X.X.X.X.X.X.

Ryou waited outside of the house of girls for the green-haired one. He could hear them talking on the inside of the house in hushed voices, and decided to ignore it for the moment. He brushed his hair out of his face and leaned against the wall. He had known to expect three girls in the house; the blue-haired one, the green-haired one, and the one they called "Ichigo-san", but he hadn't anticipated that there would be a grown up and a child in there.

Ryou scoffed at the name Ichigo, he didn't see why anyone would like to be called a Strawberry, but hey, it was her choice.

Seconds later the green-girl came out of the house, shoes in hand.

X.X.X.X.X.X.

"Where's Ryou?" Kisshu asked, sitting down on one of the pads on the floor. "He's been gone for hours!"

"He's been gone for twenty minutes, and he didn't tell me where he was going." Keiichiro answered back, keeping his eyes on his book. He grinned largely. "Hey! Did you know that the Mews used to be able to have extraordinary powers based on the animal they were given at birth? That's amazing!"

"How can you still study those things?" Kisshu sounded disgusted. He spat out the words harshly.

"But look at all the things they could do! Then there was the chieftain: Momomiya Shintaro. Tee-hee, his daughter looks so cute! Too bad it doesn't give her name…." Keiichiro pointed to a picture of the chieftain holding his daughter in the air. You couldn't get a clear picture of the daughter, but you could tell she had a tail and ears coming happily out of her body. Her father had moose antlers and a fluffy tail in the back.

Kisshu scoffed, blowing his green hair out of his vision. He hated and despised those things.

"They were a plague upon the Earth." He sounded dull. "Especially that little girl. How can she be so happy? She's a monster."

"Well, I think they're fascinating! What would you do if you met one?" Keiichiro asked the simple question, stars replacing the pupils in his eyes.

"Kill it." Kisshu stood up and left the room again.

X.X.X.X.X.X.

Chapter Four: The Cold

"So, may I ask your name?" Ryou led the girl down the path towards his house. She gasped and kept her head down.

"Eto… my name is Retasu," She murmured. He grinned. He'd have to break her out of her shyness, he could tell.

"No last name?" He asked. Retasu slapped her hands over her mouth.

"I'm sorry! Midorikawa Retasu is my name…" She was now redder than a fire truck.

"It's alright, I think it's a pretty name." Ryou smiled. "Do you like gardening lettuce?"

"Actually, I like all sorts of plants. I was just taking some onions out when—" She stopped. She couldn't say that Minto had come and warned her!

"When you found your friend outside the woods?" Ryou finished. "I'm really sorry about that."

"No, it wasn't your fault. The way Ichigo told it, she called the one that shot her—"

"The Fool." Ryou rolled his eyes. "He's not a fool. He just doesn't like things hurting animals."

"Why? What was happening when you shot her?" Retasu asked.

"We saw that blue bird Ichigo-san was holding on the way out of the woods and a light brown—almost yellow—monkey with a bunch of dead animals in their hands. Kisshu got mad and tried to kill them."

Retasu stopped walking right then, turning pale. She had to halt herself from throwing up all over Ryou. The thought of Minto and the little one being shot at made her sick.

"Are you alright?" Ryou asked. "Did I say something wrong?"

He tried to lay a gentle hand on her shoulder; she recoiled quickly, whimpering as she did so.

"No," She whispered. "I—I don't understand…. Why would you do that? They were trying to take what they needed to survive. They need them to eat. But you didn't need to shoot them; you didn't have to kill them to live." She clamped her eyes shut and took a breath. "But, let's not rant about the already done." She felt guilty about blowing off her friends like that, but she would deal with their holding-back-the-truth when she got back home.

X.X.X.X.X.X.

Kisshu was laying on his mat on the ground when the door opened, smashing in his face.

"OUCH!" He shouted. "Ryou! Please remember I'm sitting here!" He rubbed his nose and watched the now-amused Ryou enter with a girl behind him. He was clutching her hand and she kept her gaze to the floor.

"Well," Pai said. "Who's this?"

"Her name is Midorikawa Retasu; and she's one of the people who's living with that girl we—saw—this afternoon." Ryou said, not wanting to say the word "shot" in front of Kisshu.

Keiichiro's face dropped and saddened a little, but he smiled all the same.

"Really now? Is the girl alright?" He asked.

"Um… yes, Ichigo-san is alright." Retasu murmured.

"I went over there a minute ago." Ryou began explaining again. "And I agreed to do something for them. Ichigo said that we'd have to have a picnic with them."

"Really?" Kisshu asked, standing up. "I shot her in the arm, and now she wants so have lunch with us?"

"Well, yes. And she sent her friend over here to arrange the date. So when's good?" Ryou was trying to get straight to the point.

"Eto… we could do it the day after tomorrow…" Retasu suggested. "We've got nothing to do then."

"Well what's wrong with tomorrow?" Kisshu asked, standing up.

"Um, well, Ichigo-san has something to do tonight and she'll be awfully tired tomorrow. So, she'll need a day to rest up." Retasu covered the excuse. Actually, Ichigo was going to steal another Mew item, but she couldn't let them know that.

"Alright. We'll meet next to the forest when the sun is directly above us, two days from now." Taruto nodded.

A barking sound bounded through the house.

"Hey! Pochi is back!" Taruto ran out the door, with Kisshu behind him.

"Don't let him bite you like last time!" Ryou ran out, following them.

Only Retasu, Keiichiro, and Pai were left in the room. Keiichiro let out a long sigh.

"So, have you heard of the Mews?" He asked nonchalantly. Retasu froze up.

"Y-yes! Eto… w-why do y-you as-sk?" She stuttered, preparing to make a run for it if she needed to. She began angling herself for the door.

"No reason. I just love studying them, and it's so hard to find someone else who likes them as well." Keiichiro's voice sounded like he was whining a little. Retasu let her muscles flex and relaxed a little. "Have you heard of their leader?"

"Uh! No, actually." She lied. "Have you?"

"He's right here! Shintaro Momomiya, and his daughter's right here. Too bad you can't see her face, though she looks awfully cute from the back…." Keiichiro pointed to the picture in the book. "The Mews have a special kind of language and a special kind of writing, and have strange powers relating to their animal, given to them at birth."

"How did you find out so much?" Retasu's fear was clearly replaced my anger. "And why do you care?"

"I just think they're fascinating. I don't know why anyone would want to slaughter them. They look so tranquil, so happy."

She had no clue why he brought this conversation up, but she made a mental note to tell Ichigo right away to change her last name for the time being.

"Sorry, Taruto's pet came back today, and we have to take care of it," Ryou came back in and smirked.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll be leaving. I'll see you in two days."

Retasu said her goodbyes and left.

THE END!

So? I know, I had to cut it short because I was taking too long with it. But I updated! I'll try to peel the next one out sooner. Review!