Are You Ready To Rumble?

A Tokyo Mew Mew Story by Tsumina

"Are you sure that's cake?" Zakuro inquired, raising an eyebrow at the runny mess contained in a baking pan.

"Of course it's cake!" Kish shot back, "I helped make it and it probably tastes glorious. You can't judge it by how it looks."

"It looks like pig slop," Pudding admitted without a second thought. Ichigo clenched her fists and blushed.

Mint looked up from her cup of tea. "Ichigo, your pastries are actually good, most of the time. Why the sudden change?"

"Aw, come on! Will someone at least taste it?" Kish growled, "Can't be THAT bad."

Pudding plopped some of the cake onto her saucer and crammed a spoonful of it in her mouth. As everyone watched her carefully, she swallowed and made a face. "I don't think that's cake! Ew ew!"

Everyone knew that Pudding tended to overreact at times, but they also knew that that girl could intake five pounds of sugar a day and, due to her high metabolism, keep a slim figure and still crave some more. She'd most likely know what a cake was and wasn't supposed to taste like.

Mint, though quite smug and sarcastic, didn't want to be too rude to Ichigo, so she ventured to take a bite as well. She shut her eyes tight and gulped it down. The thick, clumpy, sweet batter ran down her throat like cough syrup and she couldn't help but sputter. "Ichigo, what did you put in this?!"

Zakuro pushed her saucer away from her and looked up at the ceiling and Mint and Pudding promptly followed her example. Tart smirked. "Figures that an old hag couldn't cook worth--OUCH!" Kish brought a fist crashing down on Tart's head. "Don't insult Ichigo's cooking!"

"Actually, I just read out the ingredients," Ichigo mumbled, but she caught her breath as she saw Masaya spoon the dessert onto his saucer. He delicately poked a spoonful into his mouth.

'Ugh, it's horrible,' he thought to himself, 'But I can't bring her spirits down.'

"Pretty good!" he smiled. His girlfriend's face lit up joyously. Zakuro, Mint, and Pudding sighed. They knew he was telling a white lie. NO ONE could actually think it was delicious.

Instead of using a saucer, Kish plunged a spoon into the batter, crammed it in his mouth, and without swallowing, announced, "It is amazing! It is awesome! I've never tasted anything better! I'll have some more, just because it's so great!" And he began shoveling the nasty mix between his lips.

"Hey, I was going to have a second helping too!" Masaya said, grabbing his spoon and also tossing dollops of cake onto his tongue. He wanted Ichigo to feel appreciated and that HE appreciated her more than Kish did. And so, an unofficial 'cake' eating contest ensued between Masaya and the infatuated alien.

Tart blushed from embarrassment for his comrade, and Pie just leaned up against a wall and frowned. Zakuro took her leave of the party and marched outside the door without a backwards glance. Mint tended to Ichigo, who had fainted on the couch. Pudding and Tart sat on the table and cheered the contestants on.

=.=

Lettuce slowly opened the door, though she knew who she was expecting. Ryou was standing outside on the porch. It was not usual for her to see him in casual attire. He usually wore that weird black outfit, but today, it was torn, baggy jeans, a white t-shirt, and a pair of tennis shoes.

"Hey," he said in a quiet voice that matched the still night.

She opened the door for him and he strolled inside, his hands deep in his pockets.

"Hello…" she whispered back.

Ryou looked around her house. This was his first time to visit one of the Mew Mews' houses. He had fully expected to come to Ichigo's first, but the Midorikawa residence was not so disappointing. It held a faithful Chinese theme in all the vases and decorative dishes in the curio cabinets as well as the rugs and furniture.

"You have a nice house," Ryou commented, "It's very…China-ish."

"Th-Thanks…my mom is Chinese so…yeah…"

He turned back to look at her. Her face was reddening and her gaze was pointed fixedly at the beige carpet.

"Y'alright? He scared you that badly?"

"I'm sorry…"

He frowned. "Don't apologize. It's not your fault. Hey…" Ryou held her hand and tried to look into her eyes, but Lettuce's stubborn green optics refused to glance upwards. He tucked a finger under her chin and tilted her head upwards.

"You've got nothing to be sorry for or afraid of."

Her heart was beating quickly, her blush deepened and she trembled when she felt his touch. Everything about him was peaceful and gentle, yet he had street smarts and knew when to take charge. That's why she loved him so much.

"Hey, I'm kinda hungry," he said, "I was about to have dinner when you called. Rushed here right away."

"Oh, I'm so sorry!"

"Didn't I just tell you not to be sorry?"

"Okay…well…I can make you something. What do you feel like eating?"

"Anything you can make well."

"Oh, I just remembered! My mom left some homemade nikkuman (steamed pork buns) for me. I can't finish all four of them. Would you like me to warm one up for you?"

"As I said, anything you can make well."

"Yes, alright…please wait here on the couch and make yourself comfortable. I will be back shortly."

Ryou sat on the couch as she instructed, and he sank deeply into the super soft cushion. His knees were level with his face.

"Eh…"

He struggled to get up, but not only was the cushion extremely squishy, it was very smooth. His hands slipped and he sank further into the cushion.

"L-Lettuce…?"

She was in the kitchen, standing in front of the microwave. It was very old fashioned and therefore quite noisy. Ryou's cries for help were lost in monotonous hums.

'I can't believe Ryou's in my house,' she thought to herself, 'And he came because I needed him!'

The blush, which had disappeared from her face, was renewed and her cheeks burned. She crossed her arms over her chest and cleared her throat. She couldn't act silly. She couldn't mess up tonight. The microwave oven signaled its final seconds with a PING and she placed them on two saucers.

"Lettuce…Lettuce…LETTUCE!" Ryou's hand waved above the couch as it seemingly swallowed him in its leather jaws.

She heard him yelling and hoped that he wasn't hurt. "Ryou?! Are you okay?!" She sprinted in, the nikkuman bouncing on their saucers, still pouring steam. As she approached the couch, she tripped. The nikkuman went flying through the air and landed on Ryou's face while Lettuce fell into his lap.

"Aaaaargh!!" he yelled.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Omigosh, I'm so sorry!"

=.=

Ichigo woke up, her head spinning. Mint's face was the first thing she saw, along with the rice paper fan she was using to fan Ichigo's face.

"Oh, you're awake!"

"Mint…please tell me they're not at it anymore…" she pleaded.

"No, not anymore."

"Miiiiiiiint…" Kish moaned from the floor, "Bathroom…where is it again…?"

"For the seventh time, that way." She pointed behind her.

"Uuugh…I'm so full…I can't eat another bite…" he complained as he used his hands to drag himself bodily to the restroom. Masaya stirred on the couch, drops of the cake batter still on his mouth.

"Masaya, are you alright?"

He opened his bleary eyes. The spoon was clutched weakly in his hand. He looked awful. "Me? Yeah…never better…your cake was so good, I think I overate…"

She frowned and, with Mint and Pudding's help, edged herself onto Masaya's couch. "You don't have to pretend…I know it was awful."

"Well, yeah, that's true…" he sighed, "But I didn't want to bring you down."

"Masaya, you can't bring me down. I didn't even make the carrot cake and--"

He pressed his lips gently against hers and her eyes widened in surprise, but of course, she did not pull away. She went into a dreamy trance and was lost in a sea of dreams. (Mint had covered Pudding's eyes and hauled her and Tart out the door to give the couple some alone-time.)

"Ichigo…" Masaya whispered as his lips left hers.

"Masaya…"

"I-Ichigo…" His voice was suddenly rigid.

"Masaya?" Her eyes opened slightly.

"I-Ichigo…I don't feel so….BLUCK!!"

Half the digested carrot cake splattered down Ichigo's front and on her neck. She sat there in shock, not sure what just happened.

"Oh God…I'm so sorry, Ichigo!" Masaya said, reaching for his hanky in his pocket to clean her up.

"No, it's alright." She stood up and ran to the bathroom. That was probably the grossest thing that had ever happened to her. What happened to the romantic moment? One minute, her lips were lovingly pushed against his, and the next minute, Masaya's vomit was soaking into her blouse. She gripped the silver doorknob of the bathroom and yanked it open.

There was Kish, leaning over the toilet, puking his guts out. He turned and looked at her sheepishly. "Why, good morning, Ichigo. The sight of your glorious face lifts my spirits." He wrinkled his nose. "Though I can't say the same about your scent. The only thing that smell lifts is the acid in my--BLUCK!!" He quickly leaned over the toilet bowl again, coughing and sputtering.

Ichigo hiked the stairs and ran into her own bathroom , throwing her blouse, capris, and undies to the floor.

"Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew!" She jumped into the shower and hot water spilled over the curves of her body. "I can't believe this is happening!!"

=.=

Ryou winced as Lettuce's fingertip rubbed a soft, white substance on his cheek.

"It stings…" he said.

"It'll stop in a while," Lettuce replied. She took another glob of cold cream and applied it to his face. "I'm so sorry…I didn't mean to…"

"Nah, it's fine. It wasn't all that bad. You were just trying to save me, right?" He grinned and she couldn't help but feel a little happier.

"Nikkuman?" she offered. He laughed and picked up the pork bun, and taking a big bite, said, "Mmm…that's pretty good for a homicidal nikkuman."

"Tee hee…" Lettuce giggled, "Alright, let me just finish up with the cold cream." The other burn was between his eyes. She applied the ointment and Ryou watched her steadily. Those eyes of his had her in a trance. The way they looked like beautiful skies encased in delicate marbles was breathtaking. His blonde bangs hung over those marbles like healthy fields of wheat…

"Gaah! My eye! That burns!"

"I'm sorry!!!"

"Cold cream…in my…eye!!"

"I'm so sorry! I'm so so sorry!"

=.=

Ichigo padded back down the stairs. She was now dressed in her pink pajamas but her hair, still very much wet, was kept up in a towel turban. She felt a lot fresher and not so freaked anymore.

"BEGONE, DEMON!!"

"Mom? Are you home?" Ichigo stopped at the bottom of the stairs and saw Sakura Momomiya, her mother, brandishing a broom and cornering Kish near the front door.

"Mom, don't hurt him!"

"He's a demon, or a mole creature…he's not normal!!" her mother shrieked.

"Ichigo, help me! Your mom's going psycho!!" Kish pleaded.

"Mom, I'm serious! Don't hurt him! That's Kish and he's a good friend of mine! He's an alien, but he's a friend! Please put down the broom! Please!?"

Sakura lowered the broom, a sugar sweet countenance taking her over. "Oh, a friend? It's so nice to meet you, Kish. Won't you have some tea?" Kish stared at her in shock as she continued. "Oh, don't be shy! There's nothing to worry about. We have plenty of tea and I'll be more than happy to make you some. Here, I'll leave you alone with Ichigo and then I'll call you when I'm finished!"

She bounced off the scene and Kish sat, traumatized, on the ground. "Dang…she's an exact replica of you! She's just missing a few screws." Ichigo helped him to his feet.

"Kish…you smell awful."

"Got a bath I can use?"

"Can't you just use the hose outside…?"

"Nope."

"Fine. It's upstairs."

Kish teleported upstairs and Ichigo could hear him explore the rooms. She walked into the living room. Masaya still sat on the couch and he was fast asleep. Even in sickness, he was a glory to behold, and she was glad he was hers, and that she was his. She sat next to him again, then went rigid. He still smelled like regurgitated cake.

'Kinda ruins the whole effect,' she thought to herself. Then, a light bulb lit over her head and she dug into her pockets, then fished out a small bottle of perfume. (Don't ask why she has the perfume. Fate just makes it happen, alright?!) Carefully, she allowed a mist of apple cinnamon aroma to descend on him. His eyes fluttered open.

"Ichigo? What was that…?"

"N-Nothing!" she thrust the bottle back into her pocket and smiled.

"BWAAAAAA KA MWEEEEEE!!!" Kish screeched upstairs.

"What's wrong with him now?!" Ichigo sighed as she got up and ascended the stairs, the bell around her neck ringing lightly. His voice was coming from her room. From the bathroom. She knocked, but was only greeted with more wailing.

"I'm coming in, Kish!" She pushed open the door.

The bathtub was teeming with bubbles and in the sea of soapiness sat Kish. His hair was soaked and topped with the result of using all of Ichigo's bubble bath solution. Ichigo blushed. "K-Kish?!"

"Hn? Did you need something?"

"Are you okay? I heard screaming."

"Oh, this? BWAAAAAA KA MWEEEEEEE KA LAAAAKAAAALAAAAY!!"

She covered her ears. "Yes yes. That!"

"Heh…that's just a folk song from my planet. We sing it all the time."

"Oh"

"…yeah…"

"Alright…"

"Mmhmm"

"…yep…"

"Ichigo?"

"Yes?"

"Could you…uh…"

"Oh, sorry." She blushed and closed the door.

=.=

Tart threw himself on one of the many beds in Pudding's bedroom. He was exhausted. "Does it always take two hours to feed your brothers and sisters?!"

"No, about three hours, usually! Cancha, Hanacha, Lucha, Honcha, and Heicha are growing kids. They need lots of protein and fruits and vegetables! Thanks for helping out. We make a great team, you know. You should come over more often. Did you get enough to eat?"

"I guess so."

"You only ate a piece of corn, though!"

"I'm fine." Truth was, he was starving. But the last thing he wanted was to go back down there into the sea of siblings. Pudding saw through the lie.

"Well, I've got a big stash of candy up here." She fished under her bed for a while, then hauled up an enormous burlap sack. Inside were thousands of multicolored candy drops. Tart jumped back in surprise.

"It's no wonder you never shut up! Look at all of this! And this is only your secret stash! How much more candy do you have in this house?!"

"We run out everyday. Cancha, Hanacha, Lucha, Honcha, and Heicha eat most of the candy, so I use all the earnings from my performances on the street to buy some for myself! I know it looks like a lot…I do share it with my brothers and sisters, but they only get one a night."

"But if they know where the stash is, can't they just take some whenever they want?"

"I have my ways of keeping them under control." Tart noticed a shiny metal baseball bat near Pudding's bed. "Well, don't be shy," she said, "Take as much as you want!"

He picked out a purple candy drop and slipped it into his mouth and sucked on it, then failed to restrain a grin. "Tastes better than the carrot cake, anyway."

=.=

Pie scratched his nose. Yes, he'd been there the entire time, but we all know Pie. He didn't say a word throughout the whole party, he only rolled his eyes once in a while and twitched in disgust as he witnessed the eating contest. He even chuckled when Masaya threw up on Ichigo, but still, he was not noticed and frankly, we could go through the entire story and leave him out. But, we won't.

As Ichigo went upstairs to check on Kish, she left Masaya and Pie alone in the living room. Masaya, now fully rested, looked around the room and noticed the tall alien standing in the corner.

"You've been there the entire time?"

"Mhm."

"Aren't you going to go back to Lettuce's house?"

Pie stood beside the couch. "As none of you noticed, my communicator rang during the vulgar eating contest. Akasaka, the owner of the Mew Mew café, told me that Lettuce was no longer able to have me in her abode. I shall be staying with Miss Zakuro tonight."

"That's tough. Have you talked to her before?"

"No, I only battled with her, but we have put our combat behind us for this visit."

"Well, you should go. Make friends with her as soon as you can, or it'll be pretty awkward."

Pie nodded and disappeared. Masaya noticed that Kish's wailing had stopped and Ichigo came down the stairs, a hard blush etched across her face. "You alright, Ichigo?"

"Yeah. I'm fine," she said, smiling nervously.

"Hm…you know, I still don't have a nickname for you."

She looked at him, quite confused as to why he brought it up. He really had no reason.

"Well, I could call you Ich."

"Ich?"

"Yeah…Ich…"

"………"

"Or not. You know, 'Ichigo' suits you just fine."

=.=

"I can't go on…can we take a rest..?" Tart panted. He lay motionless on the bed. Pudding, on the contrary, bounced on it till Tart thought the mattress would pop into a flurry of five billion feathers.

"A rest? I can't rest tonight! Wow, I've never had so many candy drops! But I guess that's because I haven't really had anyone to party so long with! I mean, look at the time! It's three in the morning already! And I've had one two three four five six seven eight nine ten eleven twelve…..skip a few…..fifty four candy drops! Wowie! I think I'll have another!"

"Brother Tart…make her stop…" Cancha moaned. Hanacha and Honcha pressed pillows against their ears and Lucha and Heicha tossed and turned in their sleep. Tart snatched the sack of candy away from Pudding, who looked at him questioningly.

"What are you doing, Tar-Tar?"

"You can't have anymore! You'll get a cavity or something! You'll die of malnutrition! Aren't you afraid of any of that?"

She hugged his leg. "Wow, you always look out for me, Tar-Tar! You're like the big sibling I never had!"

He was a little flustered and he attempted to push her off, but she clung all the tighter. After ten minutes of struggle, he sighed in defeat. "Why are you so clingy?"

"………"

"Oh…she's asleep"

=.=

Ryou, at this time, now had an eye patch over one eye as well as two blotches of cold cream on his face. He held a mug of tea close to his lips. Lettuce had fallen asleep next to him, her head resting against his shoulder. Her breaths were even and relaxed. She didn't seem afraid anymore. He thought it was silly, really…the way she overreacted. It was just an alien. Pie wasn't the aggressive type from what he'd seen. Still, he liked being here, in this Chinese house, with an inside and out beautiful person. He wondered why he hadn't noticed her before. His own eyelids had begun to feel heavy. He put the tea down and closed his eyes. He resolved to sleep right here tonight, right next to Lettuce.

"Don't get the wrong idea though," he mumbled facetiously to her, "I just don't wanna get up right now."

=.=

Masaya had gone to bed and Ichigo stood up for a while to clean up after the party guests. Her parents had gone to sleep as well. When she had finished, Ichigo trudged wearily up the stairs into her room. Resting in the folds of her fluffy, pink blanket was Kish. In front of him, Ichigo's teen magazines lay wide open to pages about weight loss and what not. He looked very comfortable and satiated there

'He looks kinda…cute when he's asleep,' she said to herself. It was alright. She wouldn't wake him. She would sleep on the couch tonight.

"Good night, Kish."

(Tsumina: Wow, Ichigo must be having so much fun I am, though. I'm sorry for the excessive vomiting, but when I lead the plot in one direction, I have to keep a flow. I promise, there will be no regurgitation in the next chapter. Thanks for your reviews. There aren't many, but thanks to everyone!)