"Tip-tap, Love is always tasty like candy. It's tasty like fruit too. Good luck, every day is a Sunday. Don't get rattled, my heart"

My song flowed smoothly over the single bedroom apartment as I cooked breakfast. Mixing some eggs, my tail swung out behind me in rhythm to my song. My ears and tail hadn't gone away since last night, but I knew I could make them disappear if I chose to. Right now, however, I didn't want them to. I was too happy at the moment, singing as I made breakfast for my lover; wearing only the top to his pajama set. It went well to my knees, but rested on my tail as it flung around behind me.

"Tip-tap, what we dream of is candy. If we stuff our mouths we'll soon be happy. Good-bye to a depressing Monday, Don't fade, my dream"

College Mew Mew 4

By: Satashi

Turning my head at the sounds coming from the bedroom, I smile. "Masaya, breakfast is almost ready!" I put some pancakes onto a plate for him, sided with some eggs and bacon. Seeing as how he was going to England in a few days, I thought I'd try and make him an English breakfast. "Hurry or it'll get cold!"

A few moments later, He emerged from his bedroom, yawning and rubbing his hair in an attempt to make it not stick out. "Morning, Ichigo." He was wearing the bottom half to the pajama set, tied loosely at his waist

"Good morning. Sleep well?" I sat down his plat at a chair and went back to his kitchen. "You want milk or orange juice?"

"Milk, please." He yawned and sat down, still trying to wake up fully. "And I slept well, you?"

"Of course!" I sat down his glass and smile at him, pecking his cheek. "You have a class soon, so eat up."

"Cheerful this morning aren't you?" He asked smiling at my tail as it swished out excitedly behind me while I sat down to eat my own breakfast. Waffles with syrup and strawberries.

"I am, nya" Was my reply before drinking a large gulp of milk and beaming at him. Masaya only smiled at me before starting to eat as well, complimenting me on my cooking. "Oh, by the way," I spoke, suddenly realizing. "Do I have any cloths here?"

"I think you have a few things," He replied, pretending to think. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure you do, considering how you took over my closet not a month after I moved in."

My cheeks burned lightly. "Oh yeah." I forgot I did that. No wonder I couldn't find my favorite shirt. "A small price to pay for me doing all your laundry for you."

Playfully, he clapped his hands together in front of him and bowed lightly. "Thank you."

"Mou, you." I tried to kick his shin playfully, but he moved his legs and then crossed them at the ankles, keeping my foot between his legs. My cheeks burned again. "Flirty today, aren't you?" I looked down at my plate, smiling and blushing.

"I think you are more," He motioned with his fork. "Your ears are still up."

I reached up and stroked one, liking the feeling. "I haven't had them in so long; I kind of don't want to make them go away."

"Ah, I'm going to be late," Masaya realized, looking at the clock on the wall and getting back to eating. "What are your plans this afternoon?"

"Working at the café after my classes. Meet together for lunch?"

"It'll have to be a quick lunch. Have to get all my assignments. I leave Wednesday.

"Don't remind me," I pouted at him. "I'm going to miss you enough as it is."

"Heh, don't worry, my little kitten. I promise I'll call you everyday."

"Swear?"

"I do." He held out his pinky finger, which I took with mind. "Pinky promise."

"Eat a thousand needles?"

"Only if I can put catsup on them." He winked at me while I laughed.

Humming, I slid my Chemistry text book into my backpack and slung it over my shoulder. The students were all laughing as they waited for their turn to pass through one of the two doors that lead into the hallway. There were a few people waiting to walk inside the classroom as well, which I let in by moving to the side a little when it was my turn to go through the doorway. Exiting the room, I made my way along with the flow of students until I branched off with a few to take a side exit out.

Breathing in the fresh air, I stretched out, wincing lightly as a sore spot on my neck gave a small twinge of pain. Placing a hand on it, I giggled to myself, remembering the person who bit me last night during a particular turn in our love making.

"Kya!" Something cold was on my cheek.

"Drink?" Ryou asked me, leaning against the wall. I must have stopped walking during my flashback.

"Thank you," I took the can from him and popped the cap. "What are you doing here?"

"Exploring the campus," He replied, looking around, also drinking some of his. "Mint told me you would be around here."

"Yeah. I normally pass her on my way to class. Ah! My class!" Bowing to him, I started to hurriedly talk. "Sorry, Ryou, I have to get to Track!"

"You're on the track team?"

"Yeah, and I'm going to have to make good of it right now too," I turned to sprint off. "Thanks for the drink!"

"I can't come with you?" His voice asked me from my side. Turning, I saw him running next to me. "I haven't even had a chance to talk to you. At least let me watch you trip and fall on the track!"

"Jerk!" I put on some extra speed, surprised as he kept up with me. "Short cut!" I suddenly called, leaping into the air and one foot landing on a rail to the stairway leading down to the path of the general sports area. With a twist and a leap, I sailed over it. My body reacted just like I thought it would. Instinctively I twisted in the air and landed lightly on my feet, despite the almost two story drop.

"Ichigo!" Ryou shouted from the top down at me, as my ears went back down into my hair, having sprung up in mid leap. "You idiot, you could get hurt!"

"Not this kitty!" I called back up at him, running some more. "Sit in the bleachers, you'll see me!" And I turned again to run off.

"Did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

"About last night!"

"Oh, I saw that on T.V! Do you think it was CG?"

"Couldn't be! It's in the papers this morning! Here, I have one!"

Blinking, I walked over to the crowd of girls to see what all the commotion was about. "What's going on?"

"Ichigo!" One of the girls pulled me closer, showing me. "Look at this!"

I read the headline aloud: "Attack at Tokyo Harbor! Mysterious people fighting" I had to think about it a moment, before my eyes drifted to the picture below it, where two people were clashed in a deadlock with each other. "Kish!" My hands grabbed the paper and pulled it closer. There was no doubt. The person in the air, with two night sticks crashed against a person with nun chucks. They both looked the same almost. Long ears, light clothing with the same two trails of cloth flowing behind them. "What's going on…?"

"You know him!?" A girl asked me.

Suddenly I realized that everyone was looking at me. "Ah… Ah! Nya-ha-ha… No, I thought it looked familiar, but it was just my imagination! I bet it was faked anyway!" turning I hurried over to my duffle bag and busied myself with getting my cloths ready to change into.

Kish… What was he doing? Fighting someone else… Someone like him! My world titled, making me feel light headed. Fighting? Why? Who? WHY? Was that the reason he was here…? Is this the reason my powers are coming back…? Is this… the reason why all of us are instantly back together again…?

Was there… another war coming…?

Crouch, set knees, prepare for takeoff. Clear your mind of everything except the two white lines. This was normally what I did at the starting line. Everyone was set the same way, positioned precisely to make the maximum amount of force to spring them forward. My position was different now, though. Crouched like a cat with my feet not even set on the starting tray.

The coach yelled at me to correct my starting position, but I ignored her. This was my time, where I didn't have to think about anything going on in the world. This was my zone. Just me, the ground, and the white lines. No aliens, no war, no Masaya leaving in two days. Just me.

The gun sounded and my legs shot out, forcing me forward quicker than any of the girls around me. The wind rushed against my face and the world blurred as I sprinted. Inhaling, the cool air filled my lungs and steadied me. I felt alive, free. The ground barely contacted my shoes before letting them go again, only to be replaced once more.

The finish line was crossed a moment later and I started to slow my pace to a stop. The coach clicked his stop watch once, but had to watch the other girls finish before she could comment on how I ran.

"Ichigo!"

Turning I smiled at Ryou and waved, but his frantic motion made me pay attention to him. He was pointing to his head. Reaching up I touched my hair, gasping as I felt my cat ears.

Go down!

The coach turned to me and looked confused. "Momomiya, why are you holding your head?"

Sighing, I realized I made them go away in time. Now for a reason… "I didn't breath properly, I got a head rush," I spoke lamely. It wasn't too much of a lie. You could do that if you didn't exhale enough.

But she smiled at me anyway. "For suddenly being the fastest on the team, you sure do make some armature mistakes."

Giggling nervously, I scratched the back of my head. "Sorry, coach, but can I sit down a while? I need to collect myself."

"Don't take all practice, but don't force yourself sick." She advised before turning to the other girls, blowing her whistle. "All right girls," she spoke loudly. "A small break before laps. Do warming stretches again before we start!"

I gave a small wave to my friends on the team before trotting over to where Ryou was and sitting on the bench just in front of the stands, where he was sitting on the railing, much like Masaya usually does.

"How long has it been like that?" He asked quietly after a moment, giving me my drink that I placed aside earlier before running.

"Last night…No, last week. At first it was just my running, then my tail and ears. Last night was the first time they stayed out."

"They come out when your heart gets excited, like before?"

"Yeah… Ryou…" I turned my head and looked back at him, speaking softly. "What's going on? Tell me the truth?"

Ryou looked like he was about to speak, but paused when he saw me. Sighing, he looked down. "We've been getting energy signals again. Last night there was an attack at the Tokyo harbor. The two forces clashed for almost half an hour, destroying a ship in the process. We didn't get to see anything that wasn't on the T.V. because R-2000 wasn't there to give us feedback. But I know…One of the guys was Kish."

"…I thought so…I haven't seen him since that first day. I think he stayed at my dorm last night, but I can't be sure until I go back there again."

"Where were you last night?"

"With Masaya."

"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh….."

"Oh!" My hand shot to my mouth, and I felt my cheeks burn furiously.

"No wonder your ears and tail came out fully. Must have been really excited, huh?" He stood and began to walk off.

"Ryou! It's….It's not like that...well maybe it is, but it's none of your business!"

"I didn't say it was!" He called over his shoulder.

"Mou! You jerk! Don't tease me!"

"I'm sure you tease enough on your own!" His voice was too cocky. Grabbing the nearest thing by me, my drink, I hurled it at him, missing. "Don't be late for work!"

Heaving in anger, I glared at his back as he walked off. "That arrogant little…" Taking a deep breath, I calmed down. "Still the same. Getting me all riled up at him so I wouldn't think about the things making me sad…" Watching his back as he retreated, I couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, Ryou."

Japanese Literature. I didn't really care for it too much, although some parts were kind of interesting. Right now, however, I found myself doodling on my notes, half-ly jotting down parts of a samurai named Kenshin who was single handedly credited to help bring the downfall of the shinsen gumi with his hiten style of fighting.

My little drawing turned into an SD picture of Mew Ichigo eating a strawberry while giving a peace sign. Above her head was a small speech bubble that proudly read "Sanosuke challenged himura, the strongest of Imperialist! –know for exam".

"-and remember to read the chapter so you'll know what we're talking about next class meeting. I will be asking questions, so don't think you can get by without the work. Class dismissed, have a good day."

Well now that that was over, I flipped my text book closed, followed my by notebook. Quickly jotting down the assignment on the syllabus, I shoved it into my backpack and slung it over my shoulder, hurrying out the door so Masaya wouldn't have to wait long for me.

The outside weather kind of surprised me when I exited the building. Sometime during the last hour, some dark clouds began moving over. "Aw, it's going to rain," I spoke aloud, making a few other people look up as well. "Better hurry," I picked up my pace a little, but didn't quite make it to the cafeteria in time. The doors opened easily, but I was already wet. Stepping inside, I shook my head, slinging water.

"Hey now," Looking at the voice, I saw Masaya leaning against the wall where the trays were kept. "You're going to get me wet. Here," He slid off his jacket and placed it over my shoulders, moving it lightly to absorb some of the water.

"Ma-Masaya, you'll get your jacket drenched…"

"I don't mind." He smiled and crossed the sleeves in front of me so it would stay on. "It'll keep you warm."

"Thanks." I smiled up at him, taking the offered try. "I'm in the mood for something baked…"

"Me too." The smile that made me fall in love with him in the first place graced his face then. I would never get tired of it, no matter how much I saw it. "Shall we, Ichigo?" He took my hand and walked with me over to one of the many sections of lines.

A loud clap of thunder made me look out the window and thread my fingers through my boyfriend's. Hard to believe that in two days he would be gone again for a month almost. Maybe it was for the best. If things didn't settle down between Kish and whoever he was fighting last night, we may be on the edge of another war. I didn't want him crossed up in it.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Eh? Oh, nothing really. I'm going to miss you when you leave."

His hand squeezed mine reassuringly. "It'll pass by before you know it. Come on, let's order." He nodded to the lady waiting for us behind the small bar.

"Sorry I'm late!" I called as I entered the kitchen to the café. "It's raining so hard out there…"

"Yeah, business is slow today," Keiichiro greeted me, leaning onto the counter. For once he didn't seem to be making something during business hours. "We only really need one waitress on call. Unfortunately, Zakuro is filming, Pudding is in school, Mint has classes and Lettuce is in an exam."

"Which leaves just me." I pointed to myself, watching him nod. "Oh, that reminds me, what am I working for?"

"How's sixteen hundred yen sound?"

"Better than I was hoping for," I replied, with a peace sign. I'll get right on it then. Is Ryou working now?"

"Just until you can take over." He lowered his voice. "Actually… I've been in the basement a lot…We're getting a lot of…weird energy signals."

"Even after all this time, you two are still at it?"

"Someone has to protect earth," Was his reply, his smile back again. "We'll fill you in tonight. For now, go change, I'll clock you in."

"Thanks!"

"You guys never seem to stop impressing me," I spoke as I looked around the room. There were computers lining the walls, with many things going on at the same time. Ryou sat at the main monitor, typing steadily.

"We try," he replied coolly, before motioning me to come closer. "This is what I want you to see. Even though the news camera didn't get a good picture, we've cleaned it up."

Leaning forward, I watched the clip as it started to play:

"As we see here, the new ship 'Latonto' was completed and passed its first sail across the seas to make a delivery to the United States. Estimated at over several million yen, this exclusive cargo ship is already known for…What's that? Mark, up in the air!"

The camera turned and the image went hazy a moment before focusing in on two people in the air. "What in the world…" The camera man breathed out, zooming in closer onto Kish

The words were barely audible, but Ryou moved a switch on the control panel and it soon cleared out.

"-here Saucer! You should go back!"

"Kish, you know why we're here. We're going to reclaim this planet and restore it to its former beauty!"

"I've already tried!" He slashed his arm out in frustration. "It's just not going to happen! We need the remaining Mew Aqua's to help our planet back home!"

"I'm not returning to that godforsaken wasteland again! The next time I see my family, they will be leaving the space ship and walking onto the green grass of earth!"

"I won't allow you to destroy the lives here!"

"Then you are my enemy!"

What happened next was almost too fast to comprehend. The man known as Saucer created nun chucks made of pure energy and attacked Kish, throwing him off balance. Next, he swung down, only to be blocked by Kish's trademark nightsticks. A flurry of attacks ranged out until Saucer flew backwards and threw several small some things into the water.

The ocean exploded as large marine animals flew from the surface. Kish's eyes went wide and the feed cut off.

"That's all we have." Ryou said simply, stopping the video of static. "The camera man was drenched in water, their camera destroyed. As it turns out, Kish won the battle and both teleported away. Fortunately there was no Mew Aqua where they were."

"Mew…Aqua…We collected all of them…didn't we?"

"You gathered all we knew how to detect," Keiichiro interjected. "The Mew Aqua are created by pure unpolluted air and water, as well as by love and affection toward a certain something. Mix it with power, and it becomes a physical substance."

"In other words, there are more out there, and that man wants them."

"Tokyo Mew Mew is making a come-back." Ryou's voice was calm, steady. "We must collect the Mew Aqua's before Saucer gets them, or Kish."

"No…" Both of my friends looked at me, shocked. "No," I repeated, voice shaking. "I…I have a normal life now…I have a boyfriend…I'm in college…" a tear fell from my eye. "I almost lost everything when the last war ended… I can't…I can't risk that again…"

"Ichigo!" Ryou stood up, but Keiichiro put his arm in front of him.

"I understand." He spoke calmly. "The other girls will be informed of this tomorrow and we will start the plan to retrieve the mew aqua's. You will not have to fight if you don't want to."

"But she's the strongest!" Ryou shouted at him.

"I'm not a weapon!" My voice screamed before I realized it. I was crying hard now, sniffing in-between words. "I'm not some kind of secret weapon that you can just use whenever you want to! I'm a girl, I have dreams, I want to get married, I want my life! I can't… I can't do this again!"

I couldn't wait there any longer. Wiping my eyes with my arm, I dashed from the room and out into the hallway. Behind me I heard a small skirmish between the two boys, then feet pounding after me. Ryou was chasing after me. The doors to the café burst open as I ran through them, closely followed. From there, the rain soaked me, being only lightly protected by Masaya's jacket.

"Ichigo!"

"Go away!" My ears sprang from my head and my tail lashed out behind me, instantly sagging in the rain. The sudden burst of power allowed me to outrun him easily. Where should I go? Where can I go? Masaya? No, he had enough to worry about. Home? No, my parents can't offer any type of help during this situation… My dorm. No one could get there.

Opening the door to my room, I let the dripping wet coat fall to the floor. He was here. Kish was sitting on my bed, leaning against the wall with one of my notebooks in his hands. He looked startled at my appearance. I couldn't blame him. I was wet, cold, and obviously not in a good mood.

"You found out," Was all he said. Answering with only a small nod, I didn't dare trust myself to look into his eyes. "I didn't want this," He continued. "I tried so hard to keep this from happening…But when the command was given, I came anyway. I had to try and protect the planet that you lived on. I wanted to collect the mew Aqua's for my planet rather than for destroying this one…But no one would listen to me." His voice paused a moment. "Ichigo, they're trying to do just what I did all those years back… They want to accelerate pollution to kill everyone here, and then use the mew aqua's to restore it to the way it was before the rest of my kind get here."

"Get out, please."

"I know you're upset, Honey."  He got off my bed, and limped over to me. "I'm sorry…"

"Are you okay?" I was still looking at the ground.

"I'm fine. Will be healed completely in another day or so."

"Then please leave."

"Honey…"

"Kish…please. I can't…I can't deal with this all at once…You have a place to go?"

"….I do."

"Then please."

Kish placed one hand on my shoulder then, pausing only a moment, kissed my forehead. "I knew it would be hard at first…" His voice whispered before he seemed to float backwards and teleport away.

Walking to my bed, I laid onto it slowly, ignoring the water that was still on me and talked into my pillow. "I don't want to fight."

I wanted to.

"I don't want this...."

I felt the desire to protect.

"I don't want this…"

I had been longing for the wildcat.

"I don't want this…"

Then why does my heart ache to lunge into battle and protect everybody?

"…I'm scared…"

But I knew what I had to do.