"So, the generals told you what happened, right?"
Teruga's voice resumed after a quick recap. Ichigo, her mouth ajar since she had heard the word generals to describe their companions, nodded:
"Y-yes. And of the problems after they left Earth and how the crystal broke and scattered…"
"But they didn't tell us exactly who wanted to take it," Minto interjected, "Why is it your duty to tell us?"
The Councilman took a deep breath and sat down:
"For our world, the arrival of these individuals is not only a risk to our existence, but also, I regret to say, a problem of a political nature that affects us very deeply, undermining our social serenity."
He glanced at MoiMoi and she nodded. She went to the center of the room and left a thin, magnetic card-like object suspended in mid-air. The object floated for a few moments and MoiMoi barely brushed it with her index finger: four figures were projected in the air by the little card in four distinct holograms, which made the Earthlings cry out in shock.
"It can't be…!"
Ichigo went slowly up to the pictures, her chocolate eyes trembling, and reached out her hand:
"Ao No Kishi…?"
She retracted her hand quickly.
No, it wasn't Ao No Kishi. The images showed four blond-haired, blue-eyed aliens, but none of them were the mewneko's savior, even though they looked enormously like him.
"You're not completely wrong," MoiMoi smiled at her, "But perhaps it's better to explain from the beginning."
"Do you know why Masaya Aoyama turned into Ao No Kishi?"
Pai asked the redhead. She just shook her head, dazed.
"Well… Because Aoyama-kun wanted to protect Ichigo," Retasu said, "And he subconsciously used the power of Ao No Kishi, that is, Deep Blue…"
Pai nodded and summed up:
"Because they shared the same body. And do you know why?"
They could not answer; after a few seconds of silence, MoiMoi intervened:
"Because they shared a very similar DNA."
She pointed to herself, bringing her hands to her chest:
"My people and you people from Earth are not so different after all, are we? From our appearance, up to our internal structure. In addition, we were born on the same planet, although in different eras, so our genetic code is extremely similar. We know that Deep Blue's strength was very similar to the energy that emanates from the Mew Aqua, an energy in the pure meaning of the word. That's why his body reacted so much to the crystal."
"But what does it have to do with Aoyama onii-chan?"
"Deep Blue was an incorporeal entity," Pai said, "And he gradually took over the foreign body that possessed a more similar DNA to that of its original body."
"Are you saying that Aoyama is more like an alien than a human being?"
Zakuro asked skeptically.
"He never looked very human to me."
Kisshu commented sourly.
"No, your friend is completely human," MoiMoi smiled, "But his genetic code is extremely close to ours, more than that of other earthlings, for example yours. In his case, things then took a particular turn due to the presence of Deep Blue, but unfortunately it was not an isolated event."
"What do you mean?"
"These guys," she pointed at the four Ao No Kishi lookalikes, "Who now call themselves the Four Ancestrals, were once ordinary individuals, with the only peculiarity (which, of course, we only discovered fait accompli) that they had DNA very, very similar to that of Deep Blue. When Kisshu-chan and the others brought the Mew Aqua here, they began to undergo changes: the irradiation of the crystal had a sort of secondary effect on them and awakened those hereditary characters that belonged to our former ruler. Like your friend on Earth."
"But that's absurd!"
Minto exclaimed, but MoiMoi shook her head, distressed:
"Unfortunately, this is how things are, although some dynamics are still unclear."
"Just like Ao No Kishi, though, they're incomplete," Pai concluded, "Unlike him, however, they are fully aware of who they are and what they are doing, but they have not yet acquired all their strength."
"You mean… Like Deep Blue?"
The mewporpoise trembled from head to toe as he nodded.
"That's why they wanted crystal," Eyner added, "And even in this moment they're looking for it."
A tense silence fell over the room while the girls exchanged very worried glances. Councilman Teruga coughed and went on:
"Do you understand now what we mean by a political motive? These so-called Four Ancestrals are a possible reincarnation of Deep Blue: they are therefore not only very dangerous, but they are also an encouragement for all those who would still like to definitively conquer Earth. For some, they are the symbol of our supposed predominance over mankind, for others that of a tyrant who does not want to stop tormenting our lives.
"And, of course, if these Ancestrals are so belligerent, they will not bargain for a peaceful solution."
Zakuro resolved gravely, recalling Eyner's words at the Café. Teruga nodded slightly; MoiMoi grabbed the card and the holograms disappeared, so she resumed:
"At the end of the day, ladies, we are faced with these common problems. There are passages that connect our world ad yours, and many, many others, and they are unstable and dangerous; there are also four dangerous and powerful warriors, willing to do anything to get the Mew Aqua dispersed among the bridges it created; these individuals also think that by obtaining the Mew Aqua they will become a kind of reincarnation of Deep Blue and once that happens, firstly, they would try to conquer Earth. The solution is to track down the fragments of Mew Aqua before them, but we aren't able to do so, while you are."
Teruga sent the five girls a piercing gaze and said softly:
"So, I ask you officially: would you cooperate with us, until we have found every fragment of the crystal?"
Ichigo stiffened at the question, feeling the pressure of being the leader as she hadn't for a long time. Exactly as before they left, she was tormented by doubt, whether to accept out of duty or whether to refuse to, for once, be able to decide for herself.
Needless to say, it was Purin who immediately jumped forward with a big smile:
"I've already said it and I haven't changed my mind. I'm going to help you!"
"Purin… it could be dangerous!"
Minto tried to hold her back, but the blonde was adamant:
"Taru-Taru is here, I am not in any danger!"
"Why do you always involve me?"
The little boy muttered through clenched teeth, blushing slightly; Purin continued calmly:
"Anyway, I think I might be enough to look for the crystal, right?"
She looked at Pai and MoiMoi, who exchanged indecipherable glances.
"Yes… I don't think it would make any difference. Pai-chan and I have proven that you should react better, since the Mew Aqua is in its liquid form, but with only one of you, it would take a long time…"
"There's no way you're doing this alone!"
Retasu agitatedly said. Purin sulked and looked at her:
"Well, I'm going to help them anyway. What will you do?"
Her friends did not respond again. Zakuro rubbed her neck and sighed:
"I know we have little time and you need an answer right away, but can we think about it a little bit? We'll just go for a walk and come back."
"Yes! Great idea!"
Purin rushed up to the chair where Teruga sat, oblivious to Sando's scowl, raising her arm and going on tiptoes asked, excited:
"Sir Teruga, sir! Can we snoop around here?"
Everyone in the room stared at her as if she had gone mad.
"Zakuro nee-san is right, we need a walk! And your city seems so beautiful, can we peek around?!"
Taruto grimaced when he saw her happy face, it was evident that she only wanted to be able to explore the city, but Teruga merely smiled benevolently:
"Of course. A walk will clear your head. I just ask you not to be alone and to try not to attract too much attention…"
He could not finish the sentence that Purin had already run upstairs, with Taruto chasing her and protesting endlessly; immediately, the rest of the MewMew and the boys returned upstairs, leaving in the room only those they had found.
"And where are you going?"
Sando's deep voice stopped MoiMoi, who was now at the foot of the stairs:
"I'm curious," she said, "I want to see what they're up to."
And she disappeared with a hop, snatching a resigned sigh from the man and a low laugh from Teruga.
"…Are you sure it's okay, them walking down the streets?"
Sando asked after a few minutes of silence. Teruga got more comfortable on the chair and sighed:
"The generals will have already shielded them, so that they are not recognizable. Moreover…" he seemed to ponder whether to speak or not, rubbing his lean hands, "If they saw… maybe they'd be more easily persuaded."
Sando did not answer.
"I know ours it's a burdensome request, but I assure you I wouldn't ask, if we had another solution."
"I know, sir."
.
.
.
Purin was over the moon, even unable to blink so much the sight of the city excited her. Enthusiastic, she stretched up as much as she could, protecting her eyes from the sun, and looked at the life that extended beyond the slight ridge where she had stopped, a step away from the main door.
She was already sprinting to run into the crowd when someone grabbed her by her collar, and she tumbled backwards.
"Damn, can you stop for a second?"
"Ouch… Taru-Taru! " she complained, "You hurt me!"
"Do you want to trigger a surge of panic, you moron?!" he kept scolding her, "Where do you think you're going, looking all human like that?"
He propped her up quickly and touched her shoulder slightly; Purin had the feeling that something warm was sliding on her for a few seconds and then, as if by enchantment, two tiny balls of light appeared around her left wrist, barely visible, rotating lazily one after the other.
"Wow, that's so cool! What are they?!"
"I have just shielded you."
"What?"
"Do you listen to people when they speak?!" he blurted out, "We told you that there are still some who would like to conquer Earth, and you thought you could walk peacefully?!"
He sighed annoyed as the others reached them, sometimes Purin was exasperating.
"Thanks to the screen, they will not see you; you're going to go unnoticed like you're nothing more than one of us, and if someone spoke to you, they'd only see a little girl of my people," he pointed to the small spheres on her wrist, "Those are just an indicator: if they vanish, for whatever reason, you hide. Is that clear?!"
She nodded convincingly as she continued to smile, which did not reassure Taruto for a single second:
"I'm going to have to breath down your neck to make sure you don't get in trouble, knowing you…"
"Yeah, as if that bothers you, right?"
"Kisshu, go to hell!"
The boy glared at his half-brother with a murderous look, but he had to immediately go back to ignoring him because, prompted by the 'they can't see me!' – a sentence that she shouted loudly – Purin had already launched herself into the city without waiting for the rest of that little group.
"It's not like you're invisible!" Taruto yelled after her, "Damn it…! Wait for me, you little monkey!"
He ran after her followed by a worried Retasu and then by the other girls, who didn't seem equally eager to get lost in a crowd of aliens.
"Purin, for Heaven's sake!" Minto shouted "Stop!"
Empty words.
They reached the open space right after the door and found themselves in the cheerful confusion of a city that was resuming to live, in the chatter and the hustle and bustle of calls of sellers, hurried steps, laughter and discussions. Eyner didn't look so happy, and neither did Pai and Kisshu.
"It's too crowded here." the brunette said softly, "We risk getting split up."
The other two nodded.
"Yes, maybe it's better to go somewhere else."
Kisshu agreed; after all, with that crowd he couldn't find a moment of quiet with his kitten as he had been planning for at least ten minutes.
"Come on, let's get them out of here…"
They heard an amused cry and saw Purin being literally swallowed up by a group of people. Taruto lunged behind her, worried and furious, but when he too disappeared Retasu tried to reach them, almost ending up being crushed by the crowd.
The confusion was such that she could no longer understand where she was nor hear her friends' voices, but she did not have enough strength to oppose that river of people. Suddenly, she felt someone lightly grab her arm and pull her towards them, and in a second, she was out of the crowd, still in the midst of chaos, but with enough room to breathe.
"Are you in one piece?"
She drew her arm back as if she had scalded it and tried a clumsy smile, praying for the fourth time in less than a day that she had not stared bewildered at him:
"Yes, one piece… Thank you Pai-san."
He shrugged, he was so tall that spotting the green girl in that chaos and pulling her out had been very simple.
Retasu continued to torture her fingers, relaxing only when she saw Taruto and Purin – he, stunned after emerging from the mishmash, holding the girl firmly by one arm – a short distance from them. Pai, on the other hand, did not seem pleased, looking around frowning.
Eyner could certainly be prophetic.
"Where did the others go?"
.
.
.
It wasn't possible…
It wasn't true!
Fate couldn't have been mad at her like that!
She looked around desperately, she didn't even understand where they had ended up, it looked like an area with small houses, but it could also have been a cemetery, as far as she was concerned.
She continued to twirl around looking for familiar faces, but the only one she spotted was that of the golden-eyed alien behind her, who looked at her insistently:
"Why the hell am I alone with you?"
"That's what I should say, Kisshu!"
Minto shrieked.
"I wanted to be alone, yes, but with my kitten!" he said unperturbed, and pointed at her, "Why should I be alone with you?!"
"You should have thought of that before you grabbed me, no?!"
"Listen to yourself!" he blurted, offended, "You're so short that the crowd was going to crush you, you should just thank me for pulling you out of there!"
She stiffened, hit where it hurts. Indeed, for once Kisshu had done nothing wrong, if it hadn't been for him who knows where she would have ended up; but she would never give in to the boy and so, haughty, she headed off without even looking at him:
"Well, if that's the case… Thank you very much and get lost," she exhaled with an aggressive smile, "Go to Ichigo or whoever it is you want!"
He snorted furiously:
"And where are you going?"
"I'm taking a walk!"
And she disappeared around a corner. Kisshu put his hands in his hair, the little brunette wanted to drive him crazy.
He was seriously tempted to leave her alone, but if he did, he would find himself with a long list of people – Pai, Ichigo and Zakuro in the lead – ready to skin him alive for having abandoned her.
He sighed loudly and followed her, praying that he would at least be able to find Ichigo soon and that his plans would not all go to hell.
.
.
.
Eyner became convinced that that day was born under an unlucky star.
What was that thing humans read? The horoscope? His sign's was certainly very negative.
Why else would he be alone with Zakuro otherwise?
The atmosphere between them had not started as one of the best, given the discomfort on his part for the gaffe he had made at the Café, and the mutism of the brunette crowned everything with a mood so frosty that was sending negative vibrations.
The last time Zakuro had spoken had been about ten minutes earlier, when she and Eyner had been pushed by the crowd into the neighborhood bordering the market. After noticing that none of the others were in the area, the mewwolf had only ruled that she still needed to walk a little and reflect on Teruga's proposal; then, absolute silence.
Zakuro walked fast and looked around, seemingly without sparing a glance to her chaperone; around them there was only the stillness of a suburban neighborhood, with houses with small inner courtyards and distant voices, and the two strolled quietly one next to the other.
Not that… I'm too sorry about that.
Eyner shook his head, telling himself he was a fool.
He breathed deeply, feeling immensely tired, and sent a little curse to Kisshu's big mouth.
There was no need to admit it further, Zakuro was exactly his type: the long, dark hair, the adult vibe, a beautiful body; but there was a big difference between an aesthetic taste and the absurdities his friend insinuated. Besides, how could it be? To start liking someone, looks were not enough and that girl was more armored than a safe: she barely spoke, how could you understand anything about her?
It was better to let it go altogether.
At one point he saw Zakuro slow down and stop, intrigued by something; he turned around as well and spotted a small group of children running to him with an over-excited air. The model heard him mumble with a half-smile:
"Man, I didn't realize we'd come this far…"
Zakuro watched surprised as he was surrounded by the small cheeping army, in which small pale arms stretched to make room and bring their owner closer to Eyner.
"Eyner!"
"You're back! Where were you?!"
"You went beyond the white circle, didn't you?"
"What was on the other side? Mom says there's a planet full of monsters!"
"She just says that to scare you!" the patronizing voice of a boy piped up, "Actually, the Earth is there."
Protesting voices.
"And what do you know?"
"I'm older! I am told these things!"
"Ah, stop it!"
Eyner tried in vain to calm them, it wasn't the moment to look after them:
"Guys, look, I don't have time now, I'm with someone…"
The children groaned disappointed and all turned simultaneously towards Zakuro, looking at her sternly; she, to Eyner's immense astonishment, was looking at the children with a sweet and amused face and, in a theatrical way, bowed her head saying:
"Yes, I am the culprit."
"Miss!" a little girl with two big braids on the sides of her head whimpered, "Can't you stay for a while?"
The other children joined the choir. Zakuro continued to smile and exchanged a glance with the boy:
"Look, if you give them your finger, they even take necks, not just hands."
She released an amused puff and shrugged:
"Just a little break."
.
.
.
"Girls! Hey, is anyone here?!"
No answer. Ichigo, on the verge of panicking, looked at the indifferent faces of the people walking around her, unable to see any of her friends.
How was it that she was alone?!
She did not know what to do, she had lost sight of the entrance they had crossed and couldn't even go back, but wandering around alone felt like a crazy idea, even more so that she had been explicitly asked not to do that.
What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?! What do I do?!
"Hey…"
The redhead was so frightened by that knock on her shoulder that she felt her feline features sprout out; instinctively, she covered her ears and turned around, pale and with glossy eyes, then she relaxed into a sigh of relief:
"You are… MoiMoi!"
"Hello," she smiled, "Sorry, did I scare you a lot?"
Her amber eyes peeked at the black tail that wagged behind the redhead, and Ichigo immediately hid it:
"No… I'm sorry, I found myself alone and…"
MoiMoi smiled sympathetically.
"Be careful to stay in control, though," she whispered, "Your powers, even manifesting as cat features, disrupt the shield."
Ichigo nodded, noticing only then that the two spheres symbolizing her screen, which rotated on her wrist, were trembling slightly, quietening when the cat's tail and ears disappeared.
"What happened to you guys?" MoiMoi asked, "I too wanted to have fun on a little walk, but you all disappeared."
"We were overwhelmed by a sea of people," Ichigo muttered, weeping, "And that's why I don't know where the others are, meeeow…"
MoiMoi chuckled:
"I get it. Don't worry, I'm sure your friends are in good hands," she winked, "If you'd like, I could be your (how is it that you say on Earth…? Oh, yes!) tour guide, and show you a few things around here. So you can relax and then… Think carefully."
Ichigo looked at her for a moment and then nodded convincedly: indeed, she needed to distract herself a little, she was too nervous to properly think about Teruga's proposal; MoiMoi, moreover, seemed like a great company.
"C'mon then! Let's go, let's go!"
Laughing, she took the redhead's arm and pulled her along:
"It's going to be fun!"
.
.
.
"Purin, please, hold on for a second!"
The blonde laughed and, ignoring Taruto's protests, quickly rushed to another stall to admire foods she had never seen and the items for sale, without taking a break.
It was all so... Strange! So beautiful and unusual! The fruit so colorful...!
For the fifth time since she had arrived there, she felt two arms grab her by the shoulders and block her forcefully:
"Do you understand the word 'discretion'?!" Taruto hissed in her ear, "If you keep making all this noise, you'll just attract attention!"
"But I'm just having fun!"
She replied disappointed. Taruto sighed short-breathed, his face red from the run, he felt more exhausted than he had had for a while:
"Couldn't you have fun without making such a mess? Couldn't you at least behave like Retasu?"
He pointed to the mewporpoise a few stands behind them: she too had abandoned herself in that whole new world, so much so that Pai had to keep an eye on her so that she wouldn't get lost, but at least her presence went unnoticed.
"If we get caught and all hell raises, then who will have to deal with Pai and the others?"
Purin crossed her arms behind her back and looked at him disappointed. Taruto snorted again, wondering if they really were the same age:
"Look, I didn't say you have to stand still…"
The blonde instantly recovered, smiled and grabbed his wrist, dragging him to a little stall that seemed to sell food. On the seller's desk there was a short, sizzling pot where lumpy, fragrant little balls were floating. Children were packing all around the table, but even the adults seemed to line up willingly.
"What is it?"
Purin asked, basically drooling.
"It's called mimeri… It's like a pancake," he explained quickly; at her expression, it came naturally to him to smile, "Do you want to try it?"
"Can I?"
"You'll get only one."
He said with a smartass smile; he stretched over the group of people, exchanged a few words with the vendor in a language Purin did not understand and then came back, with a pancake in each hand. He grinned pleased:
"One each."
Purin stole one impatiently and bit it greedily, all happy: the little ball had a spongy, fluffy texture and was salty, combined with a sweet note due perhaps to some seasoning.
"It's so good!" she sang, finishing the pancake in one bite, "Good, good, good! I want more!"
"You have to pay for them if you want more," he pointed out, eating the rest of his with an unsatisfied grimace "And anyway, they're not that great…"
"They're very good!"
Purin replied with a smile. Taruto licked his finger and shrugged:
"My mother's mimeri are much better."
Purin stood in front of him with an expression of happy surprise and yelled in his ears:
"You have a mom?!"
"Just like anybody else?" he replied sarcastically, "I've got a father as well, as a matter of fact."
"Seriously?"
"Why are you so surprised?! What, were you born under a cabbage leaf?!"
"Nooo, you fool!" she smiled, "You know… It's just that I don't have a mom anymore, so to me it's great that you have yours!"
Taruto froze, his voice dying out:
"What…?"
"My mom's gone," Purin explained calmly, "A long time ago now."
Taruto didn't answer and kept staring at her, saddened: he felt like a complete idiot.
He had done nothing but scold Purin since he had seen her again, when instead he should have shown her how much he had missed her… And then that cherry on top.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I didn't know."
She shook her head, not losing her smile, and grabbed both of his hands, rushing backwards:
"You'll introduce me later, okay? Now I want to explore again! Come on!"
The boy let her drag him and sighed, it was obvious that Purin considered the matter over and just wanted him to do the same.
"Okay, okay," he laughed, "but let go of my hand!"
"Look, you should speed up, or we're going to lose them."
Retasu jumped at that sentence and unwillingly looked away from the stall full of colorful fabrics in which she had been lost for five good minutes.
"W-what?"
Stupid question.
Pai barely nodded his head toward Taruto and Purin disappearing on the horizon and looked at her inexpressively; Retasu violently forced herself not to blush, perhaps it was normal for Pai to stare at people in that persistent way, but it just made her want to hide.
"I said we have to hurry, or we lose them."
He repeated flat. She nodded, agitated, and trotted fast behind the boy standing close by him, although she found it difficult. He was too quick, he knew how to move in that crowd while she didn't, plus she was clumsy and kept stumbling, pushed by that or that guy: every two steps she was forced to move back or to the side, and in the meantime Pai kept going ahead…
What if he leaves me here?!
She closed her eyes and, murmuring a rapid series of excuse me's, she pushed her way through, but, as expected, crashed into someone who had stopped and who she, of course, had not seen.
"Oh my," she mumbled, rubbing her bruised nose, "I'm sorry, excuse – "
"You should stop this 'throwing myself with my eyes closed' technique."
"P-Pai-san!"
Her effort not to blush was futile, but, luckily, she had the excuse of having to hold her hands on her reddened nose, and could hide the rest of her face without too much trouble.
Was there a cosmic coincidence that made her keep making gaffes in front of him?
"I didn't realize I'd caught up with you…"
The corner of Pai's mouth hinted just upwards, and his eyebrow flicked. Retasu slowly lowered her hands at his almost amused expression: it wasn't that she had caught up, but that he was waiting for her?
"Did you think I'd leave you here?"
She bowed her head, caught red-handed.
"I'm going to go slower. You're slow, you risk falling behind."
Retasu grimaced offended:
"It's n-not very nice, what you said…"
He didn't say anything else and headed off, this time more slowly, and Retasu followed him obediently, sighing.
They went on for a while in silence, she on the one hand still distracted by the lively atmosphere that surrounded them and on the other hand keeping an eye on Purin, careful not to let her escape from their range.
They both saw the mewmonkey fidgeting particularly in front of a stall and being dragged away by a purple Taruto, and Retasu laughed:
"She seems to be having a lot of fun."
"... She didn't grow up at all."
Was his flat comment.
"Is she not to be admired?" Retasu said softly, "In every situation, she can find a reason to be positive and cheerful, I find it wonderful!"
Pai did not answer her, but Retasu thought she saw another faint smile.
She bowed her head uneasily, hushing again.
Perhaps because they were no longer opponents, but she had the impression that Pai was smiling – if those could be called smiles – a little too often and she did not like it.
That smile… It made her nervous.
"What's going on?"
She stopped at once when she realized she had passed him: she saw him immobile staring at their two younger companions who were turning in a side street, and he frowned.
"Are they going somewhere dangerous?"
She asked worriedly. He did not change his expression, but resumed following them:
"No. Not quite."
.
.
.
Minto strolled along the clay bank of a small clear river, around which rose gently meadows full of flowers of all colors and similar in appearance to certain exotic plant she knew; she crouched down to better look at some of them, like those that reminded her of hibiscus, even though the flowers were very small and of a pale purple.
It would have been a beautiful, relaxing stroll, hadn't she had great responsibilities on which to ponder and had she not found herself on an alien planet.
"Can you tell me where you're going?"
And hadn't she had Kisshu following her like a bloodhound.
"Wherever I want," she declared, "And why are you following me?"
"Because if I leave you alone and something happens to you, Senpai Sando will talk my ass off."
"Well, it's none my business!"
"Oh, you can bet it is, Madam Grumble!"
"Are you done with your stupid nicknames?"
"And are you done bashing every syllable I say?"
Minto suddenly hushed, while Kisshu planted his hands on his hips:
"Look, I get it, you don't like me. And (believe me!) I'd rather be with someone else, too…"
"Yes, I know that very well, with Ichigo," she looked at him the way one looks at a fool, "That's one lost battle!"
He replied with a cunning grin:
"I'm not so sure about that."
Minto seemed surprised by that statement; she sighed deeply:
"Did you notice?"
It was Kisshu's turn to be surprised.
"She's been weird for a while," she said, shrugging, "and I think you know what I'm talking about, judging by that lecherous expression."
"Hey!"
He was about to tell her to go to hell, when he saw her looking again intently at the meadow to her right; a laugh escaped him:
"I don't believe it… Are you worried?"
She looked at him, hit where it hurts:
"Absolutely not," she lied, "Ichigo's moody torments are not my responsibility."
"You're a terrible liar."
Minto insisted on ignoring him and resumed walking more slowly, her cheeks just reddened.
"So, you worry about your friends too."
"It seems obvious to me," she somberly mumbled, "Apparently I'm more profound than you thought, aren't I?"
"Yeah. You can even sustain a dialogue longer than twenty words with yours truly without insulting me… Or almost."
She stared at him, who was smiling sardonically; she was forced to cash it in silence as he giggled:
"In terms of social relations, with you we are at zero… But as a friend, you're not so bad."
She studied him from below her eyelashes to make sure he wasn't teasing her and sighed:
"Thank you," she turned her head so he wouldn't see her, "I'm sorry, maybe I overreacted."
"Ah, really?"
"Don't start again."
She heard him giggle and let the matter go. After a while, she felt that the silence had become heavy and sought any topic to break it:
"You know… this place is just beautiful."
"So many compliments! Are you okay?"
She snorted, annoyed:
"Forget it…"
"I was joking, I was joking."
It was really fun to irk her; it was so easy for him!
"It took us a while to make it like this, ice can be stubborn. Let's hope it lasts long enough until the Mew Aqua returns…"
"Why? What do you mean?"
He scratched his cheek thinking whether to answer:
"There's a little problem…"
"Can I know?" she said with more energy, "I'd like to help you, so I think I can know, right?"
"You wanna help us?"
She perfectly held his surprised gaze:
"Yes. Why, wasn't that what you wanted? Why do you have to look at me like that?"
"When we arrived, you took up the cudgels because you didn't want to do it…! You're very weird, you know that?"
"You've annoyed me with your cheap irony!"
She blurted and turned on her heels to head back, but she didn't take into account the slippery riverbank.
She let out a chocked scream and was already prepared for the off-plan dive when she felt a steady grip on her waist and felt herself being pulled back onto the safe path.
"Phew…! By a hair!" Kisshu laughed slightly, "Everything ok?"
Curiously, Minto did not answer him, but she kept clinging with one hand onto his arm, trembling, breathing fast and pale in the face.
"Yes... I'm fine," she was lying shamelessly, but she could not show it, her pride did not allow her, "Thank you."
She motioned to let her go, but instead of feeling him move away, his chest pressed more clearly against her back.
"Ah, how about that!", he sneered mischievously, tightening the hold of his arm, "You're petite, but your body is not bad!"
He barely dodged the elbow with which Minto tried to hit him in the solar plexus:
"STUPID MANIAC HANDSY IMBECIL!"
He let her go laughing, before she dragged him in a violent fight, and watched her walk away, stomping her feet and red with anger:
"If I help you, you will have to keep a minimum distance of ten meters from me! Do you understand me?"
"Got it, got it…. My, my, no one can take a joke here!"
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Zakuro lazily bobbed her head, resting on her hand, without taking her eyes off Eyner and the flock of children still around him, hammering him to reveal what he had done during the days they had not seen him.
At first, Eyner's report had been quite reliable, but realizing that the children did not seem to appreciate it, he had changed its tone by telling of such daring and implausible feats, which the public seemed to appreciate.
"Well, I've told you enough," he finally managed to say after about twenty minutes, "I could end up in front of the Major Council for what I have revealed, or maybe directly in prison!"
He lied so well that the children were hanging from his lips, nodding with conspiratorial tones and eyes shiny of excitement; Zakuro found herself restraining from laughing.
"Eyner, Eyner!"
The little girl with the braids who had insisted that they stayed grabbed his sleeve and pulled it repeatedly:
"Can you do your magic trick first? Pleeeeeeeease!"
The other children also joined the choir of please. Eyner sighed, it seemed to be a big effort for him not to indulge them:
"Come on, now I gotta go…"
"What magic trick?"
She turned and saw that Zakuro had come close, perhaps curios, though it was impossible to understand from her inexpressive face.
"The young lady doesn't know it either! Come on Eyner!" the little girl insisted, she was practically undressing him so much she was clinging to his shirt, "Please!"
The brunette sighed for the umpteenth time:
"All right... Just once."
Under the trepidatious gaze of the children, he held his palms in mid-air, facing each other, at a certain distance: Zakuro saw a tiny golden spark and then, out of nowhere, a little bird appeared. It looked alive as it flapped his little wings and tail, but its body was entirely made of swirling flames. Eyner moved his index fingers and thumbs and the little thing fluttered briefly in the empty space between his hands, then did a somersault in the air, shrunk to a tongue of fire and enlarged again, this time with the appearance of a butterfly; it flew again, twirled again shrinking and became a snake, slipping into thin air as if on solid rock; another twist and it became a frog, another and it was a sparkling little fish, which with a last dash down became a tiny flame and died, as it had appeared.
The children erupted into cries of happiness, which Eyner took advantage of to sneak off and, nodding goodbye, pushed Zakuro away before getting caught by other demands.
"Uff, what a hassle…! I'm sorry, you got dragged into it."
She denied:
"It was fun."
Eyner wondered if she was lying or telling the truth, but it was useless to try to understand it; it was like talking to a sphinx.
"The trick was cute."
"Really just a trick," he sighed with a little disappointment, "When I fight, I am not able to do such elaborate things, I can only do the mini version."
"Do you use fire to fight? I thought you all used lightning bolts."
Eyn was surprised by such a question, but after all, she had fought Kisshu, Pai and Taruto for almost a whole year, it wasn't so strange that she had noticed that detail; and then, anything was better than silence:
"Not necessarily… It's a matter of predisposition. Then there are those who learn to master different ones," he tapped his index on his chin, thoughtful, "From what I remember, Pai masters wind, lightning, water and ice. Sando senpai, on the other hand, is a master of plants."
"Sando… That very pleasant gorilla we met earlier?"
Eyner laughed up his sleeve:
"Yes, but don't worry, it's usually not so stiff. He's also irascible and grumpy."
"Wonderful…"
Zakuro had not laughed, but Eyn had managed to snatch a mocking smile from her.
"Those children... Did you know them all?"
"My house is in the area," he said offhanded, "They all live around here… They stick to me all the time."
"You can see that they are fond of you. It must be a hassle."
"So and so. I have a little sister about their age, I got used to it pretty quickly."
"You have a sister?"
"She's seven years old. Sixteen-year difference. Since we are alone, me and her, I act as brother and a bit of everything, depending on the occasion."
He concluded with irony; Zakuro did not answer, maintaining her usual expression.
"Sorry, I'm talking about unimportant things."
She shook her head firmly:
"It's beautiful."
Another slight smile escaped her, and Eyner felt his stomach somersaulting.
Ouch, ouch…
It was better to change the subject.
"Listen... So, what have you decided to do?"
She did not answer, fixing her hair behind her ear, and then stared at him earnestly:
"You told us everything, didn't you?"
It was a simple question, not an accusation; Eyner was about to say yes, when he remembered something that none of them had mentioned yet.
"Maybe there's something you should see."
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That day was really on the verge of becoming absurd.
It had started in quite a normal way, with school and the rest… Then the portal, the aliens, a new mission to 'save the universe'…
And now she was alien shopping.
MoiMoi kept dragging her around the market, without even giving her time to focus on the thought 'Hey! You're shopping with an alien girl on another planet!'
"I'm so happy to have some fun…! At the lab, there are always only the boys, how boring! Ah, look!"
She dragged the redhead to a stand that sold – as far as Ichigo could understand – clothes and accessories, and she reached out to grab two ribbons of a beautiful bright pink:
"These would look great on you!" she put them close to Ichigo's hair and smiled delightedly, "Ah, I knew it! Come on Ichigo-chan, get them!"
The redhead looked at the ribbons a little disoriented, MoiMoi was nice, but a little frantic; but those ribbons were really the end of the world…
"I'd like to," she murmured uneasily, "but I can't... I don't have..."
She was ashamed to say 'I have no money', even though the only reason was that she did not even belong to that planet. MoiMoi winked at her:
"Don't worry, if you like them, I'll take care of it!"
"What? Oh, no! I couldn't...!"
She couldn't finish the sentence that MoiMoi had already paid and was arbitrarily putting them on her, chirping happily at the work accomplished:
"They look great on you! You're so cute, Ichigo-chan!"
She smiled. She noticed that MoiMoi had styled her tails like her compatriots' custom, and her smile widened:
"Not bad. They're a variant."
MoiMoi seemed satisfied and still laughing, carried on with her tour.
It was fun to chat with the alien, with her Ichigo felt much more comfortable than with the others, and she felt like asking her a lot of questions, most of them silly curiosities.
"I was amazed earlier when the Councilman called Kisshu and the others 'generals'".
"Councilman Teruga does it as a joke," MoiMoi replied, with an embarrassed air, "In reality, Pai-chan and Sando are colonels; Kisshu-chan, Eyner-chan, and I are captains and Taruto-chan is a lieutenant."
"B-but they're all ranks of army officers!"
"Well, we are, aren't we?"
Ichigo was astonished:
"But aren't you… I mean... Pretty young?!"
That last statement seemed to really please MoiMoi, who gloated:
"We probably join the army only a little earlier than you Earthlings…! Although indeed Taruto-chan is very young…"
"I don't think that's the problem."
But MoiMoi was already gone, distracted by another store.
"Listen… That tank that was with you and the Councilman…"
MoiMoi chuckled:
"Are you talking about Sando?"
Ichigo nodded, and MoiMoi laughed louder:
"He's scary, huh?"
"I don't know," replied the unconvinced redhead, "It's that… He seems like a Pai kinda of guy, just bigger and meaner."
As MoiMoi stared at her, Ichigo feared she had said something offensive, but changed her mind immediately when she saw her companion hysterically laughing:
"Oh no...! Absolutely not!" she wiped off a tear, trying to compose herself, "He was trying to make an impression because he was there as Teruga's bodyguard, but..."
More laughter, so strong that she was holding her stomach:
"Don't worry, he's not like Pai-chan at all!"
Ichigo had become curious, but she feared that her guide would die of her own laughter and changed her question:
"And... Yes, Sando-san, what exactly does he do?"
"All the jobs where it's good to have someone massive and menacing-looking behind you," MoiMoi chuckled again, "But usually he is the bulldog of the research center."
Ichigo felt that that last part had been said with great tenderness, even if she did not understand the reason.
"So he guards me and Pai-chan."
She concluded, sticking her tongue out.
"Do you work with Pai?"
"We are involved in research and development projects. We should cooperate, but it always turns out that I'm his assistant! Pai-chan is much better than me!"
"But what exactly do you do?"
"We are looking for new ways to make the planet grow, but above all a lot of boring analysis… Pai-chan had recently returned to analyzing the data he had collected on you on Earth, because of the Mew Aqua problem."
Ichigo shuddered a little to that statement, the idea of being studied didn't appeal her too much.
"Useful information... And a lot of interesting data," MoiMoi looked at her slyly "So? What did you and Kisshu get up to?"
"What?!" Ichigo's ears almost sprouted out, "I-I don't know what you saw, but I warn you, you've misunderstood everything!"
MoiMoi seemed disappointed:
"But how? Kisshu-chan was always talking about you…"
Ichigo felt her chest tightening at that remark:
"Really?"
MoiMoi nodded like a little girl, her index finger on her frowned lips:
"What a pity... And to say that he's so cute! Don't you agree?"
Ichigo stiffened at the question:
"Cute?"
She had never really noticed.
But to think about it...
With that little devil's demeanor and the amber eyes... And a great body…
She felt again her feline ears violently desiring to peek out.
"I-I've never noticed."
She stuttered. She desperately looked for a way to change the topic and glimpsed at her salvation, Retasu's green pigtails drifting around a corner:
"Ah! L-look, the others!" She took MoiMoi's hand and ran away, "Let's catch up with them, quick!"
The redhead made her way through the people and popped into a side street, climbing towards what seemed like an increasingly bare countryside. After walking for a few minutes, however, without seeing Retasu, she felt a frosty shiver sliding down her neck; impulsively, she gripped MoiMoi's hand tighter and felt her reciprocate, as the alien stood before her and looked at her sadly:
"As we feared... You feel something's wrong, right?" the redhead nodded, "Do you want to see?"
Ichigo trembled visibly, but then nodded again. With kindness, MoiMoi accompanied her again for a few meters, going up a ridge of bare earth, and made her look down.
The four boys with the other MewMew were close by as well, and all with the same horrified expression.
In that pleasant green landscape, a rectangle of eternal sleep opened, a grayish scar on perfect skin: for about a square kilometer there was not a single blade of grass, nor a tree, but only dusty and cold earth that would never again restore life; it had not been a fire, or a natural disaster, it was as if, simply, there the soil had died.
Ichigo had to turn her head, horrified: something, in the recesses of her genetic code, was screaming and weeping desperately at that sight.
"It happened as soon as the Mew Aqua was stolen," MoiMoi whispered gloomily, "It's as if... Our planet had not been ready to have its life source removed, as if it were not yet self-sufficient. Before it was a frozen world, but under the snow it was alive. Now... It's dying, for good. The issue is for now only this area, but…"
"It could increase," Pai said, "It will increase... And it's going to be faster and faster."
"It won't be permanent, will it?"
Retasu asked in a sob. MoiMoi lowered her head:
'We don't know. What's certain is that, the more time passes, the more it is likely it will be."
Ichigo sniffled loudly and clenched her fists.
No, she could withstand a hundred battles more, there would always be a reason to fight them. That, that was the unfair thing.
A glance with the other girls was enough and she straightened her shoulders, her voice cracked:
"Tell Teruga that we accept."
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