All Kinds of Sizes and Shapes
Dear all,
Let me hereby thank everybody who have stopped by and read this story. When I looked in my mailbox today, I was simply astounded. And it really makes me super happy to see that people enjoy what I write and that they keep loving Tokyo Mew Mew despite how old the original anime/manga actually is. That itself is a proof that TMM really is a masterpiece. Also, I am terribly sorry about the delay in my update, as I went on vacation (shout out to all readers from Italy, your food is the best!) and did not have my laptop on me.
The Road to Perfection is likewise available on AO3 from now onwards. You can find it under the same name. It took me a minute to figure out what goes where, but I managed in the end and it's all uploaded. Yay!
As far as the story plot is concerned, we are embarking on a completely new adventure on Cyclonia now. Get ready!
DrDark7 – Thank you for yet another comment. I hope that you will like this and the following chapters too. Fingers crossed!
Kishlover985 – Thank you for yet another comment. I would like you to know that this story is now on AO3 as well and all because of you!
NeKoGirl – Thank you for yet another comment! Your wish will be granted soon enough, I swear. Hope you enjoy this chapter as well! Always happy to make your day!
xKinkajou- Thank you for your comment, it made me really happy! And, of course! Tokyo Mew Mew is one of my first and most beloved anime so with the remake out this year and the death of Mia Ikumi, I could not think of better timing than now to show my love and appreciation for these characters and story. Kisshu and Ichigo is my favorite pairing too! Always has been!
Lena – Thank you for your comment, I am happy to hear that you like my story. And, yes. There is indeed a lot to happen especially now when Tokyo Mew Mew have finally arrived on the alien planet. I can promise you that much!
Enjoy and review!
I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew
Contrary to all Ichigo's initial fears, the space travel had proved unbelievably easy. Ichigo was, in fact, surprised at how normal the whole flight seemed and how much the interior of the alien ship resembled that of a plane; a very luxurious plane which possibly only few chosen celebrities on Earth could use for flying.
The teleportation likewise had not produced any undesired side effects to their well-beings, quite the opposite. Pudding had even begged Pai to teleport with her again, just for the hell of it. Unsurprisingly, he had refused. What had thus stricken Ichigo the most about their journey was not only Pai's hospitality but also how incredibly cozy he had made her feel aboard of his ship. And, it took only one quick glance around her to see why. Everywhere she looked, the same design of red velvet lounge chairs, cushions, small sofas and armchairs came into her view; the embodiment of sheer elegance, which she had freely associated with Pai and, by its extension, Cyniclon culture altogether. What Ichigo likewise appreciated was their atypical arrangement; all of the furniture was spread around the main seating room in different numbers and locations so that the passengers could easily decide whether they wanted to face the windows, look ahead of them, or have their backs entirely turned on the world. Ichigo found that very convenient and rather pleasant.
Sinking further down in her armchair, she was hence relieved at the fact that this upcoming flight would be free of any discomfort or difficulty. The others must have gathered a very similar impression, if their antics could serve as any point of reference. While Pudding exhibited her joy by jumping on the cushions in pure bliss, Lettuce was relaxing on one of the sofas, with a book in her hand at a ready. Only Zakuro and Mint remained unfazed; whether that was due to their vast experience with flying first class or not, Ichigo could not tell. Ryou's reaction remained a mystery, since he had declined to stay within the main area and assumed a seat next to Pai in the cockpit instead.
Ichigo was about to close her eyes and take a nap when Pai's voice sounded through the speaker above them.
"Welcome on board, Tokyo Mew Mew. Please fasten your seatbelt for the take-off and landing. At any other time, feel free to roam around wherever you please. All utilities are located in the central hall, slightly to the left from the main seating area. The flight will be approximately five hours. Should you have any inquiries, do not hesitate to ask. Our departure shall take place in less than three minutes."
"Just five hours?" Mint doubted, finally at least a bit confused.
"Hm. Their technology must be really advanced," Zakuro agreed, fairly impressed.
"Or we might go through some wormhole," Lettuce mused and Ichigo gulped at the idea.
"Just five hours and I can see Taru-Taru again, na no da," Pudding chirped, engaging herself in a brief dance of victory.
"Pudding, fasten your seat belt, please!"
Ichigo watched the light signal above her turn on, as she reclined in her seat, enjoying the soft feel against her skin.
Off we go!
"I am telling you this is not how you play it, Ichigo," Mint scoffed, shaking her head in disbelief.
Instead of sleeping, Ichigo spent most of the flight playing cards with Pudding and arguing with Mint.
"But I don't wanna lose again," Ichigo whined and crossed her hands over her chest in defense.
"Ichigo, face it. You're a terrible liar, so you will never win at this game," Mint replied and, to prove her statement, she drew the card she had been waiting for for the last two rounds and beat Ichigo to a pulp.
"A case in point," Mint smirked, as she collected all Ichigo's chips from underneath her.
"Ahhhhh, I give up," the auburn-haired girl cried out, before standing up. "I need to go and pee anyway."
"That is a lie, yet again," Mint pointed out and Pudding, with some chips still in hand, joined Mint with a reply of hers.
"Liar liar pants on fire na no da."
Ichigo decided she had had enough.
Upon making a brief stop at the restroom, since she actually really had wanted to pee, Ichigo followed her animal instinct and began to explore the foreign ship on her own. The central hall was a far cry from the warm embrace of the main seating area at best. Everything around her was now made solely of stainless steel, which, on one hand, seemed very practical but likewise extremely cold and minimalistic. Ichigo came to the idea that she had been just confronted with the second part of alien identity - pure pragmatism; and she knew for a fact that she liked the fluffy red velvet cushions far better.
As she continued with her stroll down the empty hall, she soon found herself at the big door leading to the cockpit. Not sure whether she could enter or not, Ichigo stopped and eyed the stainless material anxiously.
"Come on in, it's not like we can't see you," Ryou's voice cut through the air and Ichigo jolted at the unexpected sound.
Upon recovering, she quickly pushed the door open and stepped in. It took her only a second to realize something was horribly wrong, when her eyes fell upon the scientist duo with alarm.
Ryou and Pai were both sitting in chairs. But, instead of flying the ship, they had various stacks of paper and books in front of them, completely unconcerned where the ship was taking them or if they were flying at all. Ichigo was about ready to give them a piece of her mind and a long pep talk in regards to their carelessness and irresponsibility when she realized that the flight mode had been fully activated, and the ship set onto the autopilot.
She let out a sigh of relief, while internally reprimanding herself for being such a scaredy cat.
Curious what they had been up to, she came a little closer to the controls.
"So what have you two been doing here for the past 3,5 hours," she asked with a real interest in her voice.
"Scientific evidence and its effects on human and alien race," Pai replied stoically.
Ichigo could not say she had not expected such an answer. Still, a little part of her wanted to believe that they had also talked girls, life, culture or even sports.
Keep dreaming, Ichigo.
"Whoa whoa, careful, Pai. If you keep geeking out like that, you'll give Ryou a hard-on," Ichigo snickered and immediately screamed in pain when she felt her butt pinched by Ryou's swift fingers.
"What was that for," Ichigo squeaked, massaging her sore butt.
"That serves you right for that dirty mouth of y-," he paused mid-sentence, as he gave Ichigo a quick once over.
"It seems that I was correct in my assumption," Pai concluded following Ryou's line of vision.
"Certainly," Ryou looked on, dumbfounded.
Seeing them both stare at her so intently, Ichigo's cheeks flushed dark scarlet. She first thought that there had been something wrong with her face but when she raised her arm to fix her hair, she found nothing. However, when her hand reached for the ribbon to untie it, she suddenly felt the furry texture of her cat ear between her fingers. Gasping at the realization, she fished for her pendant and kissed it with unprecedented speed. The cockpit instantly filled with a pink light, blinding Pai and Ryou temporarily in the process. And then, in front of them, Mew Ichigo appeared.
Upon hearing what had happened, all the girls quickly followed suit; it had been the first successful team transformation in more than three years.
"So our pendants work again? That is brilliant," Lettuce smiled, as she inspected herself happily.
"We still don't know the full extent of your current powers. But let's just say our theory about the need of alien proximity was right," Ryou replied, extremely satisfied with this new revelation.
"There, indeed, need to be more tests performed. For the time being, allow me to assist you with your research during your stay on Cyclonia. I personally find this rather intriguing," Pai's eyes momentarily glazed over before they regained their signature impassive quality.
"With pleasure. I can only wonder what more is there to discover," Ryou whispered with equal fascination.
And here they go again, Ichigo sighed.
"That is so cool na no da," Pudding, being the hyper active monkey, launched herself forward and hugged Pai by his side, "thank you so much for this, na no da."
All eyes bulged out, as Pai nodded and though his face remained blank, he put a hand on Pudding's head in what could have looked almost as an affectionate manner; if Pai was capable of affection, that is.
"I think that I might have been drugged," Ichigo muttered incredulously, unable to reconcile with the events happening around her.
"Get a grip, Ichigo," Mint smacked her across the head, dismissing her drama right away.
"Feel free to leave your combat attire on so that our staff can allocate your rooms to the whole group of Tokyo Mew Mew at once. You do not want them to be distributed haphazardly across all our premises. Also, we shall land in fifteen minutes," Pai let go of Pudding and turned around to start his way to the cockpit, Ryou in tow, "please calm yourself down and return to your seats."
The Mew Mews, all fully transformed, nodded as one.
"I can't believe we're really on a foreign planet. I mean I get it. But I can't get over it, you know what I mean," Ichigo mused out loud, her eyes somewhat dazed.
"I know, right? It all feels so overwhelming," Lettuce let out a small chuckle, glancing around their surroundings while they had been waiting for their rooms. Mint, being the princess, shared a more down to earth approach.
"They sure have a crappy customer service though. We've been waiting here for ten minutes already."
"Well, we're not the only ones," Zakuro replied, eyes trained on the line in front of the main desk.
Ichigo exhaled. Whatever notion she had had about what Cyclonia would look like, she had not expected this.
Pai had already informed them during their flight that their celebrations were indeed, large, tedious and intergalactical, but Ichigo could not have grasped the real meaning behind his words at that time. Judging by the various creatures in front of her now, she finally began to get a better idea of what he had meant.
Never in her life had Ichigo thought that she would be able to meet all these types of aliens, or let alone know of their very existence. As she was eyeing each group one by one, Ichigo started to note some crucial differences between the guests. First, they came in all kinds of sizes and shapes. There was the group that looked fairly human, varying from their kind only through some conspicuous detail, such as ears, eyes or number of heads or arms. Then there were the aliens, who looked more like some sort of technological devices, something akin to robots and computers. The last group consisted of these, whose lack of any specific shape or form made it impossible for Ichigo to peg them among any of the former categories. These aliens involved flying objects, animals or even a slime in motion.
The strange thing was though that everybody was somehow able to understand each other, including the Mew Mews. This made the whole process of waiting in the line a little more bearable, but challenging nevertheless. Ichigo looked on with fair amusement, as a group of aliens, heavily reminiscent of frogs, tried to persuade the receptionist for an underwater villa instead of the charming suite on the tenth floor. From the looks of it, their pleas remained futile, since there were no underwater options available at Cyclonia.
As a matter of fact, the architecture on Cyclonia was indeed slightly puzzling. It was as if they aimed to build everything as high as the sky. Ichigo had noticed this concept for the first time upon landing when she saw the ubiquity of the skyscrapers and instantly wondered how Cyclonia would make places like Manhattan pale in comparison. She also noted that the trend here was to use glass, steel and plants, which in itself was peculiar, but on the overall, it created a very fresh and modern outlook. Even though she had found the vast glass walls a little threatening at the beginning, Ichigo had soon gotten used to the look of it and began appreciating the style in which the aliens had built their city. It definitely looked beautiful to her and Ichigo knew that it was all the Mew Aqua's doing. A sense of pride swelled in her chest at that thought
"I think I will go and ask what is taking them so long," Mint stood up, ready to act but Ryou appeared in front of her with a stack of cards in his left hand at that moment.
"Alright ladies, sorry about the delay. Apparently, they are running out of rooms quickly so here's what we're gonna do. I have four cards in total. Lettuce and Pudding, you will share the first room together," Ryou handed them the white card with the green inscription 1560 engraved on it; both girls thanked him with a congenial smile on their faces.
"Mint and Ichigo," Ryou continued, "this is the card for your room."
"What, I don't wanna share a room with Ichigo. She snores and drools all over her," Mint exclaimed, utterly disgusted.
"Hey, that was only one time at your place! How long are you gonna hold it against me," Ichigo fought back, unwilling to let Mint boss her around even on a foreign planet.
"Then I suggest you get Ichigo a bib and wipe that drool off of her face afterwards," Ryou handed Mint the card with the number 1561, cutting their feud short.
Turning to Zakuro, Ryou gave her the card 1562.
"This one is for you, Zakuro. I figured that you would rather have a room to yourself, considering your persona."
Zakuro nodded and took the card gratefully.
"This last one is for me," Ryou paused and showed everyone the card that read 1563, "as I will be working during my time here mostly, it is ideal that I have a room of my own for the necessary phone calls and research. All of our rooms are located on the fifteenth floor. We reside next to each other so I will be able to easily hear you if you are up to no good, Ichigo."
"What? I did not even do anything," the auburn-haired girl protested, slightly offended at his jab.
"Yet," Ryou responded flatly, before a smile broke onto his face, "remember, we are the protectors of Earth but we are also here on vacation, so I want you to work minimally and enjoy your time here to the maximum. Now go and unpack. We will meet in my room again in exactly two hours. And don't be late."
The girls exchanged a solemn look before they let out a scream and made a mad dash for the stainless steel elevator.
Ichigo could still not believe their luck. It was all too good. Upon opening the door to their room, she made a beeline for the enormous king size bed and jumped onto it with a joyful squeal.
"This is awesome!"
"Ok, so I will take the bed on the left then," Mint said, mildly annoyed but her features loosened up shortly after as well.
What Ichigo loved best about their accommodation was their bathroom. Not only did it have a shower but also a beautiful marble and gold bath tub. Taking her clothes off, she turned the water on and began to soak.
"How much time do we have, Mint," she called out from inside the tube.
"About one and half hour," Mint called back before appearing in the bathroom next to her.
"Did you have a chance to see the closet, Ichigo? I must admit that it's quite huge," Mint commented, her voice brimming with appreciation.
"No, not yet but I bet. Man, this is better than dying," Ichigo laughed, "this way I will forget about Masaya in no time."
She stopped, realizing what she had just said.
Mint looked at her for a moment before a playful smirk flashed across her face.
"I think seeing Kisshu will help you too," Mint quipped.
"Mint, stop saying that," Ichigo flushed, happy that the vast majority of her body was under water.
"Well, you never answered Pudding's question from earlier," Mint replied nonchalantly, inspecting the cuticle of her nails.
"What do you expect me to do? Throw myself at him and proclaim how much I want him?" Ichigo asked sarcastically but paused when the hot kiss from her dream flooded to her mind.
"That's not a bad start," Mint concluded, amusement evident in her tone, "with that pacing, you could regain emotional stability by the last day we're here."
"Gee, thanks for your psychoanalysis, dr. Aizawa," Ichigo drawled, irritated but with her blush still in place.
"You're welcome. I wanna take a bath before the meeting with Ryou too. So don't think about Kisshu around here for too long," Mint winked and Ichigo threw a bottle of soap at her.
Of course, Mint dodged it with utmost grace.
"So what is the plan, Ryou? Don't tell me you invited us all here to see how great we look in our new outfits," Ichigo joked half-heartedly, reveling in the feel of the frilly fabric on her body.
Mint had not been lying when she had said that their closet was huge; and, based on the way the others were dressed, it seemed that it was considered a norm in any guest room on Cyclonia.
Ichigo was now wearing a short frilly pink skirt and a white top, while Mint went for a light blue summer dress with thick straps. Lettuce, by contrast, opted for a more formal vibe, as she chose to go with a white collar button up shirt and a knee-length dark green skirt. Zakuro looked stunning in her tight black pants and violet tank top and Pudding, being Pudding, put on the first thing that came to her mind; orange shorts and a yellow shirt that was cut above her stomach. Even Ryou changed into a dark black polo shirt, but his white leather pants and choker stayed on.
"Not really," Ryou replied, "but I'm happy that everyone got changed since we're going for a dinner together."
"A dinner, thank God! I haven't eaten like forever," Ichigo exclaimed, the prospect of food making her mouth water.
"And whose damn fault is that," a sudden voice came from behind them, making all the heads turn in surprise, just as a new figure entered the room from the ripple in the air.
"Taru-Taru," Pudding jumped and immediately tackled him in a hug.
"Hey, relax monkey, will ya," Taruto screamed, but his tone lacked the power of real anger.
"I can see that you are as rude as ever, you twerp," Ichigo lamented in mock offense but waved at him with a big grin on her face either way. While they continued with exchanging pleasantries, Ichigo's eyes regarded Taruto with a scrutinizing look as she let her gaze wander over his mature form. If Pai looked a little different, Taruto's change was remarkable. He got taller, more masculine and his boyish features hardened into that of a young man. He looked a lot like Kisshu back then; lean, tall and cheeky. With the way he was dressed, he reminded Ichigo more of Pai though, since he too wore the dark violet and blackish complet with cuts, mesh and studs. She must have been staring a little too long because Taruto noticed her and pulled a face.
"Like what you see? Too bad I'm not into old hags," Taruto cackled and avoided Ichigo's fist in the nick of time not to be punched.
"It's just that you look so different, Taruto. I don't know how I should feel about that myself," Lettuce smiled hesitantly.
"To me, you're the same Taru, just a little more handsome," Pudding declared, making Taruto's face crimson as a result.
The room then rippled again and out came Pai.
"I see you all found your rooms with no hindrance. I am glad."
"Thank you. Everything is perfect," Zakuro replied on behalf of everyone and her words could not ring more true.
"Yes, these clothes are amazing, na no da," Pudding started hopping all over the place, dragging Taruto involuntarily with her.
"Speaking of clothes, what's up with the new uniforms, guys," Mint noted, pointing between Taruto and Pai with her perfectly manicured index finger.
"These," Pai touched the hem of his shirt, "are worn as a symbol for our military personnel. What you saw back on Earth is our actual attire that we use when we engage in battles," he answered with as little emotion as possible.
"Oh, I see," Mint nodded in understanding, while Lettuce looked down to try and hide her blush.
"This is all so pretty and cool, but why are we still not on our way to dinner," Ichigo asked stupidly. She knew that she was being rude but it was the hunger talking.
At this, Pai looked at his wrist watch and sighed, "Let us wait a moment longer."
"I knew he will be late, even you were late, Pai," Taruto grunted, folding his hands defensively.
And just as Ichigo was about to retort what the hell they were even talking about, the air in the room rippled for the third time in a row and she was instantly met with the pair of golden shimmering eyes from her dream; only this time, she knew they were real, which made their scorching intensity feel much, much better.
