Are You Ready To Rumble?
A Tokyo Mew Mew Story by Tsumina
Ichigo's basement was not the sort of basement you'd feel uncomfortable in. The boxes were neatly lined against the walls and there was a peaceful warmth that always lingered there in the summer. Lit by a single ceiling light, it was still a little dark.
"You sleep here, Kish." Ichigo said, opening the door for him. The alien peered in.
The truth was that he was disappointed he couldn't get a better room. At least there was a blanket down there for him to rest on. He didn't find it too homely. Even if he was an alien, he knew comfort. This was not comfort.
"I like it," he lied as he floated down the stairs. By the time he reached the bottom, Ichigo had already continued further into the house, holding Masaya protectively by the hand. Kish sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. He'd make do.
"This is your room, Masaya!" Ichigo revealed an enormous room decorated in blue wallpaper. Several eJump posters lined the room and coated the closet door. The bed literally had no wrinkles on it. Ichigo had, of course, brought the ironing machine and pressed the sheets to perfection. Cat plushies rested on the pillows, their wide eyes staring in the direction of the door.
"Wow, Ichigo!" Masaya exclaimed, "It's perfect! I love it! You shouldn't have made it so lovely though. You've really outdone yourself!"
"Only the best for my Masaya!" she replied, smiling wide.
Now, all of you are probably calling Ichigo mean things because she shoved Kish in the basement while she's pampering Masaya. Just to make sure the reviewers don't ask me to murder Ichigo in nasty ways, let me just point out that Kish DID turn up unexpectedly, DID kiss her against her will, and DID come uninvited. Then again, Ichigo was still being quite nasty to him. In fact, she was being so terrible even SHE realized it.
"Um…Masaya? When you're finished unpacking, I'll be downstairs in the kitchen, alright?"
"Of course, my princess," he grinned at her as she closed the door. She giggled hesitantly in reply.
She made her way down the stairs and she carefully opened up the basement door. There was Kish, broom in hand, sweeping an enormous pile of dust into a corner. It was neater down there than before. In fact, Ichigo figured that she wouldn't mind sleeping there at all. He turned around, his face a little dirty and some spider web tangled in his hair.
"Oh, hi." he said boredly.
"Um…hey…Kish…" she said in a hushed voice, "I'm sorry you have to stay down here. Do you want to sleep in my room instead?"
No sooner had she said this, Kish had dropped the broom and teleported inches from her face, "You mean it? I really get to share rooms with you? Wow, Ichigo, this is so sudden! I can't believe we already have this sort of intimacy and trust and--"
"Don't wet yourself," Ichigo scolded, "If you sleep in my room, I'll sleep on the couch."
"Aw…I'm sure there's plenty of room, though!"
She sighed. "So do you want to sleep in my room or not?"
He thought about it. And thought some more. Heck, he thought a lot on it. Finally, he replied in the negative and explained, "I've already tidied up around here enough to the point where I like it. And don't worry, I'll forgive you…"
"Thanks, Kish."
"…if you give me a kiss." he puckered up his lips and closed his eyes, but when he opened them again, the girl had vanished back up the stairs, the sound of her bell tinkling down the hallway.
Ichigo entered the kitchen and froze. She hadn't prepared a snack for Masaya!
'Do not forget Kish,' her mind checked her.
'But he--'
'--is your guest and should be treated with as much respect as Masaya, correct?'
She sighed, defeated. What recipes did she know? Let's see…cupcakes? Jello molds? Pound cake? No, not pound cake. Her eyes glittered as she squealed, "Carrot cake!". And seeing as this was her best recipe, she set to work, taking out the materials she needed. Eggs, flour, carrots of course! And vanilla and butter, the baking sodas and powders. She had it memorized, almost, but she opened the recipe book, just in case. (Please note that I do not have the recipe memorized and following Ichigo's upcoming cooking steps will not make a carrot cake). She was just about to start when Masaya strolled in, his hands in his pockets and his normal, warm smile brilliantly painted onto his face.
"Hey there, what are you doing?" he asked, standing behind her and wrapping his arms around her shoulders. She blushed, leaned her head against his arm, and replied, "A carrot cake."
"Ah, a cake!" he exclaimed, "I love baking. Can I help?"
The only thing better than baking a cake for Masaya was baking a cake WITH Masaya for Masaya! She nodded and scanned the recipe sheet. "Okay, we need three cups of flour."
"I've got it!" he said, picking out the correct measuring cup. "One, two--"
"ICHIGO!" Kish suddenly sprinted into the kitchen and jumped up on the counter, much like Shamu the whale does at Sea World shows. However, his dramatic entrance caused the last cup of flour to be knocked into Masaya's face, coating the poor boy in white.
"Kish, look what you did!!" Ichigo shrieked, patting the flour off Masaya.
"I'm soooooorry…" Kish grinned and helped her remove the flour. "That was so rude of me. Please, allow me to help bake the cake in recompense." He bowed low to hide the growing smile.
Ichigo's conscience began hauling her unwillingly from the answer she wanted to give. "Y-Yes, Kish. You can help bake the cake." It felt like the hardest words she'd ever had to say. "Masaya, could you please add that last cup of flour?"
"Mmhmm," he replied a little grumpily. His eyelashes were still frosted with powdery flour but he did as she asked without hesitation.
"Next," Ichigo continued, "We'll add the butter." She looked up and saw Kish quickly plop a stick of butter into the mixing bowl, then flash a challenging smirk at Masaya. Masaya narrowed his eyes but said nothing.
"Ooookay…now two cups of sugar."
Masaya reached for the measuring cup, but once again, Kish was too swift for him. Two cups of sugar sprinkled their way into the cooking mix. "This is fun," Kish commented.
"Alright, this part takes a long time. We have to mince three cups of carrots. Hn…should we use the blender for this one?" she looked up, and Masaya and Kish were quickly chopping up the carrots. Their eyes were locked with each other's, though each of them minced the carrots quite beautifully.
"No need for blenders, Ichigo!" Masaya said.
"We've got it covered!" Kish confirmed.
Each of them had finished one cup. This left one last cup to fill. They were now vigorously hacking at their carrots, each sending glares at the other, as if challenging him to finish first. Ichigo watched, wide eyed.
"DONE!" they both yelled at the same time. And in unison, they each poured their one cup of minced carrots into the bowl, panting in slight exhaustion.
"Oh, that's enough, that's enough! Too many carrots!" As she realized they were not paying attention to her, she added, "Or…we could have lots of carrots…it IS a carrot cake, right?" She giggled nervously, "Um…four eggs, now."
"Eggs?" Kish echoed, "Got ya covered, Ichigo!" He speedily cracked an egg against the side of the bowl and a perfect yolk spilled into the powdery and carroty mix. Masaya began cracking eggs as well.
Ichigo observed and counted aloud as egg yolks appeared in the bowl. "One…two…three…four…okay, guys, that's enough! That's five right there…six…Masaya, stop now! Seven…eight….nine…okay, ten eggs is fine! Kish, no, that makes eleven!" She quickly snatched the bowl away. Eleven eggs worth of yolk and egg white puddled in a syrupy clump. She sighed and began beating the mix together with a spoon.
"Don't be ridiculous, Ichigo," Kish chimed, "Just use the electric mixer thing!" He plugged in the electric mixer and it whirred mechanically, the rotating metal utensils working menacingly. Ichigo's eyes widened, while once again, Masaya's narrowed.
"B-Be careful, Kish!" the little Momomiya cautioned as she began to slowly inch behind Masaya.
"Careful? Of course I'll be careful! I…oops!" Attempting to make it look like an accident, Kish tripped forward. Had Masaya not moved back, his shirt would have been caught in it. "I'm sorry!" Kish faked. "Let me just adjust the settings on this so no one gets hurt." WHIR WHIR! It spun faster and again, he attempted to trip onto Masaya once more.
"Watch it!" Ichigo's fiancée growled, stepping backwards, "Hey, turn that off!"
"It's…it's out of controooool!!" Kish wailed as he chased Masaya around the kitchen, the mixer still revving madly. Masaya fled for his life around and around the room.
"KIIIIIIIIISH!" Ichigo yelled as loud as she could. However, it wasn't loud enough. She was about to yell even harder, but before she could, the extension wire on the mixer was stretched and Kish was yanked to the ground. "GAAAAAAH!!!"
=.=
"I told you to be careful," Ichigo growled, "But nooooooo…"
She stretched a Band-Aid across the cut that Kish had gained on his forehead. He winced and yelped. "Ow! That hurts!"
"It's your fault, you baby."
"I was just trying to help," he whimpered, staring at his shoes. He put on a puppy face and sniffled, looking up at her with watery eyes. Masaya, who stood next to Ichigo, rolled his eyes and continued to scowl at the alien. Not only was flour still caught in his eyelashes, eyebrows, and bangs, but the last egg in the carton had found its way onto his shirt, and the entire container of milk had accidentally been dumped on his head.
"I think a kiss will make my boo boo feel better right away," Kish suggested.
"Then you'll have to heal slowly." Ichigo replied, snapping the first aid kit shut and placing it back in a drawer. The timer on the oven chirped 'PING!' and she opened the oven.
The cake was enormous. After all, there was almost a dozen eggs in it. She raised an eyebrow. It looked a little…drippy.
"I'll taste-test it!" Kish cried out, jumping off the counter. Before he could stick a finger in the gooey substance, she slapped his hand away. "No, let's invite everyone to come and eat with us, okay? I don't think we could finish it by ourselves." Frankly, she didn't WANT to eat it, and if Masaya and Kish were to share one amongst themselves, the cake would be all over the kitchen. Again.
She picked up the phone and dialed. Kish, cocking his head, asked, "Who're you calling?"
Ichigo didn't have time to reply. Her phone call had already been answered.
"H-Hello?" Lettuce's shy voice greeted.
"Lettuce, this is Ichigo."
"Hello, Ichigo."
"How is everything with Pie?"
Pie was actually still inside her room. Only God knew what that strange and sulky alien was doing. They hadn't spoken a word to each other since the arrival home. He had never made eye contact with her. It was a little sad, she had to admit.
"Everything's…quiet."
"Good to hear. Hey, why don't you bring him over to my place for a while? I…I mean, Masaya, Kish, and I made a cake."
"That sounds like a good idea."
"Cool! I'll call up everybody and we'll all get together."
"Alright"
"Ciao!"
Lettuce hung up the phone. This couldn't be too hard. All she had to say was that Ichigo was having a get together and they were invited. Simple as that. She stood outside her bedroom door and raised a fist to knock, then she stopped. What would he say? What would she do if he didn't want to go? And if he DID want to go, they'd have to walk side by side for fifteen minutes to get to Ichigo's house. What would she say? Would she have to say anything? Did he expect her to? What if he was asleep right now and she woke him up? What if he was grumpy and mean the rest of his stay?!
"For the fifteenth time," Pie said from inside, "You can come in."
"Oh!" she quickly entered. Pie was sitting on the bed, his hands on his knees. He steadily watched her, his eyes glinting with alertness.
"Can I help you?" he mumbled.
"I…um…I got a…call and…uh…I…"
"Hn?"
"Ichigo called and…um…"
He sighed and said in an unusually tired voice, "It's not like I'm going to eat you. No need to act like it."
Lettuce blushed from embarrassment. "Ichigo is…is inviting us for cake…Would you…like to…?"
He got up and walked past her. As he did so, it felt like her heart had stopped beating. No, Lettuce wasn't heart stricken. She was just scared to death of him. Tremors traveled down her spine.
"Let's go," he murmured. He seemed to stare an icy hole right through her. She wanted to faint. To at least close her eyes. Anything but walk for fifteen minutes with him.
"Why don't you teleport there?" she whispered, "I still have to…uh…p-powder my nose and get dressed."
He raised an eyebrow. "Are you not already dressed?"
She blushed, "Y-Yes, of course, but I need to put on more p-presentable clothes. It's a party a-after all, right?"
He shrugged and disappeared. Lettuce's knees went weak. She sank to the ground, trembling. Yes, she was overreacting, but why don't you try living with the fact that there's an alien in your house? She inched herself towards the phone and slowly dialed.
"Hi, you've reached the Mew Mew Café! This is Keiichiro. How may I help you?"
"K-Kei-Keii-"
"Miss Lettuce?" he said, his voice as drenched in concern as his lemon cakes were in icing. That's a LOT of icing.
"I-I-Is Ryou there?"
"Yes, m'lady. I'll get him as quickly as I can."
She heard a little click as the phone was set down. Moments later, Ryou's clear voice answered the phone.
"Lettuce?"
"R-R-R-Ryou?"
"What's wrong? Has he done something to you?!"
"N-No…I'm j-j-just…j-just…"
"Lettuce, what's wrong?"
She was blushing furiously. His voice was glorious over the phone. No, must focus! Focus focus! "Ryou, I'm scared of him! I don't know how I can take this!"
"Okay, okay. Calm down. I'll be over there in a little while. Where is he right now?"
"G-Gone. He went to Ichigo's house for a party. I'm supposed to be going too…"
"Well if you don't want to go, call Ichigo and let her know, but I'm coming over there, alright?"
"Thank you so much, Ryou. Thank you so so so much…"
(Tsumina: Okay, that's all for today. I'll type more tomorrow, depending on if I get anymore reviews, okay? I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I had a blast thinking up the kitchen scene. There'll be a lot more where that came from . I mean…think about it…there's the party coming up, and then it'll be bedtime, and there's always breakfast, an outing….eyes sparkle …it'll be grand! But only…ONLY if people review, okees? I don't like typing up stories if no one will read them, though I'll have to admit, this is very entertaining for me. Take care, everyone! Stay off drugs, stay in school (or work), and don't do anything stupid! Ciao!)