with a lot of fan-service, though." Endomurasaki-San added quickly. "Well-drawn, well-plotted manga. Though, to be honest, stuff like Astro Boy and Doremon is my weakness. And really good when I need a laugh or to relax."
"I never really got into manga, or anime," Lettuce admitted. "But my younger brother loves both. But, I think my favorite kind of books are photo collections."
"Photo collections?" Endomurasaki-San repeated.
Lettuce nodded.
"My parents have collected a lot of photo books over the years, and each one is of pictures from some far off place. Like Ireland, Italy and India. Beaches and towns and forests. They're really cool. I've never been to any of those places, but I feel so relaxed looking at them. They make me feel like I'm really there."
"Ah," Endomurasaki-San said with a smile.
Lettuce turned to face him again and asked,
"Am I weird for that?"
"No, not at all," Endomurasaki said with a small laugh. "That's why books exist. To take the reader to places they've never been before. A different time or place. You've found what speaks to you, and that is an amazing thing."
Lettuce smiled at that. For the first time ever, she had found someone who enjoyed books like she did, shared the same passion that she did.
She didn't realize how good it would feel to have found that person.
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A week had passed since that day, and Lettuce made sure she found the time to stop by the library for a few minutes every day before work. After school, Endomurasaki went directly there, and Lettuce almost always ended up walking in right behind him. They often found each other, and after a few days she was happy to have Endomurasaki come looking for her. They would go and sit and talk, discussing books. She didn't dare talk to him at school. He was already fawned over by the girls in her class, and no one was particularly distressed when they learned that Norhiro-Sensei would be with them a little longer, as their usual Sensei had to extend his absence due to a family emergency.
And, she liked being with him when there were no other students around. She greatly enjoyed her time with him.
And, she was starting to think that she liked him. Really liked him. Liked him in a way that a student should not like a teacher, that someone who was her age should not have liked someone his age.
She had never connected with anyone. It was brilliant, and beautiful, and though she wondered if it was wrong, she didn't want it to stop.
She began to wonder if this is what love is.
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"What are you doing?" Pie demanded as he came up on Kisshu, who had a wide grin on his face as he focused on something.
"Waiting," Kisshu answered.
Pie frowned. Kisshu wasn't good at waiting. He hated it. So why was he grinning like that?
"What for?" He asked, feeling as if he'd regret doing so.
"Come here and take a look for yourself," Kish said. Pie grimaced but came to step beside Kisshu. He blinked as he studied the projection in the air. It was of a white room with a desk with a large, heart-shaped mirror on top and a plush stool in front of it. There were also benches, and a wall lined with colored metal cabinets. There were five of these cabinets, one green, one blue, one pink, one yellow and one purple.
Why do those colors seem very familiar? He wondered. Then he squinted a bit and saw that there were names on them.
Then he realized what that room was. Or, more accurately, where.
"That is the Mew Mew's headquarters," Pie said. "How are we looking into the Mew Mew's headquarters?"
"I made a Chimera in the shape of an insect called a fly. There's apparently a human figure of speech, 'fly on the wall', and that's what this is. It's giving live visual and audio feed right now." Kish said proudly.
Pie didn't want to admit that it was genius. But it was. And it wasn't something Pie thought Kish would do. To some extent, he was proud. Kish actually was taking this seriously.
And then he ruined it.
"More importantly, this room is called a 'locker room', where the Mews will change into those dresses as part of their disguise." Kish said, his grin growing wider.
Pie now understood why Kish was so happy to wait
"Kisshu," Pie growled, shoving the boy aside, taking control of the panel that he knew had to be what moved the Chimera. "Have you no decency?"
"What?" Kish said innocently. "Come on, even you can admit, they're kind of attractive, despite being humans. Especially that Mew Ichigo."
"That does not mean you should spy on them like this," Pie snapped. "This is a very good idea, for actually defeating them. Not appealing to your raging hormones."
"Oh, come on," Kish groaned. "Don't be a stick in the mud. You know you wanna see them too."
"I do not," Pie said, fingers going over the controls. "That is the last thing I want to see."
Kish was quiet for a minute, which should have made Pie suspicious.
"So it's true then?" Kish said. "What everyone says."
"What is true?" Pie demanded.
"That you're into guys, not girls."
Pie paused and turned to Kisshu with a glare.
"Who," He said in a snarl. "Has been saying such things?"
"Yuzu," Kish responded.
Pie growled. He should have known. His so-called best friend was an idiot who simply spoke whatever came to his mind, whether it was true or not, and it usually only led to trouble. Pie was still amazed the boy could speak around the foot in his mouth. And Pie was usually the one who suffered, more so than the other two members of their little group of friends, Pie's twin sister Rindou and a girl named Vanilla.
"I am not attracted to males," Pie said through gritted teeth, knowing that this was something that Yuzu knew for a fact.
"But you don't want to look at five rather pretty girls while they are in a state of, how should we say, undress?"
"No, because they are only that. Girls. Mew Pudding has to be around Taruto's age. The remaining four cannot be much older. Furthermore, whether they are the enemy or not, this is not something they deserve. To spy on them like that is wrong, and undeserving no matter what they may do to hinder our progress."
"So let me get this straight, you're all for invading their planet, but privacy is a no-no?"
"Earth is not their planet. It is ours," Pie snapped. "Do not forget that. And besides, as I said, Mew Pudding is only Taruto's age. Mew Zakuro is probably closer to my own age with the rest closer to your age. Just as Rin and Rirī are. If this were reverse, a human spying on our sisters as you are trying to do with the Mews, you would be filled with righteous fury. Someone would be dead before the day was over."
"Got that right," Kish said, lips tight when he thought about that scenario. He silently gave in to Pie's side of the argument. Some mysteries and fantasies would have to stay as they were. For the time being at least. "But, just to set the record straight—oh, hey, there's a pun—you do like girls, right?"
"Kisshu, it does not matter." Pie said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "What matters is our mission."
"Yeah, okay, fine, but if you do like girls, then why haven't you ever shown that? To, like, anyone? Yuuka Topaz definitely would like that."
"I could not care less about what Yuuka Topaz would like," Pie snapped.
"She's made it clear what she likes."
Agonizingly so. Pie did not understand why the girl had decided she was in love with himself, as he did not reciprocate any sort of affection for her, a point he had tried many times to get across to her. She was either very stupid or very stubborn. More likely, she was some dangerous combination, like Kisshu. And Topaz wasn't the only female that expressed an interest in him, but Pie never found anyone that he was interested in.
He was actually fairly sure that it did not matter. Male or female, he had never been attracted to anyone. He doubted he ever would.
"I think you should care less about my romantic life, or lack thereof, and focus more on your attack on the Mews. It has been some time since your last Chimera attack, has it not?" Pie turned to Kish and raised his own wrist, showing the metal cuff there. "We would hate for Deep Blue to punish you as well for your lack of results."
Kish frowned and teleported away with a scoff, leaving Pie alone. Pie let out a sigh and turned back to the Chimera controls. Now, this could still be useful… If he could get some information that Kisshu or Taruto couldn't…
He carefully maneuvered the Chimera into what he understood to be the main dining room of Café Mew Mew. He would start here and hope that it was not in vain.
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Lettuce also found that she was so much happier than she had been before the daily trips to the library began. She was so calm at work even at its craziest, even if a bit distracted. Ichigo and Mint could have an argument right in front of her and all she did was smile. Pudding nearly set a customer on fire and Lettuce just put it out, as calm and cheerful as could be.
All four girls started getting the sneaking suspicion that their leader was in love. And they were fairly sure they all knew who the boy was. Zakuro had a small smile every time she saw Lettuce, glad that everything had worked out for the girl and Ryou. Happy for the both of them.
That night, Lettuce wiped off the table, humming to herself, barely even noticing Ichigo coming up behind her.
"Lettuce-Chan, what's up? You look so happy." Ichigo said. "What's got you smiling like that?"
"Eh?" Lettuce said, looking up at her friend, still smiling. "Oh, nothing. Nothing at all."
Ichigo didn't buy it for a second and just smiled back.
"Something nice must have happened," She said. "I don't think I've ever seen you so happy."
"Oh, no," Lettuce lied easily behind her happy smile. "Nothing really. Same old, same old."
She had her eyes closed as she smiled, still daydreaming, so she didn't realize see the mischievous look in Ichigo's eye as she said,
"Perhaps, you got a boyfriend?"
Lettuce's smile dropped and she recoiled backwards, face turning red as she stammered out a response, waving her arms out in front of her as if to ward off Ichigo from coming any closer to her.
"N-No! That's not it at all! I-I mean, uh, um, uh."
Ichigo's grin grew and her kitty ears popped out as she said,
"You have, haven't you?"
"I-I mean," Lettuce stammered, her eyes becoming wide. "It's not that he's my boyfriend or anything."
With a whimper of defeat, Lettuce clamped her mouth shut, knowing she was just further incriminating herself.
But it was enough for Ichigo.
"So it's true!" She exclaimed. "Lettuce-Chan, you've found a boyfr-"
The last of Ichigo's statement was cut off when Lettuce grabbed the redhead's shoulders and began to shake her.
"Ichigo-San, please!" She begged.
"What?" Ichigo asked, freeing herself from Lettuce and studying her. Lettuce put a finger to her lips.
"Between you and me!" She whispered fiercely. Or, as fierce as she could manage.
Ichigo started to laugh, and Lettuce awkwardly joined in. It distracted her enough because Ichigo turned around and yelled,
"Everyone! Guess what? We were right! Lettuce-Chan has a boyfriend!"
"I SAID BETWEEN YOU AND ME!" Lettuce yelled as she leaped for Ichigo, trying to cover the cat-girl's mouth, but it was too late.
She was suddenly being descended upon by the very happy well-wishers who wanted to know everything. In the kitchen, Keiichiro simply smiled as he continued to clean up from a day's worth of baking. So Ryou had finally confessed to her, had he? And now they were dating. It was about time. He was rather happy for the both of them. It definitely explained Lettuce's sudden change of mood.
"We're so happy for you, na no da!" Pudding said as she hugged Lettuce from behind. "Are you madly in love with each other, na no da?"
"Of course they are, Pudding," Mint said matter-of-factly.
"Yeah, it's only been obvious that he's liked Lettuce for, like, ever!" Ichigo said.
"Wait, who are you talking about?" Lettuce asked with a frown, turning to Ichigo.
"Shirogane-San, of course," Ichigo said with a smirk. Her expression fell when she saw Lettuce's face. "Lettuce-Chan, what's wrong?"
"Th-There's been some mistake," Lettuce said, turning red. "Shirogane-San and I… we, we aren't dating. He's not my boyfriend. This is someone else."
Keiichiro paused, having heard everything despite Lettuce's voice growing soft. He listened intently.
Lettuce looked up at the surprised faces staring at her. She bit her lip.
"I'm… I'm sorry," She said, looking down at the floor again.
"You don't have to apologize," Zakuro said. "We should be the ones to do so, for jumping to conclusions."
"We just thought that, well, um," Ichigo started. "Well, never mind. But there is a boy?"
Lettuce nodded.
"Do we know him?" Mint asked. Lettuce shook her head. "So, what's he like?"
"Is he tall?" Ichigo asked.
"Not really," Lettuce said. "Well, he's taller than me, but not really tall after that."
"Does he go to your school?" Mint asked. "Is he an athlete?"
"Not an athlete, and doesn't go to my school, but I did meet him there," Lettuce admitted. Now it really sounded bad that she was crushing on her substitute teacher.
"YOU TWO ARE MADLY IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER, NA NO DA!" Pudding exclaimed happily.
"Well, no, we aren't, Pudding-San," Lettuce admitted.
Zakuro frowned and folded her arms over her chest, looking very intimidating and protective.
"He's not just playing with your feelings then, is he?" She demanded.
"I… No. No he isn't," Lettuce said after a second of hesitating.
"Is he younger than you, maybe?" Ichigo asked.
"N-No," Lettuce said, shaking her head.
"Tell us!" Ichigo begged. "We can't keep guessing and we keep guessing wrong!"
"Well, he's a bit older than me," Lettuce said with a small smile, thinking about Endomurasaki-San. "He's got brown hair and dark eyes, and loves to read. We met at the library, and he goes there every day and…" She suddenly remembered herself, and what her relationship with Endomurasaki really was. "Well, he's not really my boyfriend."
"Not really?" Mint repeated, arching an eyebrow.
"He's not. He's not my boyfriend," Lettuce said.
"But he's declared his undying love for you, right, na no da?" Pudding asked, suddenly at Lettuce's elbow, gripping onto the older girl's arm and looking up at her with big, brown-sugar eyes, like she would cry if the answer was 'no'.
"Or did you take the initiative?" Ichigo asked.
"HE'S NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" Lettuce exclaimed, waving her arms in the air and feeling a little bit cornered by the other Mews' good intentions.
"Oh, I see," Zakuro said suddenly and wisely. "You two are not lovers, then?"
"That's what I've been saying!" Lettuce said with exasperation.
"And?" Ichigo prompted.
"Eh? And what?" Lettuce asked, turning to the red-head.
"Do you love him, Lettuce?" Ichigo asked.
Lettuce turned red and turned away from them without saying anything.
"You do!" Mint, Ichigo, Zakuro and Pudding said together happily.
As the girls continued to pester Lettuce about her new love interest, Keiichiro turned around to see Ryou standing at the door to the dining room, gazing out without the girl's knowledge. Keiichiro wondered how long he had been standing there. He hadn't even heard him enter the room.
"Ryou?" Keiichiro said softly, studying his friend. His eyes were hard, his mouth set into a grimace, his muscles tense. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Ryou responded harshly. He didn't say anything else as he stormed off towards the basement.
Keiichiro sighed. On one hand, he was happy for Lettuce. But on the other hand, he could tell that some part of Ryou was hurting, and that he was trying for it to not show. No, not just hurting. There was something else going on, and he wanted to know what.
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Pie frowned as he pressed the mute button, his lips pressing together tightly as he watched the live video feed the Chimera gave him of the brightly-colored girls pestering their leader for more information about something so trivial.
So Mew Lettuce had found herself a potential mate, had she?
Why did that make him angry?
No matter, He thought. It has nothing to do with my mission here.
For now, at least.
