Chapter Two
A Few Good Mews
"Everything's quiet so far." Lettuce reported to Keiichiro and Ryou when her shift at the café was over. "I did hear that there was a girl who was winning all her swimming races, but there wasn't anything unusual behind it."
"I haven't heard anything either." Zakuro said, dropping her tray into the sink and taking off her apron.
"Be ready in case you do." Ryou said while looking out into the seating area. "If there's a Mew out there, we need to find her before there's real trouble."
"Is Ichigo here yet?" Lettuce asked as she took off her apron and hung it on a rack. "She and Mint are scheduled to work next." At that moment, Masha, Ryou's former pink puffball of a robot flew into the café and began beeping wildly. "Kirema Anima! Kirema Anima!"
"What? Now?" Lettuce asked.
"You two go with Masha and find out what's happening." Ryou ordered. "I'll try to contact the other Mews."
"Right." Zakuro and Lettuce said in unison and ran out the back door, the pink ball of fluff in tow.
"Excuse me folks," Ryou said over the intercom that led to the cafe, "for a short while we will be closing. Upon reopening, however, there will be free drinks for an hour. Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your cooperation." A collective groan was heard from the seating area, but Ryou had other things on his mind.
At that point Keiichiro came up the stairs from the basement and Ryou immediately went over to him. "What is it?" He asked.
"There's something on the monitor I think you'd want to see." He said, beckoning him down into the basement.
"Right here." Keiichiro said, pointing to the monitor screen, where a flashing light was indicating.
"Yeah, it's a Kirema Anima alright." Ryou said sighing. "Right now Lettuce and Zakuro are on it. We need to contact the other Mews."
"Ichigo, Mint and Pudding are already there, fighting it." Keiichiro said in a calm voice. "Ichigo already reported that over Masha's transponder, they were on their way to work and it just appeared in front of them. However, there is something else there as well."
"Well, what is it?" Ryou asked impatiently.
"Wait, Masha just got there and is sending us footage." Keiichiro replied, opening a file that was flashing on the screen. At once, the window on the computer opened and showed a battle between the Mew Mews and a fly Kirema Anima being fought. Around the scene, people were screaming and running for their lives.
"What is it you wanted to show me?" Ryou asked hurriedly.
"That girl." Keiichiro said, pointing to the monitor. On the screen, a girl with dark red hair was standing amid the smoke and debris watching the battle play out. On her face was a look of awe and wonder.
"What about her?" Ryou asked, confused, and angry that his friend was wasting his time on something that seemed so trivial.
"Keep watching." Keiichiro said, the calm in his voice making Ryou even more crazy with impatience. All of a sudden, when Ichigo was dismantling the monster with her Sutoro Bell Bell attack, the red-headed girl seemed to flicker for a second. For a brief period, she seemed to possess red dog-like ears and a bushy tail.
"Are you sure?" Ryou asked, understanding now why Keiichiro brought this to his attention.
"Yes, her genetic make-up must be reacting to the battle scene. And look at her face, it's blank. She must have no idea that it's going on." Keiichiro finished.
"Tell the Mews to report here immediately after the battle." Ryou said to his friend. "If they follow her when she doesn't even know she's a mew, then she won't come willingly. Better if we find out a bit more about her."
"I'll get right on it." Keiichiro said with a smile. "I'm glad she finally decided to show up."
"Me too." Said Ryou, "Perhaps now we can understand what's really going on."