Chapter 7- Four Snows
Sanishi sighed, sitting down slowly onto a hard chair. She had just created that chair, or rather; her mind did it for her. The teenager wanted to sit down, and the rock below her obliged her.
If she could make a chair out of stone, a perfect replica of a Victorian antique, why couldn't she succeed in her missions?
"Number Three?" Sanishi looked up at the newcomer, brushing a strand of her brown-blond hair out of her face. "I heard you failed."
Her eyes turned cold, the grey-blue adding to the effect. "Yes, I failed. Is our leader going to punish me, Number Four? If he is planning on ending my life, I have already died once. That particular threat fails to scare me."
Number Four smiled, if only a little. "My dear Number Three, your second life will not end so soon. Our leader would not have brought us all back from the dead if he was going to kill us again."
Sanishi still hung her head, her hair falling in her face. "Yes, but I still feel...I feel it. Our leader's great disappointment in me. I do not like this feeling."
The man put his hand on her shoulder softly. "Yes, well, I must add that although you seem greatly saddened by this, you still put up a good fight. Our enemy, Mint Aizawa, would have lost."
The girl nodded, looking up at her fellow lackey. "Thank...thank you."
"Did I make you feel better?"
A small smile overtook her face. "Yes, I suppose it did."
"Will ya two stop flirtin' and get over here?" The two looked in surprise to another man.
"Well, hello, Number Two, how nice to see you." Number Four greeted kindly.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I jus' came in to tell ya that Leader is talkin' to Number One." He drawled, hands on hips.
Sanishi stiffened. "Number One is talking to our leader?"
"Yeah, weren' ya listenin'?"
She nodded, looking down at her feet. "Number One is a very...scary person."
Number Four patted her shoulder. "I quite agree. This doesn't leave this room, but I sometimes wish that our high and exalted leader reincarnated somebody else instead of Number One. In fact, another sweet Number Three would have greatly helped our little team." He winked at the younger girl. She looked up at him, a little surprised.
Number Two just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, anyway, Leader wants ya, Number Four, to go and get whatever you're suppose' to get."
Number Four nodded, and bowed with a serene smile on his face. "Very well, then. Number Two, Number Three, I bid you all a fond farewell."
And soon, he left.
Number Two nodded, and walked out of the room, muttering to himself about high-classed jerks. Sanishi just stared at where Number Four had been, her eyes glassed over slightly.
"Goodbye...I will miss...you..."
"And, to conclude, because of the Reflective Property, x equals 4." The math teacher finished, much to the delight of his students.
As Mint put her books back in her bag, since class was over before lunch, she thought about it. I mean, Mister Suzuki isn't a bad teacher; it's just, math is so boring! And he gives a lot more homework than my old tutors. Those teachers at least knew how busy a social life of one so important as I have.
"Hey, Akiko! We have tons of homework, huh?" Teruna smirked, walking out with her. They were going to eat lunch outside, since the school had an open campus lunch on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays (much to Mint's displeasure, she learned that Moriyama Chuugakkou was one of those schools that had a half-day on Saturdays).
"Yeah. I really don't know how I'm going to get it all done." Mint muttered, even though she knew she was lying. Her math tutor back in Tokyo had already started advanced geometry, and had finished the algebra course her Moriyama math class was halfway through. In other words, her math homework was going to be painless.
"Believe me, I know how you feel. I'm so not a math person. More of...a tennis person. Oh yeah!" Teruna flipped her braid over her shoulder. "That reminds me! When Saaya and Nanao get here," she motioned to a grassy patch the four would be eating on, "I have something to tell everybody!"
Mint wondered what excited Teruna so much as she opened her bentou box. Inside was the standard Shiroyama Bird Laboratories cafeteria lunch, which were provided for all residents. It wasn't too special; some rice with a tiny red umeboshi in the middle, some soba noodles mixed with assorted pickles, and cut up vegetables. She opened her water bottle as well, since pickles made her thirsty.
As soon as Nanao (who also had the same lunch Mint had) and Saaya arrived, Teruna made them all shut up so she could speak. "Okay, so the tennis club has a tournament to go to in Tokyo over the long weekend, since we have Monday and Tuesday off from school for the teachers to do stuff for school. My mom was thinking about bringing everybody along, since we'll have a ton of time to just hang!"
Saaya's eyes lit up. "YES! WE CAN GO TO DISNEYLAND!" And she started to chatter about how she went there when she was four, and how awesome the rides were, and how she had her picture taken with Cinderella, and...
"I think my mother will let me go. It sounds exciting, and I heard that the Edo Tokyo Museum is very interesting." Nanao explained, picking up one noodle with her chopsticks.
Saaya took to the slight topic change. "Oh yeah-yeah-yeah! I remember hearing about that! They've got that like, bridge, and the pagoda! And-and-and, that, uh, the little miniature of the town! That's got to be soooooo adorable!" She squealed.
Teruna rolled her eyes. "Whatever. My hopes are that our team will dominate the others. That would rock."
Saaya, who was in the middle of talking about how awesome the trip to Tokyo would be, suddenly noticed how silent Mint was. "Akiko? What's wrong? Can't you come, too?"
"Uh, well, I dunno..." Mint sighed. What was she going to do? If she went to Tokyo, wouldn't somebody recognize her? And...What if she ran into her parents or one of the other Mew Mews?
"Whaaaaaat? No! Akiko! You have to come, it won't be as fun without you!" The redhead whined. Mint looked from her, to the sad and wistful looking Nanao, to the slightly ticked-off Teruna.
So she made the weakest excuse she could possibly think of. "Uh, hold that thought, I have to go to the bathroom. Be right back!" With that, she dashed back into the school building.
"Yeah, right," muttered Teruna, crossing her arms.
Once inside, Mint ran over to her English classroom, which she knew would be empty. She slammed the door behind her, and leaned against it, breathing heavily.
Ichitori looked up from her desk to the newcomer. "What? Mint, what's wrong?" She set down her red pen and papers, and walked over to her student. "Did something happen?"
Mint slumped down into a chair next to the closet desk to the door. "Well, I guess not, but..."
The teacher rolled her eyes. "There's something wrong. You wouldn't have run in here if there wasn't. Now say what it is, or I'll give you detention."
The girl sighed. "Fine. My friends invited me to go to Tokyo over the long weekend."
Ichitori sat on a desk near her student. "And? What's wrong with that?"
"I could run into somebody I know in Tokyo. And then they'll know I'm not Akiko Kobayashi, but Mint Aizawa. And then...I don't know, I guess I'll lose my friends."
"What about your friends from Tokyo?"
Silence.
Mint looked down, and mumbled, "I have none."
The teacher rolled her dark brown eyes. "I doubt that. Nobody is completely friendless. What about your parents?"
"They threw me out. I guess I still have my dog, though." Mint muttered.
"Feh. Didn't you have friends from before the whole supermodel thing?" The woman asked, crossing her arms.
Mint shifted in her seat. "Well, yeah, but I don't think they want to be my friends anymore."
"Well, I for one-your bird's here." Ichitori stated sharply.
Her student looked confused. "Huh?"
"Over there," she pointed towards the window, "that eagle's over there."
"Kumotaka!" The girl exclaimed happily, dashing over to the window and throwing it open. "Why're you here?"
"I saw trees freezing over very rapidly two mountains over. Just over that mountaintop," he poked a wing towards one, "everything looks white. I am almost positive that it is the work of our enemy."
Mint and Kumotaka conversed in low tones for a little while, before Mint turned to Ichitori. "Um, Miss Ichitori? It's kind of an emergency...but I really need to go check out the mountain, so...uh..."
The woman nodded. "I'll write you a note. Go straight home after this-you threw up during lunch. Act sick." Mint nodded, before looking out the window.
"Mew Mew Mint Metamorphosis!" With that, her Mew Mew attire replaced her uniform, her old hairstyle came back, and her bird wings and tail popped out. "See you later, Miss Ichitori!" Then she opened the window, dove out, and flew away with Kumotaka in the direction of the ice-covered mountain.
When she arrived at the scene of the freeze, she immediately saw the man causing it. Mint called out her Mint Arrow in a hushed voice, and hid behind a tree.
"You know, Lady Mint, I can see you behind there." The man stated, looking directly there. "You can come out, I know you're there."
The girl stepped out from behind the frozen tree, although Kumotaka stayed behind, and aimed her weapon at the man. "What do you want?"
The man grinned, and Mint almost felt herself blushing. Well, she had a good reason! This man looked amazing. He had long black hair, which was pulled into a low ponytail that went down a ways past his shoulder, and his smooth bangs stopped right before his eyebrows. His eyes were a crystal blue, and shone in the sunlight. There was a serene smile on his face, which only added to the peaceful air about him. The man wore a long ice blue suit, with a white shirt underneath. He had a slightly darker blue tie on, and his gloves and shoes were the same color. Covering his right wrist, Mint noted, was a watch almost identical to the one that Sanishi wore, the only exception being that it was white.
"Good day, Lady Mint. Oh dear! How rude! I haven't introduced myself yet." He swept his right hand in front of his torso, and bowed deeply. "My name is Yonsetsu, although I also am called Number Four. I do believe you have met my good friend, Number Three, who I work with."
"Yonsetsu, huh? Well, prepare to go down, because Mew Mint doesn't like you!" Mint growled, although she was mentally wondering why she referred to herself in the third person.
Yonsetsu chuckled. "Oh no, I must politely decline. You see, I did not come here to fight, Lady Mint. My intentions are quite peaceful."
"Uh huh. Why?"
"Well, it is because my orders were to negotiate with you. The freeze was merely a way to ask you to come here." He flicked his hand at the frozen forest. "What I need is not you, but your bird, as well as the wolf Mew Mew, Miss Zakuro Fujiwara. Now, I understand that the girl is far from here, but the bird, Master Kumotaka, is quite close."
"Why do you want Kumotaka?" Mint asked, narrowing her eyes and focusing her aim on her opponent.
"Because of the chemicals in his blood. Did you know that for Master Kumotaka to talk, he was injected with human DNA along with a catalyst chemical? The chemical is an ingenious invention that carries the new DNA to every single cell in the body, and is carried in the bloodstream. This chemical fuses the new DNA with the old DNA in such a way that, if the original DNA is compatible, does not harm the host animal or human." Yonsetsu explained. "Now, this chemical is wanted by my leader. Or, should I clarify, the chemical used to fuse human DNA with Master Kumotaka's DNA and the chemical used to fuse grey wolf DNA with Lady Zakuro's DNA."
Mint shot a glance over to the tree where Kumotaka hid.
Yonsetsu continued to explain. "Now, because each person has unique DNA, the chemical used to bond the new DNA to their own is unique. All of the chemicals are slightly different. Do you understand?"
"Yes..."
"The chemical makeup of the chemicals used for Lady Zakuro and Master Kumotaka, when mixed together with a different catalyst chemical, one my leader has, the product is something my leader wants." Yonsetsu explained, before flashing a charming smile at Mint. "I'm afraid that's all I know. But anyways, Lady Mint, the fact is I need Master Kumotaka to extract the chemical from his body."
"Are you..." Mint trailed off, her thoughts racing. "Are you going to...kill...Kumotaka?"
"Sadly, yes, he will be killed. However, if you give him to us, you will be left unharmed. In fact, if you'd like, we'd never bother you again. A shame, really, you're such a pretty girl." Mint once again had to fight down a blush. She learned that day that an evil gentleman is a tough opponent. "It is your life or his."
Mint did not have to think for even a moment. She kicked off the ground, her wings pushing her towards Yonsetsu. "Never! I'll die before I let anybody hurt him! Ribbon! Mint Echo!" Her blue light attack zoomed towards the man, only to be blocked by a huge icicle that appeared out of thin air.
She landed a ways away from him, staring at the giant ice spear in his hand. "Yes, Lady Mint, this is my power. The kanji in my name means 'four snows,' with the 'yon' meaning 'four' and the 'setsu' meaning 'snow,' in this case. I can create snow and ice out of the water in the air. Is it not a wonderful power?" Yonsetsu asked, raising his hands.
Mint barely dodged the barrage of icicles aimed at her, and some ripped her dress. Her face reddened, and she clutched her side and front. "YOU PERVERT!"
Yonsetsu chuckled, looking away. "My apologies, Lady Mint. I was aiming to kill you, not to...expose you. Of course, if you hadn't flown out of the way, you wouldn't be in this predicament, now would you, hm?"
Mint glared at him. "You..."
"Well, what am I? Please, do tell Lady-" Yonsetsu stopped speaking and looked at his watch. Mint heard the same crackly voice come out of it.
"Retreat, Number Four."
"Very well," Yonsetsu said into the watch before looking back at the bird-girl. "I am truly sorry, Lady Mint, but my time with you has ended. I do wish I could have spent more time together with such a pretty girl such as yourself." Inside, Mint screamed at herself for blushing. "Good day!"
He raised his hands, and a large white light started to glow above them. Then, in a split second, the light expanded to form a gigantic, yet concentrated, swirling snowstorm. Mint raised one of her arms to block the snow from her eyes, and tried to look for Yonsetsu. However, Mint soon realized that Yonsetsu left, and soon turned her attention to the storm.
"Kumotaka!" She screamed, although she could barely hear herself. "Where are you?"
"Here, Mint!" She looked up to see the bird fighting against the winds. The girl reached up her hand not holding her dress, and grabbed onto his talons before pulling him down. "Mint! The snowstorm is coming out of that same white light in the very center. If you can fly up to it and use your attack, it may collapse and cause the storm to dissipate!"
Mint nodded. "It's worth a shot, anyway!" She was about to take off, but then realized she would need both hands to maneuver. "I can't! My dress is ripped!"
"I'll look away!" Kumotaka shrieked, taken aback. Mint nodded, and flapped her wings.
After what seemed like forever, she reached the center of the storm. The wind bit her bare skin, and the snow tore at her non-ripped clothing. Her eyes couldn't see through it well at all, but finally, the light from the center became visible. She flew as close as she could, although the wind kept pushing her back, and raised her Mint Arrow.
However, she couldn't keep it still. Five tries missed completely.
"Mint! Focus!" Mint barely could hear Kumotaka's voice over the roar of the storm.
"I'm trying!" She called back, even though she doubted he could hear her. Nevertheless, she tried one more time to destroy the center of the unnatural storm.
"Ribbon! Mint ECHO!" She yelled, flying forward at the same time to steady her aim. Her attack zoomed towards the center, and struck it. With a sound similar to an explosion, the white light and wind vanished, and the snow started to fall peacefully to the ground.
Mint sank to the ground, before realizing that Kumotaka was purposefully looking away. Confused, she looked down to see her dress was barely intact, her boots gone, and her gloves falling off. Blushing, she quickly transformed back into her normal self.
The two of them then proceeded to walk the rest of the way back to the labs, since one of them could not fly. By the time they arrived, the sun had almost reached the horizon.
Once inside, Mint looked for Doctor Shiroyama. When the three of them found a conference room to speak privately in, Mint told the story of the meeting with Yonsetsu.
"Ah, so this man of the four snows was an adversary to remember. He must have launched an attack that Mew Mint was not able to retaliate against with great speed!" Doctor Shiroyama mused.
"Yeah, and now my Mew Mew costume is ripped." Mint slumped against her cushioned chair. "Now what are we going to do?"
Silence.
"You two don't know, do you?"
"No, I am very sorry."
"I regret to announce that I am in the saddened state of not knowing."
Mint scoffed, before coughing. "Uh, I'm going back up to my room now. I think I have a cold."
As the girl left, Kumotaka and Doctor Shiroyama looked at each other. Silence pervaded the room as the two stared, careful not to blink or back down.
Then...
"Fine. I will take care of her." Kumotaka announced dejectedly, blinking. With a flap of his wings, he left the room as well, following his friend up to her room.
"I wonder how he will go about helping the girl to arrive at the happy state of being healthy. The bird Kumotaka is without opposable thumbs!" The man laughed, before leaving the conference room as well.
Disclaimer: Tokyo Mew Mew does not belong to me. It belongs to Mia Ikumi, Reiko Yoshida, Kodansha, and any other respective and legal owners. The town of Moriyama and all its inhabitants belong to me.
Author's Note: Wow. Two weeks ago I posted the previous chapter, so at least this isn't a month late! Just to let anybody who's interested know, I was sick for five days, and this would have gone up four or five days earlier, but I was really not feeling up to it. Yeah. Please read and review!