A pre-Halloween chapter! Is everyone as excited as I am for Halloween? (It's always been one of my favorite holidays)
Chapter Thirty-Seven:
It was a few days before Halloween and the Café Mew Mew crew were getting in the spirit (pun intended) and were planning out costumes and decorating the Café.
"Well, Seiji's throwing a costume party on the thirty-first, and you're all invited," Mint said as she carried down a plastic cauldron full of orange and black garlands as she followed Pie, Kish, Rirī and Rin as they went down the stairs carrying boxes full of more decorations. "Shinji, Massaya and Homare are invited, too."
"Awesome!" Ichigo said as she came down after Mint, carrying a fake skeleton. "Parties at your house are always fun!"
"Yeah, and the food's amazing," Kish said with a grin as he and Rirī put down the box they were carrying onto the floor.
"How would you know?" Rin asked.
"We may have gatecrashed once or twice," Pie said unemotionally as Tart and Pudding teleported in.
"Did we miss the decorating, na no da?" Pudding asked, looking around.
"No, we just got everything down here," Rirī said. "How were tryouts?"
"Okay," Tart said, adjusting the strap of his soccer bag on his shoulder.
"Taru-Taru was amazing, na no da!" Pudding said with a grin. "He was the best player out there, na no da!"
"Not the best, but I made the list for the second night of tryouts," Tart said. "I'm going to get a quick shower. I'll be back in ten."
"We'll be here," A skeleton head 'said' from where it sat in Kish's hands.
As Tart disappeared upstairs, Pudding sat on the floor beside Rozū and pulled out some fake spiders and giggled as they dangled from the strings she held.
"Can I be a witch for Halloween?" Rozū asked, trying on a witch's hat that she found. "One without green skin and bad complexion and wears black and red instead of just black?"
"I think we can do that," Lettuce said. "I saw a costume like that when my mom and I went shopping yesterday."
"Since the Café's going to be open on Halloween, do we get to wear costumes?" Kish asked.
"Yep, and we even have a special menu for Halloween with creepy cakes and stuff," Ichigo said as she started to hang the garlands. "It's so much fun."
"That reminds Pudding, is Ryou Onii-Chan in his office, na no da?" Pudding asked
"He and Keiichiro are making a store run," Mint said. "Why?"
"Pudding had a favor to ask, na no da," Pudding said, putting up a toy raven up near the cash register. "She needs the day before Halloween off, na no da."
"Everything okay?" Zakuro asked as she pulled out a plastic pumpkin.
"Pudding promised Daddy that she would clean the house before company came the next day, na no da," Pudding said.
"Who's coming?" Rirī asked.
"Daddy's former student, Yuebin Ron," Pudding said, her eyes only for her decorations.
The other Mews paused and turned to look at the young teen.
"Pudding?" Lettuce said softly. "Does, uh, does Tart know? About Yuebin?"
Pudding paused as she pinned a paper bat to the wall.
"Yuebin was one of the first things Pudding and Taru-Taru talked about," She said softly.
"Who's Yuebin?" Rin asked.
"Pudding's fiancé," Pudding said simply.
The Cyniclons simply stared in shock at Pudding, turning to the other Mews, hoping they would deny it. To their horror, the other Mews were grim-faced.
"But you and Tart are-" Rirī started, but Pudding cut her off.
"Yes, we are, but Pudding's Daddy doesn't know. Pudding doesn't love Yuebin. It's an arranged marriage. The deal was that if Yuebin could beat Pudding in a fight, Yuebin could marry Pudding. And Pudding lost."
"Wait, is this that tall guy, red hair, amazing fighter?" Kish asked, his eyes suddenly hard. Pudding nodded. Both Kish and Pie scowled.
"You know this guy?" Rozū asked, shocked.
"We had an encounter two years ago," Pie said grimly. "That man is at least ten years older than Pudding."
"Fifteen, actually," Ichigo said bitterly.
Rin, Rirī and Rozū's eyes all went hard and they scowled.
"What's wrong?" Mint asked.
"We are aware that our cultures are vastly different, but you should know that this would never happen on Cynnth," Rin said, her voice cool and the Mews noticed how easily she had slid into the same syntax her twin spoke with.
"Who we love and marry is one of the few freedoms our people had during the years before the Mew Aqua," Kish explained. "We didn't know when we would die, we didn't know how to get food to feed our families, we didn't know when Deep Blue would finally deliver us from our misery. That we could fall in love and marry that person was the one thing we could control."
"However, there are strict rules regarding marriage," Rirī said. "Second marriages can only occur if the first spouse has died. A girl is not allowed to be engaged until she reaches womanhood. And if the girl is under the age of twenty, the groom cannot be more than five years older than her and vice versa. A fifteen year age difference between the bride and groom is unheard of, even if both are over the age of twenty."
"And arranged marriages are only allowed if both the bride and groom agree, both being around sixteen when the decision is made. And neither can be older than the other by more than three years." Pie added.
"Taru-Taru told Pudding as much," Pudding said somberly. Then she smiled softly as she watched her hands tie a black ribbon to one of the columns. "Taru-Taru told Pudding he would do whatever he could to break off Pudding's engagement, that he wanted a chance to win Pudding's heart. Pudding didn't accept right away because she felt like she was betraying Daddy, she wanted to just be really good friends. She told him she would think about it, though. So when Pudding saw Mylo throw that knife at Taru-Taru… she knew he didn't need a chance to win Pudding's heart. He already had it.
"Pudding marriage to Yuebin isn't supposed to happen until after Pudding turns eighteen. Until then, Taru-Taru and Pudding are looking for a way to break off the engagement. But even if we don't, Pudding knows what choice she will make in the end."
"You'll choose Tart. As much as you want to say you'll be a dutiful daughter and marry someone you don't love, you'll choose to be with Tart in the end," Zakuro said, smiling as she put her hand on Pudding' shoulder. "That is something we've known since pretty much the day you two met."
"It's all so romantic," Rozū said with a sigh. "Like a fairy tale."
"It is a fairy tale, na no da," Pudding said proudly. "It's Taru-Taru and Pudding's."
"It sure is," Ichigo said, coming over to stroke Pudding's hair. "And it's one I can't wait to know the ending to."
Pudding just smiled.
There will be a special Halloween chapter on the 31st, and I hope everyone will enjoy it!
Also going to warn you, I don't know how much writing will get done in November storywise. I'm planning on doing NaNoWriMo (If you're doing the elementary-high school version online, look me up; my username is JediQueen) and I am really hoping to finish writing out that story. Just a warning.