Are You Ready to Rumble?
A Tokyo Mew Mew Story by Tsumina
Pie hid behind a nearby flower pot, out of breath. He'd been running for who knows how long. His sensitive ears picked up every sound around him and he attempted to screen out the sounds of footsteps coming for him again. He looked up at the ceiling.
'That chandelier,' he thought in a panic, 'It makes too much noise! How am I supposed to hear--?'
Zakuro burst in through the enormous red oak doors, her eyes maliciously narrowed and her teeth bared. Two furry wolf ears pressed aggressively against her head and a tail lashed behind her.
"PIIIIIIIE!!" she bellowed. He held his breath and hoped for the best, but she paused and sniffed the air, then turned to look directly at him with a leer so scary he screamed.
"AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
He sat up in bed. Whew. It was only a dream. Morning sunshine poured in through the giant windows of the room and left warm tracks across the sheets. He remembered where he was now. This was Zakuro's mansion. Keiichiro had showed him the way last night.
=.= Flashback, nyaan! =.=
Keiichiro knocked on the door of the mansion. Pie stood beside him, his arms crossed over his chest, expecting nothing special. An elderly man opened the door.
"We're here to see Miss Zakuro Fujiwara," Keiichiro said.
"Is she expecting you?"
"She'll be happy to see us, I'm sure."
They were led into the house. Everywhere Pie looked, color was splashed into the furniture. All sorts of colors of the rainbow were found in here. In the statues, the bookcases, the tables, and the rugs. It hurt his eyes to see an unnaturally happy place. As his eyes explored the residence, a figure walked down the stairs. It was Zakuro. She was wearing a simple purple nightgown and fuzzy slippers. Even without her makeup, she was gorgeous, though somewhat different.
"Oh, you've arrived," she said, walking up to them. She stared at Pie for some time. A chill shot down his spine. Her gaze was so cold and penetrating. He wouldn't be surprised if she could see right through him. She was almost like an ice princess. He wanted to shy away from her, just in case she would freeze him to death with her touch. But she was beautiful, he had to admit. He liked the way she was so slim and her hair so sleek--
=.= Abrupt End of Flashback, nyaan! =.=
"Master Pie," the feeble voice of the old man called from the hall outside, "Ms. Fujiwara would like you to join her for breakfast."
Breakfast…the ice princess wanted to have breakfast with him? He teleported out of bed and proceeded to walk out the door, almost tripping over the pajama pants he had been provided with. He didn't want to leave the room. He didn't want to look at that creepy girl, but then again, he had been enthralled by her beauty. When he went down there, would he stare or keep his eyes on the ground?
He cautiously descended the polished wooden steps and he kept a firm grip on the smooth railing. The scent of newly steamed rice was easy to follow. He loved that scent. The aroma lured him into a very decorative room. Portraits hung everywhere, each portraying a stern face of a Fujiwara family member. A chandelier hung motionless from the ceiling, its bits of glass reflecting light all throughout the room. Through the center of the area, a very long banquet table stretched. And at the end of this table sat Zakuro, already dressed in a short denim skirt and a black tank top. Her hands were in her lap, the plate in front of her extremely clean.
"Good morning," she said in her usual low and hushed voice. He nodded in reply.
"Will you please join me for breakfast?" she offered. He chose a chair close to hers. It would have been awkward, otherwise. He felt so small when he sat down. The back of the chair extended far above his head, as it did for Zakuro's.
A young lady, perhaps in her mid twenties, walked up and respectfully bowed her head to Pie, "My name is Ikumi. Is there anything you like? I'll gladly make it for you."
Pie had never before had a meal on earth. He looked at Zakuro blankly, then back to Ikumi, and back to Zakuro again. The supermodel understood and told Ikumi, "He'll have an egg, over-easy, and a cup of rice."
"Right away, ma'am." Pie could hear the sound of Ikumi's high-heels clicking against the wood floor. When he was sure she'd left, he turned back to Zakuro, who was looking intently at him. He stared back at her.
"So……" he mumbled, unsure of what to say. She was making feel uncomfortable.
"How has your planet been after the use of the Mew Aqua we gave you?" she asked. He was thankful she was able to start a conversation that was alright with him.
"Our planet has flourished beautifully. Our air is pure, the grass is healthy, and the people are happy."
"I see."
Ikumi returned with a small plate. A perfect egg rested on the side of a flawless ball of rice. He was presented with chopsticks. He looked at the two sticks, confused.
"Like this," Zakuro said, showing him how she held hers, pressing one stick against her middle finger with the base of her thumb and another against her index finger using the tip of her thumb, "And you pick up the rice like this, you see. It's very simple. Try it."
Tok, tok, tok. He kept dropping the sticks, but as many times as he failed, he did not put them down and ask for another utensil.
'Idiotic human tool…so primitive, yet so complex…' he growled in his mind.
"Like this." She reached over hesitantly, for a model was supposed to have good table manners. Then again, no one was here to please except for Pie, plain and tall. Pie was quite surprised that his skin did not frost when she moved his fingers about to position them correctly. She actually felt quite warm.
"Try now."
He clicked the ends of the chopsticks together. He had done it. A little satisfied with himself, he proceeded to trying to pick up the rice. Individual grains slipped between the wooden chopsticks and he growled out loud. Zakuro placed her hand over her mouth and looked away.
'Now I've disgusted her…" Pie thought sheepishly, looking down at his plate. His face flushed.
However, he then heard a sound he had not expected. A giggle. Zakuro was giggling. She had put her hand to her mouth to muffle her twittering laughter.
"Ah ha ha ha! If it makes you feel better, use your hands. No one is here to criticize you."
He smiled gratefully and set the chopsticks down. 'Better yet,' he thought, 'I had better push them faaaaar away like this…'
Zakuro giggled again. He raised an eyebrow at her. He could tell she was not one to laugh much. Yet here she was, chuckling behind her hand
=.=
Lettuce awoke, but did not open her eyes just yet. The first thing she thought was 'Oh dear…I slept with my glasses on again.' Then 'Who is this with me?'
Ryou sleepily smiled down at her, the eye patch still on his face but the cold cream dollops were gone. "Good morning."
"GWAAAA!!!" she jumped away in confusion, toppling the whole sofa over. "Wo-wo-wo-WOAAAAH!!"
"Ouch!"
They tumbled backwards onto the floor and Lettuce jumped to her feet and grabbed a nearby vase. "Who?! Who?! Who?! Wh--"
"Lettuce," he replied in shock, "It's me, Ryou! Remember?"
She lowered the vase. "………oh…"
"Geez, woman…" he stood up and righted the sofa again. "You've gotta learn to calm down."
"I'm sorry…I was a little surprised, I guess…"
He turned to look at her, but winced terribly. "Aaaargh…"
"What? What's wrong?"
"My neck…I think I hurt it or something. OW!"
"Oh dear…" Lettuce ran to the kitchen to look for the first aid kit again.
=.=
Masaya had just finished showering. He felt nice and clean for the day ahead. He buttoned up his white shirt and went downstairs. Ichigo was sleeping heavily on the couch, her hair in a tizzy. Still, he saw her as a vision of an angel.
His gaze shifted to Kish, who perched on the top of the sofa, watching Ichigo sleep. A smile was on his face and he was looking at her tenderly.
"What're you doing here?" Masaya growled.
"Well, if it isn't Barf-Boy. Great job ruining Ichigo's blouse, by the way."
"Shut up. What are you doing, watching her sleep like that?"
"Because nothing else here is interesting, except for Ichigo. I've been up for a while, already. Since before dawn. Since then, I just came down here and watched her." He tucked a lock of Ichigo's hair behind her ear.
"You shouldn't watch peoples' girlfriends like that. It's…sick."
Kish chuckled and averted his stare back to Ichigo, who snuggled deep into her pillow, sighed, and continued to sleep peacefully. "She's beautiful, isn't she? Everything about her…her voice, her smile, her hair. The feel of her skin, the sparkling in her eyes, the way her body curves--"
WHACK.
Kish fell behind the couch as Masaya's shoe conked him in the head. His impact with the ground was signaled by a loud thud. Ichigo continued to sleep.
"What'd you do that for?!" Kish hissed as he hoisted himself up. His fangs showed themselves angrily and he glared at Masaya. Masaya returned the glare with one of his own. "She doesn't want you, get it? Quit stalking her."
"You don't own her," Kish smirked.
"No, but I protect her."
"I wouldn't hurt Ichigo. Not in a million years. So cool it."
"Not until you leave her alone."
"Come now…you make it sound like I'm a bad guy!"
"………"
"You ticked me off the day I met you." Kish jumped off the couch and aimed a punch at Masaya's chest, but due to his experience in combat, the blow was dodged. Masaya fought back with a kick to the chest that hit its mark. Kish went flying across the room and hit a wall.
Ichigo continued to slumber through the melee. She dreamed very peacefully.
"Masaya!" She waved to Masaya as he walked up the street, his business tie around his neck, his suitcase in hand.
"Ichigo!" He waved back to her. He loved her house-wife outfit. It was her Mew Mew Café dress and it suited her so well.
"Masaya!"
"Ichigo!"
"Masaya!"
"Ichigo!"
"Masaya!"
=.=
"And for breakfast, we've got pancakes and blueberries, and sausages!"
Tart's eyes were bloodshot. It had been a restless night. Really really, extremely incredibly awesomely amazingly fun, but he'd gotten little to no sleep. The last thing he wanted to do was serve breakfast to Pudding's little brothers and sisters.
"Pudding…I'm sorry to say this…but I can't move an inch…" he pulled the blanket over his head and closed his eyes. "I'm exhausted.."
"I see. Alrighty!" She bounced downstairs, where all her siblings were already gathered around the table.
"Where's Brother Tart?" Lucha asked.
"He's not feeling too well. He's exhausted, so ssssssh…" she put a finger to her lips. "You guys have to be quiet while I make breakfast. I can't do my pancake flip act today, alright?"
"Awww…." Everyone groaned. Honcha got out of her chair. "Sister Pudding, I forgot to make my bed. I'll be right back." And she disappeared. She scampered upstairs and jumped on Tart's bed.
"Brother Tart?"
"………"
"Brother Tart?" she called again.
"……whaaaaaaaat…" he responded groggily.
"Are you okaysie?"
"Yeah…I'm just tired…go away…"
"Brother Tart, why do you have your hair in pigtails?"
"Because………"
"Because whyyyyyyyy?"
"Because I can."
"Oh…you know, Pudding talks about you a lot. She always calls you Tar-Tar and when one of my brothers is being bad, she always tells them they should be more like you. And she used all her money to buy candy drops for you. She shares some with us, but she doesn't eat any for herself because she says she wants to eat with you!"
Tart was blushing under the covers. Why was Pudding so nice to him? She was sickeningly sweet.
"And she draws pictures of you sometimes! She really really really really really really really really missed you."
'Why can't she hate me…?' he thought to himself, 'I've never seen her cry before. Maybe I'll make her cry! That's it!'
Hanacha ran in. "Honcha! Breakfast is ready! Oh, Brother Tart, how are you?"
"…fine….I'm just SPIFFY."
"Why don't you come down and have breakfast with us?"
"I'm not feeling good."
"You want me to get you an ice pack?"
"No."
"But ice packs help me when I'm sick and they're fun to play with too! And sometimes I put them on peoples' chairs and they jump up screaming when they sit on them. It's so funny! You should try that prank sometime, really you should! It's really cool, or should I say cold!!"
"………."
Heicha skipped in. "Sister Pudding told me to get you two and to leave Brother Tart alone."
"Thank you…" Tart moaned.
"Are you okay, Brother Tart?" Heicha questioned.
"Yeeeeeeees…now go away…"
" Sister Pudding said you weren't feeling good."
"I just need to SLEEP."
Lucha and Cancha ran in. "Everyone, it's time for BREAKFAST!!"
"But we don't wanna go!"
"Sister Pudding said so!"
"But I want to stay with Tar-Tar!"
"You're supposed to call him Brother Tart!"
"But she calls him Tar-Tar!"
The children squabbled and Tart whimpered. Sleep…he just wanted….sleep….he begged for a miracle. Anything that would make them go away…and perhaps a little something to eat. He had been starving since last night.
"Cancha! Hanacha! Lucha! Honcha! Heicha! Why are you bothering Brother Tart? I've already made your breakfast. Go downstairs!" He heard Pudding enter and the children exit. He sighed with relief and looked out from the covers.
Pudding stood there in her nightgown holding a silver platter. A little stack of pancakes drizzled in syrup sat elegantly on a porcelain plate. A glass of milk was beside it and a tiny vase with a flower in it gave it a room service touch. The miracle he had asked for came in the form of a little girl and pancakes. He eyed the meal ravenously but acted uninterested.
"I brought you some breakfast. I know you're hungry." she said.
"What? What are you talking about?" he shot back.
"Your stomach growled all night. Don't think I didn't hear it!" She smiled and set the tray on his lap, her usual smile stretched across her face. "Well, dig in!"
And he gave into the pangs of hunger that had been driving them both nuts. Without bothering to use the fork and knife, he crammed whole pancakes in his mouth. Pudding did not find it at all repulsive. Having spent a few years taking care of her brothers and sisters, she'd seen a lot worse. "How are they?"
"Okay, I guess," he said between bites. This meant he loved them and he couldn't be more thankful.
'Well, I guess I won't try to make her cry, then.' He thought as he polished off the pancakes and moved on to the sausage, 'If anything, she's like a sister or something. I guess I could tolerate her.'
=.=
"Keiichiro needed my help making new pastries," Ryou said as he approached the front door. A firm neck brace prevented his head from turning to her right away. "Thanks for the hospitality. But I think that if I stay any longer, my leg's gonna end up broken."
Lettuce wore a hurt look on her face and Ryou quickly added, "Just kidding. I had a great time. Thanks for being my nurse." He grinned and so did she.
"Thank you for coming, Ryou," she said softly, then, hesitating, she gave him a hug. His grin widened a little. "A hug? Wow, haven't had one of those in a LONG time."
She wanted to tell him how much she liked him. How special he made her feel. She wanted to be the one to bring him happiness when he was lonely. His coming to her house made it worse for her to say goodbye.
She pulled out of the hug gently, and started to head back into the house, but her foot accidentally crossed with his, resulting in both of them landing face flat on the ground.
"My leg!!" Ryou yelped.
(Tsumina: Yes, that was a bit of an awkward chapter, I know. And kinda awkward. Sorry, guys. It'll be better though! Special thanks to Mew Ki, my first reviewer! And to Kuro-015 and GenkiAnimeGurl, KrysofDeath, ILoveRyouandPaiandKish, hi, Kohikari, and our special guest, Cooking Spray! Yaaay!)