Ichigo had half-hoped that when she woke up on Tuesday, she would find her mind made up and her conscience clear. She had slept like a rock, her exhaustion from the night sinking her into a deep, dreamless sleep. But as she drifted through her classes at school, Ichigo found herself hardly able to focus, her thoughts bouncing around her head like a pinball machine.
Ichigo glanced up at the clock on the wall of her pre-calculus classroom. 2:30.
She could have sworn it was 2 PM just moments ago. Why is time moving so fast? Ichigo thought to herself in frustration. She tapped her pen against the side of her head and chewed the inside of her cheek.
Her path forward was far from obvious, and Ichigo found herself more confused than ever as she struggled to focus in her last class of the day. She mindlessly copied down the formula for a trigonometric function she only half-understood. She didn't know whether her stressed, half-crazed mind wanted her to focus on product-to-sum formulas ("I really, really need to pass this class if I want to get into the university in London that Masaya helped me apply to over the weekend!") or if she wanted to throw her notebook out the window in frustration ("I'm the leader of the mews! Why the heck do I have to care about triangles so much?")
After she copied down the formula on the whiteboard at the front of the classroom, Ichigo drew a simple T-chart in the margins of her notebook. She wrote "pros" on one side of the T, and "cons" on the other. She sighed in disbelief that she was actually filling out a stupid pros/cons list in order to make of the biggest decisions of her life. She wrote a title above the list.
"London"
Under "pros", Ichigo penned in: "Together with Masaya". It was the obvious benefit. The one that seemed simplest in her mind. Masaya still felt like her best friend. It would be devastating to give him up. She could hardly fathom how she could ever break his heart.
She wrote two more things under "pros" – "Good universities" and "New adventures."
New adventures, Ichigo thought to herself. That's one way of saying it.
She recalled the time she tried to ask for directions around downtown London. She had gotten on the wrong bus on her way to meet Masaya at his research lab a half-mile from student housing. Ichigo remembered calling Masaya in tears, panicked and afraid, because her English was incomprehensible to the kind strangers trying to help her.
The embarrassing memory felt like a punch to the gut. Ichigo wrote "Bad English" under the "cons" list. It would take a lot more than a few months to get her English to a comfortable level of fluency.
She added another line under the "cons" side of the list – "Away from friends." After her talk with Mint and Lettuce, Ichigo knew this would be one of the most difficult drawbacks. And she was unlikely to make a whole lot of new friends in London, considering the previous line item.
Ichigo added "Away from family" next. She could use the space away from them sometimes, but living so far away from her mom and dad would be hard. Their time zones didn't even align in the slightest.
Letting out a small sigh, Ichigo stared at the last two line items under "cons." She moved over to the "pros" list and added another line: "Away from Quiche."
It didn't feel right under "pros." At least, not after she wrote it down. Despite his incessant pestering, teasing and playing with her emotions, Quiche had taken no time at all showing Ichigo that he was hopelessly devoted to her. She had been replaying their conversation from the night before in her head all day. "Anything you could possibly want in this world or another, it's yours."
He was in love with her, and Ichigo would be lying if she didn't admit to herself that she felt something between them. Something entirely different from what she felt with Masaya.
Ichigo bit her lip. Something different.
Her connection with Masaya had always felt like a warm blanket – comforting, warm and familiar. Soft, friendly.
Her connection with Quiche felt like she was walking around covered in gasoline, and he was a box of matches. Whenever they got too close – like they had last night – Ichigo felt like she would burst into flame if she wasn't careful. Their chemistry felt like a series of small explosions. Hot, bright, loud and all-consuming.
Ichigo's pen moved to the "cons" list. She wrote: "Away from Quiche." The statement sat under both columns, glaring up at her accusingly.
I suck at these lists, Ichigo thought to herself dejectedly. She twirled her pen in her fingertips.
Suddenly, the school bell chimed over the speakers. Ichigo nearly jumped out of her seat. Her eyes flew to the clock. 2:45? Was I spacing out for that long? Ichigo slapped her notebook shut, not even glancing at the failed pros/cons list in its margins as she stuffed it in her bookbag. She slung her bag over her shoulder and drifted out of the classroom, dreading the walk to the café. Time was running out, and the clock only seemed to be moving faster as the day went on.
The last thing Ichigo expected to see when she descended the steps of her high school entrance was the smiling face of Masaya Aoyama. He was waiting for her at the entrance of her school, holding a bouquet of yellow and purple wildflowers in his arms. A happy warmth blossomed in her heart, but it was quickly squashed by the crushing weight of the decisions she knew she had to make.
Lost in his deep brown eyes, Ichigo found herself drifting towards her fiancé with open arms. Even now, she ached for his comforting embrace, where she always felt safe and taken care of. Where things felt familiar. Where things felt easy.
"Aoyama!" Ichigo laughed nervously as she enveloped him in a warm, tight hug. "You surprised me! I thought I was meeting you at the café!"
Masaya released her from their embrace and smiled down at Ichigo warmly. "I thought I'd drop by school instead. After all, I want to spend as much time as I can with you today."
It was a sweet gesture, and gave Ichigo some small piece of comfort in having as much time as possible. Masaya handed Ichigo the bouquet, which she accepted with a smile. She noticed out of the corner of her vision that her classmates were whispering and giggling around her. They were undoubtedly gossiping about her and Masaya. They were, after all, their high school's most unlikely couple. The weird, awkward redhead girl who constantly fell asleep in class, and the handsome kendo star with perfect grades and a fan club of his own. Ichigo knew they were an odd match, but high school gossip didn't bother her too much anymore. She smelled the bouquet, inhaling the sweet smell of honeysuckle, peonies and … lavender.
Damn it, why did it have to have lavender?
Ichigo shoved the memory from the café kitchen back to the recess of her mind and smiled warmly up at Masaya. "The flowers are beautiful," she purred. She tucked the bouquet into the crook of one arm and took Masaya's hand in hers. They began to walk, falling into the stream of students leaving the school grounds.
Holding Masaya's hand in hers, Ichigo's mind quickly returned to the feeling of holding it at dinner the night before. She plunged into the vision of their imaginary apartment in London. It felt like a body of water around her thoughts, comforting and warm. She could almost smell the pine boards. She could picture unpacking boxes together, laughing over their lack of furniture. She imagined ordering a pizza and eating it on the floor, like she'd seen in rom-com movies growing up.
It all seemed too close, just within reach. So soon. But was it really just a vision after all? Would it all remain a distant dream?
Ichigo found herself folding into her easy conversation with Masaya on their walk to the café, tucking herself into his words like how her mother used to tuck her into bed when she was little. It was so easy to lose herself in their easy conversations about jet lag and bad airport food. She was only halfway paying attention to their banter as she focused intently on distilling her feelings into a simple answer of whether this was worth it. Worth leaving her friends, family, city and everything she knew behind.
But isn't love always worth it? Isn't love the most important part of life? Shouldn't it be the most important part of hers?
Ichigo found the image of the apartment in London growing clearer in her mind as they began to approach Café Mew Mew. She heard herself go quiet, a singular thought silencing the rest of the chatter in her mind.
She couldn't bear to break the engagement.
Ichigo squeezed Masaya's hand and released it. He looked down at her curiously as she pulled the diamond ring out of a small inner pocket of her bookbag. She slipped it on her finger and admired the way it glistened in the light.
Yes, this is good.
She glanced up at Masaya, and he smiled down at her like he was made of sunshine.
"Ready to head in?" he asked her. Ichigo heaved a sigh as they approached the red doors of the café. Something that felt like panic clawed at her gut like an animal in a cage. It snarled and bit at her conscience as she stared up at the doors of the place she'd spent so much time making so many mistakes over the last 14 days.
"Yeah, ready!" Ichigo chirped, beaming up at Masaya. She adjusted the bouquet in her arm and pushed open one of the doors.
She had hardly peered inside before she was greeted with an explosion of party poppers and screams of "SURPRISE!" Ichigo laughed as little pink and white pieces of confetti drifted down around her and Masaya. Through the cloud of pink and white, Ichigo beamed when she saw Mint, Lettuce, Pudding, Zakuro, Berry, Tasuku, Ryou and Keiichiro grinning back at her. She also spotted Tart lingering towards the back behind Pudding, looking less than enthusiastic.
"Wow, thank you all!" Masaya laughed, leading Ichigo further into the café and into the circle of their friends. "I think we're both definitely surprised."
"Good, because Pudding just about ruined it asking about the cake in front of Ichigo!" Berry chimed in, shooting an accusatory look in Pudding's direction. Pudding waved her off with a hand.
"Pfft, nah! Pudding throws the best surprise parties!" she said. She grinned up at Masaya, her hands on her hips. "You can thank me later for the cake! I know you'll love it!"
Ichigo felt a hand on her arm. She turned to see Lettuce at her side, smiling warmly up at her. She could see something else behind her eyes – worry, curiosity.
"Did you bring a change of clothes?" Lettuce asked cheerily, glancing down at her school uniform. Ichigo realized that her and Mint were probably dying to know what happened at their date the night before. She nodded and turned to Masaya.
"Hey, I'm going to go get changed," she said. She dropped her bookbag off her shoulder and held it in her hands. "I'll be back in a few!"
Masaya nodded, still grinning from the revel of their grand entrance to the café. "Sounds good!" Ichigo passed her bouquet to her fiancé and set off with Lettuce.
Lettuce and Ichigo stole off to the back hall as the rest of the party began to dish out plates and pick at the snacks carefully laid out on a cluster of café tables. Ichigo let her shoulders slump, her jaw unclenching as she felt less people looking her way. Lettuce's hand rested between her shoulder blades. They stopped in front of the door to the restroom.
"Ichigo, are you okay?" Lettuce asked, tilting her head to one side. She wasn't smiling anymore. "I know this might be … a lot."
Ichigo shook her head. "It's okay, really," she said in a low voice, careful not to speak too loudly. "We're working things out."
Lettuce bit her lip. She looked surprised. "So you told him everything? And he was okay with it?"
Ichigo averted her eyes. "I–well … no, not exactly," she stammered. "I didn't tell him about what happened the other night. I don't know. I just don't want to mess it all up again. I'll tell him about all of it, just … not now. I don't have time."
Lettuce clenched her jaw. Ichigo saw the conflict swirling in her eyes, like she had a million things she wanted to say, but was unsure about how to say any of them. "Mm, okay," Lettuce finally murmured, averting her eyes and glancing back at the party. She returned her attention to Ichigo in the next moment. "How about you get changed then? We should celebrate, since things are back to working out again."
She smiled up at Ichigo warmly, but Ichigo could sense there was more Lettuce wanted to say. She decided to drop it for now.
"Sure, I'll meet you out there!" Ichigo chirped. She wrapped Lettuce in a strong hug. "Thanks for being there for me. It means more than you know."
Ichigo could feel Lettuce nod against her shoulder. Lettuce pulled back from the embrace and cocked her head to one side, smiling. "Of course, Ichigo. You know I'll always have your back."
"Because that's what best friends are for," Ichigo finished, her smile growing wider. Lettuce nodded and let out a long breath.
"Right!"
"I'll see you out at the party," Ichigo said, opening the door to the restrooms. Lettuce waved and took two steps back before turning away.
A nagging thought presented itself to Ichigo as she watched Lettuce walk back to the party. Lettuce had something that looked like a letter tucked into the back pocket of her jeans. A brief vision of white flowers and rain filled Ichigo's mind. "It's a long story, but I'll start with the hair-brained scheme Pie dreamed up when he planned on coming here."
"Hey Lettuce?" Ichigo called after her friend. Lettuce stopped and turned around, blinking at Ichigo curiously. Ichigo tilted her head to one side as Lettuce came a few steps closer. "I—um," she started again, "...do you know anything about whether the alien boys have some kind of plan to stay here longer? Like, after we figure out what's going on with the chimeras? Quiche said something weird to me the other day, and I was curious if Pie has mentioned anything like that to you."
Lettuce thought carefully, her eyes trailing up and to the right. She bit her lip and exhaled slowly as she appeared to search her memory. After a few moments, her gaze returned to Ichigo and she shook her head.
"You know, not really," she murmured. "I feel like I would have remembered it if he had. Though of course, I wouldn't mind if Pie stayed for a while."
She giggled and clasped her hands in front of her. Ichigo replayed her conversation with Quiche in her mind just briefly. She wondered if she should just tell Lettuce about it outright. But another part of her insisted that if Pie hadn't told Lettuce yet, there had to be a reason. What good would it do to interfere in their relationship? Best to keep quiet and let Pie go along with his plans as he saw fit.
Ichigo smiled warmly at Lettuce and nodded. "Yeah, of course. He makes you really happy. I hope he stays too." She paused, thinking for a moment. "Wait, where is Pie anyway?"
Lettuce shrugged and pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "I think he's talking with Quiche about something. He pulled Quiche aside a few minutes before you and Aoyama arrived. They've been in the upper rooms since, as far as I know."
"Hm," Ichigo hummed curiously. She could only guess at what they were discussing, and she wasn't sure it could be anything good.
Ichigo sighed and raised her tone to a normal speaking volume. "Anyway, sorry for the weird question. I'll see you out at the party?"
"Sure! See you in a few."
Ichigo closed the bathroom door and quickly changed into the lightweight white pullover and jean shorts she packed in her school bag. She replaced her uniform in the bag and slung it over her shoulder before returning to the party. She dropped her bag in a corner by one of the tables. Masaya caught her eye across the room. He was chatting with Zakuro about something and picking at a piece of chocolate cake with a fork. Ichigo smiled as she caught his eye.
She wondered what Zakuro was talking to him about. A small part of her wished he would go back to London already, so that she could swallow the paranoia of someone spilling her secrets to him. But she knew that she could trust Mint and Lettuce to keep their conversation between them ... with the addition of Zakuro, in case Mint had decided to tell her girlfriend. Ichigo picked up a chocolate-covered strawberry and wondered vaguely if Zakuro could already guess what was going on, even without Mint telling her. She was, after all, one of the smartest of the mews.
Ichigo walked up to Zakuro and Masaya just as Masaya laughed at something she said. Zakuro looked down at Ichigo with a small smirk.
"Do you actually like strawberries? Or do you just eat them because of your name?"
Ichigo shrugged and popped the rest of the chocolate strawberry into her mouth. She chewed for a moment, swallowed and grinned. "I actually like strawberries, you know! Don't you also like to eat pomegranates?"
"I hate pomegranates," Zakuro replied stiffly. She rolled her eyes. "The juice stains my teeth. And the fruit is only good if you pile sugar on it. What a useless fruit."
Ichigo and Masaya both laughed. Ichigo felt Masaya grab her hand as she caught her breath and smiled. "Well, do you hate your name, then? What would you rather it be?"
"Hey, mews! We've got a situation!"
Ryou's voice sounded in a bellowing yell from the other side of the room. Ichigo, Masaya and Zakuro turned and gathered with the rest of the party-goers as Ryou looked at something on his phone.
"What's going on?" asked Mint. She came to stand next to Zakuro and grabbed her arm.
"We just detected some chimera activity not far from here," Ryou said, scrolling through his phone. His face was twisted in a concerned scowl. "It's not good. Looks to be some kind of cluster of activity."
"Wait, like, more than one chimera?" Ichigo interjected. She felt Masaya squeeze her hand tighter.
"Yes," Ryou replied. He glanced up at Ichigo. "A lot of them. Small, but there looks to be hundreds of them. They all appeared at once, in the same place."
Ichigo clenched her jaw in worry. Hundreds? All at once? She wondered what kind of chimera would move in a swarm.
"Talk about bad timing!" Pudding whined. "We can still have the party later, right?"
"Right!" Ichigo agreed. She glanced around at her team, putting on an encouraging smile. She knew this was the time to appear confident, resolute. "We'll take care of this quick, so we can all get back to the party!"
"Alright, Tokyo Mew Mew," Ryou called, putting away his phone, "roll out!"
Ichigo released Masaya's hand and dug into the pocket of her shorts for her mew pendant. She kissed its warm metal surface and felt her power surging through her. The room suddenly grew hot and bright as all of the mews transformed at once.
"Mew Mew Ichigo!"
"Mew Mew Mint!"
"Mew Mew Lettuce!"
"Mew Mew Pudding!"
"Mew Mew Zakuro!"
"Mew Mew Berry!"
"METAMORPHOSIS!"
Ichigo felt her body change as the familiar warm strength from her wildcat genes swept through her veins. She landed on her feet again and shook the starry feeling out of her changed eyes. The rest of the mews finished transforming soon after, donning their colorful mew uniforms. Ichigo felt Masaya take her hand again.
"Shirogane!" Ichigo called to her boss. "Where are we headed?"
"You're going to the east end of Yoyogi park," Ryou replied. "It's 15 minutes from here if you're fast."
"Rodger!" Berry chirped, taking two steps back towards the door. "Let's get going!"
The rest of the mews ran to the door and out into the warm spring air, with Tart flying above them. Ichigo, seeing the rest of the mews head out, squeezed Masaya's hand and released it. She looked up at him and immediately saw the worry in his eyes.
"Aoyama, you have to stay here," Ichigo said reluctantly, grabbing Masaya's other hand in hers. "You can't transform on command. You almost got hurt last time. It's not safe."
"Ichigo, I'm not letting you go without me," Masaya insisted. He squeezed Ichigo's gloved hands tighter. "I can't just sit back while you're out there fighting."
"Yes, you can."
Quiche's sharp voice cut through their conversation like a knife. Ichigo sucked in a breath as she, Masaya, Ryou, Tasuku, and Keiichiro all turned to see Quiche and Pie jump from the second story railing and land on their feet gracefully. They were both in their battle uniforms. Ichigo could swear Quiche was trying to burn a hole through Masaya with his angry, fiery eyes. If looks could kill. She remembered that the two boys hadn't seen each other since Masaya punched Quiche in the face. The small mark under Quiche's eye was almost completely gone.
Quiche dusted his hands nonchalantly and rolled his neck, cracking it in two places.
"You're nothing more than dead weight out there," he continued, crossing his arms. "Without your powers, you're an obligation. Stay out of the way."
Pie clapped a hand on Quiche's shoulder. A warning. Ichigo saw Quiche's posture stiffen.
"What he means," Pie interjected, "is that we can't risk having to protect you in battle as well as fighting the chimeras. The recent attacks have been severe. If you can't fight, you need to stay behind with the other humans."
Ichigo looked up at Masaya. He looked furious. He met Ichigo's eyes just briefly before continuing, "I was able to help Ichigo in battle last time there was an attack, and I'll do it again! I need to be there to protect her!"
Quiche let out a snort of mocking laughter. "Don't worry," he bit back, "I've got that covered."
Ichigo felt her whole body going hot as Quiche and Masaya stared each other down. Tension crackled in the air between them. She clenched her jaw and drew a deep breath. They were wasting time.
"I don't want your help," Masaya snapped.
"With all due respect, my lord, no one asked you."
That's it. Ichigo tore her hand out of Masaya's grip and took two steps forward.
"Will you two SHUT IT?!" she screamed.
That shut them both up. Quiche blinked, surprised. Ichigo whirled around to see the hurt look on Masaya's face. She immediately felt guilty for yelling at him. He looked at her with soft brown eyes that melted her anger in an instant.
"Aoyama, I'm sorry," Ichigo murmured, taking one of his hands, "but we can't waste any more time. You can't come with us."
"If Aoyama needs to be there," came Ryou's voice suddenly, "then I'll go with him. It would be good to observe the battle anyway. We'll stay together."
Ichigo let out a breath of relief, nodding. The answer was good enough for her. She felt better with Ryou by Masaya's side. "Good, now let's go!" she said impatiently. She pulled Masaya's hand towards the open doors of the café.
"Keiichiro, Tasuku," Ryou called out as he began to follow, "monitor the chimera activity from here, and call me if you see anything unusual happening."
"You got it!" Tasuku replied with a grin.
Keiichiro waved and nodded encouragingly. "Be safe out there."
Ryou nodded back and followed Ichigo, Masaya, Pie and Quiche out the door. Once all five of them were out of the café, Ryou turned to look up at Pie.
"Pie, can you go ahead of us and find the girls? They could use your help once they arrive."
Pie nodded and lifted into the sky even further before disappearing into thin air. Ichigo, Masaya and Ryou continued running in the direction of the park, with Quiche flying overhead. Ichigo was keenly aware of the tension still hanging in their air as they wove through the trees of the café's park.
"Quiche," Ryou called to the alien boy flying overhead, "what can you tell me about the chimera we're about to see? Did you hear what I told the mews?"
Ichigo listened in curiously. She realized that Ryou had kept Quiche behind on purpose, to ask him questions about the chimera with Ichigo in earshot. She remembered what Ryou told her just a few nights ago, when Quiche was planning on leaving Earth.
"Quiche is somewhat of a prodigy," he had said. "From what Pie tells me, it will be very, very hard to catalogue the exact properties of the chimeras in the way Quiche understands them. Apparently he is one of the best chimera summoners of their time."
It made sense why Ryou would keep him close now, when the chimera they were about to face was so unusual. A half-minute of silence hung between the group as they wove through the outskirts of the city park. Their heavy breathing and footfalls were the only sounds between them.
"I heard enough," came Quiche's voice finally, from above them. Ichigo chanced a glance up at him briefly, and saw he was already looking at her. Thinking, planning. She quickly looked away.
Quiche continued: "There are two ways a chimera can show up in a cluster like that – by air, as an insect swarm, or by ground, as something like a colony or a network of living things."
Quiche paused as Ichigo, Masaya and Ryou broke out into the open air of the sidewalk. Ichigo dashed onto the sidewalk and continued her run towards the infected park with no hesitation, Masaya and Ryou close behind. Pedestrians stared at them as they ran by, parting for the trio on the ground and pointing at Quiche flying overhead. He was flying higher now, to try to avoid notice.
"If the cluster hasn't left the park," Quiche yelled down at them, "then we can rule out insects. They would have spread out immediately."
"Then you have an idea for what else it could be?" Ryou yelled up at him. He sounded slightly out of breath, his voice hoarse.
"Unfortunately, yes," Quiche yelled back.
Ichigo was only half paying attention as they came up to a busy intersection of cars. She stepped out into traffic and waved her arms to try to get them to stop. The cars slammed on their breaks, honking angrily as Ichigo dashed across the crosswalk with reckless abandon. "Sorry!" she yelled at the drivers, cringing. Ryou and Masaya followed behind her quickly and crossed to the other side of the road.
"Wait, what is it then?" Masaya yelled up at Quiche, impatient for an answer.
"If I'm right," Quiche called back, "you're in for a trip down memory lane. If I'm right, it's just like the chimera that nearly gassed out all of a park using the tree pollen alone."
Ichigo swallowed a sudden bout of fear as the memory flooded her mind. She remembered the day like it was yesterday – the trees in one of the downtown parks had been infected with a chimera, and Masaya was caught in the crossfire. He had almost found out her identity that day. Ichigo remembered using the healing properties of her Strawberry Bell for the first time, to cleanse the trees of the chimera infection.
On her return to the memory, Ichigo suddenly remembered how abruptly Quiche had left after she stripped the trees of all of their blossoms with her power. She remembered the strange, distant look in his eye as the petals fell and blew away around them.
The aliens never used an attack like that again. They never attacked Earth's natural plant life after that day.
Ichigo swallowed a knot in her throat and glanced over at Masaya. How strangely fitting it was for them to be together again, fighting a chimera infection that was likely to be similar to one they had encountered before – before Masaya knew she was a mew. One that had nearly killed Masaya, and one that was likely to be even more dangerous, now that Masaya's power was awakening from its slumber to rouse the chimeras from their dormancy.
Everything was different this time. And with this being Masaya's last day in Tokyo, it was likely that this was the last time Ichigo would fight against a threat like this with her whole team – at least, for a very long time. She clenched her jaw as she rounded a corner and saw the rest of her team at the east entrance of the park up ahead.
Their last big threat in Tokyo for a long, long time. Together, as Tokyo Mew Mew. And Ichigo wouldn't have it any other way.
(A.N./
See, I told you I'd update faster this time! Under a week to update, woohoo! This chapter was a little easier to edit than the previous few.
Ok, I have another question for you all that I'd love your feedback on – I have been brainstorming an idea for a spinoff oneshot from this story that doesn't fit in the general flow of Fickle Fourteen's plot, but might be a nice companion fic. Essentially, I want to write Pie's letter to Lettuce as its own fic (the one mentioned at the end of chapter 15 and referenced in the middle of this chapter).
It obviously wouldn't be super long but I know a lot of you love Pie/Lettuce as a ship, so I want to know – would you read something like this? Because if so, I'd probably publish it before this fic is finished, sometime in the next few weeks so you can get a little slice of that companion fic before this story wraps up. Thoughts? Yay/nay?
Thanks as always for reading, and for the favorites and reviews!)