This layout was confusing. Sorry guys
Chapter 3 – "Copycats At The Hot Springs"
(Sidenote: At this point youd have to have read most of the Tokyo Mew Mew series and if you didn't this chapter is used to put everything in context like whats going on with the aliens and mew mews and the like and also to see how close ichigo and shizuma have gotten over time.)
It had been a while since those last fateful days… When we all first became Mew Mews. Now, a while after that day at the museum, we had found them all.
Mew Mint. Mew Zakuro. Mew Lettuce. Mew Pudding. Mew Blackcherry. Mew Ichigo.
They now remained undercover working at the Café Mew Mew under the guidance of Shirogane Ryou (the blonde man from the last chapter) and Akasaka Keiichiro. This concealed their identities until aliens Quiche, Pie, and Tart would reappear using the deadly Kirema Anima.
"Ahh! Watch out!" Lettuce toppled over a table and dropped a variety of cakes and glass all over the place. Blackcherry observed silently and wrote in her poetry book: And my heart is shattered like a fragile glass teacup. She thought it unfortunate no glass fell into her woundsSome frosting fell into Mint's afternoon tea. She raised an eyebrow at Lettuce and continued to drink it. "Yuck! It's too sweet now. Momomiya!" Blackcherrys heart thumped and she looked and saw that beautiful girl in the magenta café maid outfit daydreaming. "Momomiya! Tea!" Zakuro poked Ichigos shoulder. "Kya!" Ichigo gasped and turned around. "Ohh gomen I was ahh…" "Daydreaming." Shizuma finished for her with a grin. Ichigo looked embarrassed. "Oh…y… yes." "That's all well and good Momomiya," retorted Mint, "but I need new tea." Ichigo groaned. "Yeah yeah." She went back into the kitchen almost tripping on Pudding when she was trying to impress a customer with her acrobatic feats.
"Ichigo." Ichigo looked up and looked unhappy to see Ryou but her face still turned red with infatuation. "What do you want!" Ryou rested a hand on her shoulder. "You've all been working hard lately…there have been a lot of kirema anima lately and you've conquered them all. Im proud…" It was one of those times when he looked completely serious. Ichigo looked flustered but slightly lifted her face up to his. Ryou pulled back and laughed at her. Ichigo looked really mad and embarrassed. "Well finish your sentence!" Shirogane looked sly and he said, "well I know how much girls love Hot Springs so I booked us for a place…" Ichigos jaw dropped. "We're leaving tomorrow so Im cutting your work day short. Tell all the girls to go home." Ichigo cried out happily and squealed running out of the kitchen and exclaiming to all the girls. Akasaka put a hand on Shiroganes shoulder. "Look how happy you made them." "Bah."
"Oh, lovely!" "Wow! Wow!" "Ooh, I do need a good vacation." "…This may be enjoyable." Blackcherry didn't say anything. Ichigo suddenly tackled her with a hug. "Arent you excited??" Shizuma looked absolutely stunned and trembled a little. She was actually in Ichigos arms touching her skin… "Y..yes…" Shizuma almost got a nosebleed thinking about Ichigo in the hot springs. This would definitely be relaxing even though the water would probably make her cuts sting. Atleast there wouldn't be any kirema animas. No Quiche trying to grope Ichigo. None of that.
The next day, Shirogane lead the girls into a limo while Akasaka and himself were driving. Everyone was awed by the limousine but Mint and Zakuro remained unimpressed. Blackcherry was not used to being treated like this and looked kind of uncomfortable. "Shizuma-san?" Ichigos soft sweet voice pierced through Shizumas sad thoughts. "Momomiya?" she responded shyly. "Are you okay?" Ichigo laughed a little. "Y..yeah.." Shizuma gulped and looked down. Ichigo moaned. "I miss Aoyama-kun." That sent sharp spikes of pain up Shizumas spine. Masaya and Ichigo had become a genuine kiss-on-the-lips holding-hands couple. "I feel sick…" Blackcherry took in gasps of air and held onto a part of the seat. "It's okay," comforted Lettuce. "We're here already."
When they arrived at the hot springs shirogane and akasaka went to the blocked-off male side while the girls got undressed and wrapped their towels on. Blackcherry made sure she was the first one in and kept her towel on and tried to hide her scarred up body underneath the water but it was stinging her. Eventually all the girls got in. And then Ichigo came out of the changing room with her towel…
She was only 12 but had such voluptuous curves. Her hips and her smooth legs… Ichigo was only holding the front of the towel to her so when she got in she was very easy to see. Shizuma's "almost nosebleed" thoughts returned to her from earlier when she caught sight of Momomiyas porcelain skin and contrasting lovely hair darkened from the water. Pudding was being very cute as she splashed around in the water, her skin tanned. Shed be a beautiful girl one day. But even with all the loud noise Pudding was making Shizuma couldn't take her eyes off Momomiya.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!!"
S hiroganes call echoed throughout both sides of the springs. The girls looked at each other in confusion not knowing what was going on. They wanted to go see but that section was reserved for boys but they went anyway.
"Shirogane?!" a panicked ichigo came bursting through the barrier and low and behold in the boys section of the springs were Quiche Pai and Tart.
"Ironic." Pai muttered to himself but didn't really do anything. Tart was splashing around when he caught eye of pudding. "Tar tar!" the monkey girl chirped happily. Tart blushed but his voice sounded angry. "what are you old hags doing here??"
Shirogane got up. "Of all the…what are YOU villains doing here?"
Quiche got up, his pale greenish-white skin shining from the heat of the springs "I heard youd be here honey…" Quiche wrapped an arm around half-nude Ichigo. "And I thought wed have some fun!"
"Get your grimy hands off me! What are you do…" They were suddenly gone and a small heartshaped Kirema Anima was left in their place.
"Is it an alien?" Ichigo poked it and suddenly her eyes lost all the life in them and she collapsed.
"ICHIGO!" Shizuma exclaimed in a panic and leaned over her. "Ichigo?! She's not conscious!! Ichi…" Shizuma collapsed with empty eyes onto Ichigos body and there was a glow around their chests. Soon all the Mew Mew girls collapsed……..
"Ugh…" Ichigo said dizzily. She wasn't even wearing clothes but more a skirt was attatched to her body and she was glowing pink. "What is this place…what happened—I remember the kirema anima…and then…then…" Mint came flying into view. Then another Mint. And another Mint! A whole army of Mints and a whole collection of Zakuro, Pudding, and Lettuce. There was still only one Blackcherry. Ichigo looked confused but suddenly she too found herself surrounded by her duplicates. They all looked confused and dizzy. But they knew instantly what they had to do to get out of here—to find each of the right ones.
One clone searched out Mint and another for each girl. The leftover Ichigo clones were still very overpopulated but they walked over to Blackcherry.
"Youre still the real Blackcherry right?"
Blackcherry shivered when she heard the voices use her first name but then she looked serious.
"Ichigo…" Blackcherry walked through the crowd of them but she didn't look like she was scanning them. Blackcherry suddenly was crowded into the far left where she took one of the Ichigo's hands. "Momomiya…we have to get out of here…"
Ichigo looked shocked. In this group where none of us can even recognize each other… She found me? But how… The other clones began to crumple and disappear and the same was for the other Mew Mews. Shizuma smiled confidently.
"Shizuma…How did you…?"
"It's…It's kind of obvious." Shizuma looked embarrassed and looked down. "You have an intoxicating bright light that cant be overpowered by mimicking." That sounds corny—but that's exactly how I knew…They were all corpses to me but I felt instantly drawn to you…The real Ichigo.
"Blackcherry…" Ichigo gulped down some air. Her eyes are so dark when she looked at me that way…She reminds me of Aoyama…but Aoyama never looked at me like…Like he cherished me with all his being… They were instantly brought out of the world. Shirogane jumpstarted when the girls awoke a few hours later. "Aoyama-kun…" Ichigo groaned when she woke up and spoke to herself. It seemed like Masaya's love for Ichigo failed in comparison to Blackcherry's friendship but why was that…did he really not have any affection for her? Or was it Blackcherry…
To say the least the vacation wasn't very relaxing—but with the aliens out of sight and that particular Kirema Anima gone for good, they rode the limo back tiredly. Shizuma's eyes had a newfound sort of brightness to them because she felt like she had accomplished something or proved herself to Ichigo when she wasn't fooled by the copycats. And all the girls held hands on the ride home because they were all worried by what happened that they all might get separated in a swarm of fake each-other's. But Ichigos squeeze on Shizumas hand was the tightest of them all. They were all best friends, but none could be that close. But Ichigo felt guilty—why had she had doubts about Aoyama-kun in that dreamlike state? She gripped Shizumas hand tighter without realizing it but she felt more power than before but such less confidence…
(This wasn't stated to imply anything I just wanted to do fanservice for Quiche fans fyi.)