The Tapes

Dear readers,

Thank you for stopping by and reading this story. I would like to hereby thank everybody for their comments, reviews, kudos and favorites. It is such a blast to see people really genuinely enjoying what I am writing, you have no idea haha! Plus, I love the fact that the fandom is teeming with life again; this anime/manga deserves all the love ( °▽° )

As for the plot, we are coming closer and closer to the finish. Now, it's finally the long-awaited payback time, bitches! And in more than one way! I hope that everyone who was looking forward to this update will be satisfied by its end. Let me know your feelings in the comment section below. I personally like this chapter because it unravels the last secrets and hidden intentions of our characters.

And, as weird as it is, I can't believe that the TMM remake is over. OH NO! What will happen to my Tuesdays from now on? My heart is crushed and STILL beating so hard haha! Yandere Kisshu forever! I seriously can't wait to start doing my second project which is gonna feature Kisshu and Ichigo still as enemies; and, yes; you guessed it right, Masaya WILL be blasted to pieces in it too! (д) Thank you, Sorakitten, by the way, for reminding me of the importance of the use of these cute Japanese emojis! I love these so much

Also, for anyone who might not know it, the second season of TMM New is already ANNOUNCED, April 2023! My life is complete now ^▽^ let's celebrate with another chapter, shall we?

The music I used for this segment were the two following songs:

Pandora Hearts OST 'Possess'

G-Eazy 'I Mean It'

P.S. It's a 2 in 1 chapter again, what else is new?

Lulyy Elizabeth Vaca - Thank you for yet another comment! I am glad to hear that you enjoyed the last chapter so much. There is definitely a few more things that need to be explained and addressed, but we're slowly moving up towards the end. And, yes! Taruto is great, isn't he?

DrDark7 – Thank you for yet another comment! I am so happy to see that you enjoyed the last update. We don't do chaotic over here anymore. Only good, good things are to happen from now on. Stay tuned!

MarikoXoD – Thank you for yet another comment! I am so glad to hear that you really enjoyed the last few chapters! And, yes. Things are finally looking up now, are you excited? Let's make Kishigo real!

James Birdsong – Thank you for yet another comment! It makes me so happy to know that you really like my story. There is only a few more chapters to go, so I am looking forward to hearing your opinion on it too!

NeKoGirl – Thank you for yet another comment! I agree, Taruto totally rocks! He is so funny and brave in this story, isn't he? So, rest assured, there is literally no way that I could ever let him die so easily. What a waste of character that would that be!

Kishlover985 – Thank you for yet another comment! I am so happy that you enjoyed my last update! I totally adore Pudding and Taruto too! They are such a nice couple! And, I am so glad to hear that you like the character of Yuri as well. Personally, I think she is really cool!

As always, please enjoy and review!

I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew

The white dress pooled around her body like a veil of fresh winter snow, while her silver strapless sandals clicked against the dark marble floor in a serene, regular rhythm. As her hips kept swaying from one side to another, it could be easily discerned that there was a certain grace and bounce in her step, which was bound to make heads turn and mouths agape. However, this time, it was not only due to the extraterrestrial beauty that the Cyniclon princess possessed that every Cyniclon male swooned and temporarily forgot everything that he had been doing, but also due to the creepy notion that her unannounced presence at the military base signified something grave. An ominous feeling that something was amiss had immediately gripped everyone who had been lucky enough to cross her path, while she continued to walk further inside the labyrinth of the murky fluorescent halls.

It was a generally acknowledged fact that the princess very rarely left her premises, unless a very serious business matter required her imminent physical interference. And if that was the case, the green bespectacled alien would always accompany her with no exception to that rule. Today, nevertheless, Princess Yuri appeared to come alone only with a strange dullness in her eyes which had reflected that there was, indeed, something on her mind that loomed behind the reasoning behind her unexpected visit.

Everyone saluted; everyone stared.

And Yuri was so caught up in her own head that she only vaguely nodded towards the flock of generals that suddenly emerged by her side. When they all knelt, she paused in her tracks and regarded them intently, her blue electrifying orbs focused on no one in particular.

"Your highness, to what do we owe the pleasure?" one of the older Cyniclons inquired and Yuri recognized his voice instantly.

General Shuu, after all, had the reputation that had vastly preceded him. He was one of the elite Cyniclon warriors that had spent all of his life training the new generations of soldiers, Kisshu, Pai, Taruto, Elton and even herself included. He was trustworthy and efficient, and his gaze always shone with deep wisdom that was far above the general grasp. Yuri was rather fond of her former mentor. Not only due to his undeniable set of martial skills, but also because of his temperament. He was a solid anchor of the past who had never questioned his loyalty to her and the throne once, nor ever opposed her new ways and innovations.

"General Shuu, I told you countless of times before that you do not have to address me so formally," Yuri's lips curved into a small smirk at the sight of his amused face.

"I know, but when I call you by your proper title, your highness, it reminds me of the long way you have gone to become such a young powerful lady into which you have grown," he replied with a warm smile.

At this, Yuri nodded in understanding and he took it as a sign to stand up and go on.

"How can I help you today, your highness? I take it you did not come here just to spar with me."

"That would be correct," the princess answered honestly even though she would lie if she did not say that she found the prospect of a bit of friendly fighting equally tempting. Sparring, after all, used to constitute one of her most favorite hobbies before she had officially assumed her position as the ruler of Cyclonia; alas, a cup of hot Earl Grey seemed to be far more congruent with her tight schedule timewise as of lately, and it was only now that Yuri finally understood the physical urges that she had been denying herself and that her body had been craving all along.

Regardless, one look in General Shuu's direction had made her remember her main objective here and pushed the emotional struggle of longing that had been roaring through her to the back of her mind. There were so many things that were puzzling her at the current moment, but Yuri did not want to lose her face, nor look vulnerable in front of the military personnel; which is why she had decided to confront everything head on, no matter what others might have said or advised. She was never the one to listen anyway, and whatever the truth was she did not want to hear it; she wanted to see it.

"The tapes from Earth, I would like to watch them all please."


The sun was beginning to slowly set down behind the horizon, leaving Pai's elegant room in a peculiar blend of red and violet tones that were cast all across the creamy white walls, against one of which sat Kisshu fully slumped with a half-empty bottle in his hand.

With his pupils dilated and eyes trained on the floor, he took another long swig, cursing the inability of the whiskey to burn his brain alive.

He had no idea what the time was, or how many hours he had been drinking in this exact spot.

One distinct memory, however, remained firmly imprinted in his head no matter how much alcohol he had already consumed; the continuous reel of a film that showed the pallor of her face while her eyes went wide in shock before they filled with tears and hurt replayed in his mind, and Kisshu furiously gulped the remnants of the bottle before he tossed it aside. It collided with the glass conference table in a loud crash and dispersed the little glass shards around in all sorts of directions; but Kisshu did not care.

He wanted to hit something anyway.

And the broken glass fragments only helped him better to mentally picture the present state of his own heart.

He was so happy that it was all over at last. He could get drunk all he wanted again and with no real remorse or fear of any possible consequences springing from his self-indulgent debauchery. He needed the alcohol. It was the very last thing that had managed to fill the void which, he was sure, would, quite possibly, never fully go away.

He let his head rest on his propped up knee and wondered if there would ever come the day that he could entirely forget Ichigo.

A tell-tale sound of the ripple in the air had made him pause with his musings, but he refused to look up and meet any more prying eyes.

Kisshu first thought it was Pai who came to give him some more bad news regarding his situation or even to lecture him some more on his idiocy, but the carefree, somewhat cheerful voice sounded far too lighthearted and annoying for his elder brother.

"That is quite a painful sight to see."

He did not need to raise his eyes to know that the voice belonged to Elton.

"Then don't look!" Kisshu barked out in a harsh tone.

Elton gave him a silent stare.

"I don't get it, Kish. Off all the women you could have-"

"No one asked you to get it," the green haired alien finally made eye contact, glaring daggers at his unwanted company. Yet, not even the burning fire in his gaze was seemingly strong enough to make Elton keep his mouth shut.

"Sitting here alone, pining over one human whore."

"Shut up," Kisshu's eyes narrowed in anger, as he swiftly teleported and grasped at the collar of Elton's shirt, his whole body shaking profusely.

"Have I hit the nerve, Kish?" Elton grinned.

Kisshu heaved out a loud breath and, closing his eyes, he let go of his friend.

"You might as well shut up," Kisshu muttered once he reassumed his spot on the floor.

In a reaction to this, Elton's features etched with annoyance and he set his jaw before he spoke next.

"This," he gestured with his long pale index finger between them, "is why I don't understand why you should be the next king of Cyclonia. Even your stoic, nerdy brother would be a better pick. Your emotions have always gotten the best and worst out of you, Kish. You think you are so good at deception and masking your feelings but I can read you like a book."

Kisshu sent him a nasty glare but said nothing, which had only made Elton sigh in resignation. He then scratched his head while he tried to better vocalize his thoughts.

"What I meant to say is. How shall I put it? You're like a dog, really. I dangle a bait in front of you and you immediately jump at it. It's a good thing that I got rid of that unfortunate trigger of yours. With Mew Ichigo finally gone, maybe you will get back to your senses. Who knows?"

Kisshu's mind was temporarily suspended. He was drunk, all the empty bottles littered around him across the floor served as a solid proof of how much whiskey he had already had in his system, but, apparently, his neurons were not intoxicated enough to miss the hidden meaning behind Elton's words.

"What did you just say?"

Elton smirked, his gaze glinting with little sparks of amusement.

"You heard me. Though I cannot say that I did not enjoy her soft cries and moans during my intimate moments with her. Even if she thought it was you touching her all along. Quite loyal, is she not? Or, perhaps, gullible? Hard to say. If Taruto did not stop me today, I would have done it with her too. I reckon that that scared teary face of hers is what does it for you? That absolutely stunned expression twisted in deadly fear when I squeezed her windpipe, ripped her blouse open and forced myself on her was nothing short of…beautiful," he finished, somewhat dazed by his memory.

Kisshu's eyes narrowed into slits.

He sprang up on his feet, summoning his sais in the next instant.

"I'm gonna fucking kill you!"


"I can't believe that she did not board the ship. What an idiot," Ryou groaned in exasperation.

It was not like he was fully surprised though; the blonde was familiar with the Mew Mew to that extent that he knew very well that her pig-headedness was legendary and that once she set her mind on something, it was very hard to stray her away. Ryou momentarily contemplated whether it was possible that he had infused her with a pig DNA instead of Iriomote cat, but he quickly squished that ridiculous idea.

"It seems like she is determined to prove my brother wrong," Pai nodded, his eyes still predominantly focused on the computer screens in front of them.

"I know but that makes absolutely no sense. Don't you think she has had enough? And Kisshu too for that matter?" Ryou paused once he finished typing on his keyboard and ran a hand through his blonde tresses.

"I honestly believe that there might be real love between them, it is just the circumstances that might pose it otherwise," Pai proclaimed in his toneless drawl, startling his partner slightly.

"You really think that?" Ryou blurted out, wide-eyed.

"Yes," Pai answered solemnly, his eyes finally meeting Ryou's shocked gaze.

It took a second but the visage on the human scientist's face ultimately relaxed and he smiled. Reclining further in his seat, Ryou folded his hands behind his head with casual nonchalance.

"Well then, I am happy for her. After all that mourning and whining, she will finally get what she deserves. And if Kisshu loves her back, then all the better."

Pai shot him a nonplussed look that neither confirmed, nor denied his prediction. And, perhaps, he might have elaborated on the topic himself, but a sudden set of screaming sounds had cut their conversation short.

It was at that moment that the air behind them rippled, making both of the scientists swivel in their chairs in surprise to see a very loud Pudding, Zakuro, Mint and Retasu emerging from the portal, or rather falling out of one.

"Aaaaah, that hurt," Mint moaned, when she landed on her back with a small thud.

"Is everyone alright?" Zakuro asked, scanning her comrades briefly. Nobody appeared to be injured or incapacitated at first glance, but she could not be entirely sure.

"Taru! Where's Taru-Taru?!" Pudding cried out, as her eyes failed to recognize his silhouette anywhere.

"Oh no! Don't tell me something bad happened to him during the teleportation," Lettuce said, deeply alarmed by this idea.

"Oh my god! That can't be!" Mind exclaimed.

"What the hell is going on?!" Ryou's stern voice thundered across the laboratory, ending all the drama and shouting at once; everyone's heads instantly snapped to him, which, considering his role in their lives, barely came out as a surprise.

"We are looking for Ichigo, Ryou," Lettuce explained as calmly as she could, but with an extra amount of uncertainty when she realized that Pai was sitting right next to him.

"And, evidently, she is not here," Zakuro added, surveilling their surroundings quickly.

"Of course she's not here. What would she be doing here? Research?" Ryou asked dryly.

"Well, we thought that she would be here with you, guys," Mint shrugged.

"Well, we thought wrong, bird girl," Taruto appeared all of a sudden behind them and Pai gave him a long curious stare, taking in the whole situation.

"A group teleportation. You are quite brave, Taruto," Pai conceded with unconcealed praise for the latter's abilities.

"Yes, but I got lost somewhere on the way. Not gonna lie, I thought I would not make it back here intact," the little alien admitted, checking whether or not he was really in one piece.

"Well, it's a good thing you did!" Pudding jumped on him eagerly and gently pecked his lips, making Taruto's face beet red in a flash.

The monkey Mew obviously did not give a damn about how many people would witness their exchange, still so happy with the fact that her crush was safe and sound, but Taruto's reaction was far from comfortable, all the more when he caught his brother's inquisitive eye. Even if Pai probably shared Pudding's joy and relief, his tone relayed as much his content, as well as his discomfort, at the scene slowly unfolding in front of him. Somehow, that had made his reproach sound all the worse.

"I never thought that there would be a time that I would say this to you, Taruto, but please find yourself a room for such personal endeavors."

"B-but I, OH MY GOD!" Taruto stuttered, "Get off of me! You guys are impossible!"

"Where is Ichigo then, Ryou? Do you have any idea where she could be?" Mint inquired, dismissing Taruto's angry tantrum altogether. There was no time to lose, especially now that they could once again see a light at the end of the tunnel. Ichigo deserved her happy ending and Mint was determined to help her find it no matter what.

"No idea. She usually runs to me for emotional support and she did it this time too," Ryou paused, "but I did not provide any at the time. So she ran god knows where and unless she uses her pendant, there is no way how we can track her," the blonde sighed, scratching the freshly shaved skin under his nose with a slight unease.

All the Mews could sense that he was definitely hiding something from them, but no one was brave enough to meddle in Ryou's personal business; or so it seemed until a meek voice voiced the question that everyone thought but none of them dared to pose.

"But why, Ryou? Y-you always helped Ichigo. We all know that you deeply care about her so why did you not support her when she needed you the most?" Lettuce ventured, not fully understanding the motives behind Ryou's actions or body language.

He gave her a withering look before he opened his mouth again.

"Honestly? Because she needs to grow up and sort her troubles by herself and on her own accord. I can't step in every time something goes wrong in her love life. I am her friend, not her boyfriend," Ryou folded his arms over his chest, making sure his message got across.

"Fair point," Zakuro concluded, dipping her head in an instant approval that was way too spontaneous for someone like Mint to accept just yet.

"Are you for real? I mean. Yes, I get it, but I disagree. Plus, the tables are turned now, Ryou. We already talked with Yuri and," the blue lorikeet Mew stopped short when she was confronted with Ryou's horror-stricken expression.

"You what?" the blonde's tone betrayed utter disbelief whereas Pai continued to sit emotionlessly by his side.

"Yes, we talked with Yuri about what has happened. It was all Elton's foul play of getting back at Kisshu. Now they are both called in for some meeting," Mint finished, her eyes darting between Ryou's evident shock and Pai's complete impassiveness.

"Taruto," the older alien eventually addressed his younger brother, "Were you and Gato there as well?"

"Damn right, I even restricted that annoying four-eye with my plants so he would keep away and let Pudding say what she had on her mind," Taruto declared somewhat proudly and Pudding patted him on his head, their previous argument long gone.

Pai closed his eyes, running a nervous hand over his brow. When he resumed talking, his voice regained its signature level-headedness.

"Well, I guess that issue will be dealt away with by means of our government then," he surmised, staring in front of himself with a far-away look on his face.

"Yes, na no da. All we gotta do is get Ichigo and Kisshu together now! But we gotta find them first," Pudding squealed.

"Kisshu is in my room, and in no state of accepting company, I might add," Pai retorted flatly.

"Then he'd better sober up quick, because the meeting is scheduled for today," Mint countered, making Pai visibly tense again.

"In that case, please excuse me," Pai nodded to Ryou before he teleported himself swiftly away.

Ryou hung his head, too perplexed by what all of this could truly mean. There were so many things that he could not control and it was driving him insane. But there was no stopping now. If they had already created this mess, they would have to clean it all as well. They were, after all, ambassadors here, the symbol and the sole protectors of their beloved planet, Earth.

He lifted his eyes and met everyone's expectant gazes, who immediately bowed their heads in unison once they understood what was needed to be done; well, save for Pudding, who had been still too preoccupied with ogling Taruto.

"Taru! I'm so glad you're ok," she let out another merry squeal, hugging the younger alien in genuine affection.

"Oh God, would you lay off? I should have teleported away too," the alien mumbled, trying to get away from the blonde Mew but not with too much success. Even if Pai was no longer present, Taruto still considered the excessive PDA beyond the point of embarrassing.

"No, you have to stay with us, Taruto. Now that we know that you can do the group teleportations, it can come in handy when finding Ichigo," Zakuro said matter-of-factly.

"Oh no, not again!" he lamented, covering his eyes in dismay, "One time was not enough for you? You really wanna see me fall to pieces?"

The purple haired Mew looked at him long and hard and something in her features had caught the younger alien's undivided attention.

"Perseverance, was it not?" Zakuro went on in an icy cold tone, "One of the key values for your alien culture. Are you telling me you do not possess such an intricate Cyniclon quality in you?"

"Z-Zakuro, I-I don't think-" Lettuce chimed in but one quick glance from the elder Mew had shut her up instantly.

"Well," Zakuro prodded, her unwavering eyes trained back on his and the challenge of her implication still hanging in the air, "what is it going to be?"

Taruto gave her a silent defiant stare, before he exhaled sharply and, spreading his arms, he looked Zakuro dead in the eye.

"Everyone hold on to me, again. We will look for Ichigo together. And, this time, Pudding, no squeezing!"

"I will try my best, na no da," the blonde Mew chirped but once Taruto wasn't paying attention, she clasped his hand in hers fondly anyway.


Pai teleported himself back into his room, ready to find Kisshu drunk or asleep somewhere on the floor but he was not quite ready for the commotion that had welcomed his arrival.

It was a frenzy; a total complete frenzy, which did not quite correspond to the image the purple haired alien had mentally conjured up in his head in the least bit.

The disarray of broken furniture went flying across the room and Pai had to immediately duck not to be hit by a glass table square in the face. There were several dents in the walls and the curtain that used to hang from the window was now torn down in shreds, along with most of the pictures which no longer found their place on the wall but, instead, lay haphazardly on the floor, next to, more or less, fully destroyed glass conference table.

Among such a chaos, Elton and Kisshu were engaged in, what Pai could only assume to be, a fervent battle, whose winner was yet waiting to be determined. From the looks and cuts on each of the male's bodies, Pai could tell that they had been at it for quite some time and whatever the real cause of their quarrel was, Pai could simply ascribe most of it to Kisshu's inebriated state in the combination with his volatile emotions and the amount of empty bottles scattered all over the place that he had probably finished up all by himself.

"Kisshu, control yourself!" Pai's voice roared once he managed to step in between them, pulling them momentarily from each other's angry grasps.

"Like hell. Not until I beat the living shit out of him," Kisshu spat, pushing Pai aside roughly and landing a kick at Elton's face, "Stay out of this, Pai! This is between me and him!"

"Kisshu, beating Elton for no reason will not solve anything," Pai tried again, restraining his brother from behind before he could kick his best friend again.

"He tried to hurt Ichigo, Pai! If Taruto didn't come there in the morning, he would've-he would've," Kisshu's shoulders shook so much with uninhibited anger that he could not even finish his own sentence.

"Yea, I would've fucked her brains out and she would've loved every damn second of it. She's a fucking whore, Kish. She would say yes to me either way. And you know it! Maybe she ended up fucking your little brother too, who knows," Elton smirked, as he tilted his head to the side and spat some more blood on the floor.

A knowing look passed across Pai's features once he connected the dots and his hand momentarily lost the firm grip on Kisshu's arms, which is all the younger alien needed to teleport away and re-emerge right in front of Elton who was already on his feet, reading himself for the impact.

"Shut the fuck up!" Kisshu shouted and tried to punch him again, but this time Elton blocked his attack and sent him flying straight into the opposite wall.

Kisshu stood up, absolutely furious, and when Pai reappeared next to him again, he snapped right at him in a malicious hiss.

"Did you know anything about this?!" Kisshu barked at Pai, holding onto the last bits of self-restraint.

"No," Pai shook his head solemnly, dropping his eyes to the floor in shame.

"Good. Now stay out of this," Kisshu spat back and immediately lunged forward to meet his opponent.

Pai continued to watch their fight wordlessly, moving only to avoid flying objects and their fast-pacing attacks that comprised of both zaps of electricity and puffs of smoke that they had been hurling at each other with lightning speed. This might take some time, Pai concluded, mainly due to the fact that they had been sparring with each other for years. Still, even as an outsider, Pai could tell that this fight was different from the rest. There were real feelings involved and an honest murderous intent to kill, at least in Kisshu's gaze, which had made Pai willingly reduce himself to a mere observer who was there to monitor and step in only if the situation really called for it.

"Don't hold back, bring it on," Kisshu snarled after he swept Elton's feet from under him, sending the latter alien onto the ground as a consequence.

"You don't know what you're asking for," Elton's eyes glowed blue and Kisshu instantaneously tore his gaze away, fully aware of his friend's next move. All royals inherited the special powers in their family line, Elton included. It was both a gift and a curse; something that had made them feared, as well as isolated. But there was a certain way of how to fight these powers; and Kisshu was not that much of an idiot to provoke a fight with a formidable enemy without any actual idea of how to beat them.

Royal powers had many obvious perks. They were extraordinary, powerful and violent, but, all the same, likewise not very long-lasting, as they depleted the energy of their owners rather quickly, which was essentially their only real weakness; that and the concept that they could not be used effectively unless the royal member had previously enacted an eye contact with their opponent; because without looking straight into their eyes, none of the royals could utilize any of their special abilities to their advantage, which could make any battle against them equal, not to mention fair.

"Are you tired, already? Too bad! I expected more from a noble," Kisshu taunted, once his lips twitched upwards, while his body pressed against Elton's from behind and his dagger securely rested against his neck, "I could end it right now, you know. But I want you to beg first."

"Maybe in your dreams," Elton chuckled darkly before he suddenly pushed his lower body forcefully back and, grabbing Kisshu by his free hand, Elton lifted his friend in the air and threw him forward over his head with another ear-shattering crash.

Kisshu growled as he massaged his sore back, while he tightened his grip on one of his sais in his other hand. Standing up, he was ready to attack anew but something unexpected prevented him from carrying out his intentions. From the corner of his eye, he momentarily noticed a violet flash feebly glowing in front of him, yet before he could give it any more thought, his body altogether froze against his own will and he remained rooted to the spot, completely paralyzed.

Did that jerk get him? Kisshu was prepared to mentally scowl, but one quick glimpse at Elton had informed him that the blue haired alien was not the one who had immobilized him, since he too seemed to have ceased moving out of his own accord.

Whoever had stopped them, it must have been someone else. And since Pai did not possess any kind of paralytic ability, as far as Kisshu knew, he could rule out that option first without as much as even looking at his brother.

Suddenly, the air was knocked out of his, as well as Elton's, lungs with force and they both fell down on the floor, heaving heavily, in a desperate attempt to restore their unexpected lack of oxygen levels. But to no avail.

"F-fuck," Kisshu rasped, letting go of his sai when his hands were momentarily released from the iron grip and they instantly came clutching at his chest instead, trying to catch his breath.

Elton did not fare any better. Writhing in pain, he was panting rapidly, glaring daggers at the bespectacled alien that was slowly materializing in front of him. Once his elegant boot tapped on the carpeted floor in front of Elton's face, he grimaced and narrowed his eyes at the intruder.

"Screw you, Gato!"

Kisshu half expected Gato to kick him in response, but, somehow, another squeeze of Elton's artery did the job just as fine, and far easier at that, if Elton's subsequent chokes served of any indication. Squinting his eyes, Kisshu was not sure how much longer he would be able to survive with his air supply cut off. The black dots had kept dotting his vision and he was positive that it was now only a matter of few more seconds before he would lose consciousness. Fortunately, he soon faced his impeccable release, as the firm grip on his body eventually faltered, until it let go of him altogether, and for what must have felt like eternity Kisshu could finally take a deep breath and allow oxygen back into his system.

The relief and surge of adrenaline had hit him immediately afterwards.

"I have had enough of your childish foolery. Neither of you has a shred of elegance in your body!" Gato declared in a cold, menacing tone.

"Tch, aren't you tired of taking care of Yuri's dirty laundry already? Gimme a break," Elton spat, wiping the excessive saliva off of his mouth when he sat upright, "Besides why did you have to attack me as well? The traitor's over there," the blue haired alien jerked his thumb towards the direction where Kisshu had been slowly pushing himself off of the floor.

"Actually, I came here to retrieve both of you," Gato answered eerily, as his eyes landed on Elton's stained shirt, before a small, almost imperceptible, smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, "It is rather fortunate that you are already dressed the part. It would be an awful waste of clothes otherwise."

"You cannot be serious," Elton called out in awe but before he could protest some more, the glaring red glow in Gato's gaze rendered him speechless.

Recovering first, Pai was about to step forward, yet a low threatening hiss had made him reconsider his action.

"Do not interfere with Princess Yuri's wishes."

Appalled, both Kisshu and Elton audibly gulped at the sound of it, while their eyes remained transfixed on the hem of Gato's long violet coat that started to billow around the bespectacled alien's body dangerously; at that precise moment, it had fully dawned upon Kisshu and Elton what Gato's presence in Pai's room signified and what was shortly about to follow. They exchanged a horrid look of pure terror, their former dispute temporarily forgotten, and watched with shallow breaths as Gato moved closer and stretched one of his arms in front of them.

He pushed his square glasses further up his nose, when his gaze began to dance with bright little scorching fires.

"You two have a very important date to attend today. Let's not be late, shall we?"


"I told you previously, Elton, that such inappropriate behavior does not fit our kind," Yuri's voice was even-keeled but stern and Kisshu internally winced at the uncharacteristic harshness with which the princess had passed her judgement.

There was something incredibly chilling about the quality her words had acquired. It could have been the fact that she had them both locked in the blue circle diagram that was as powerful and immobilizing as the royal power of paralysis itself, as it basically blocked all of their spells and powers, leaving them extremely vulnerable to any of Yuri's attacks from the outside; or, perhaps, was it just the notion that her face conveyed far more contempt than it usually did? Whatever it was, it took every fiber in Kisshu's body to keep his eyes shut and his position unchanged.

"I did not mean any ill-will, Yuri. If anything, I did it for you and our nation," Elton cried out, but his defense had scarcely reached the desired effect, if he had intended one.

"Lies," Yuri retaliated and Elton felt his cheek immediately slapped by Gato again.

The moment the hardened hand of the elder alien made contact with Elton's face, it left him choking on his own blood. It had been the sixth instance when Gato had meticulously taken off his brown glove just to slap the heck out of Elton and subsequently put it back on in an extremely dignified manner. It would have been almost amusing, had it not been for the gravity of the situation and the ghastly bruises involved.

Elton was now heaving rapidly, with irregular breaths and trickles of crimson flowing down his nose and mouth. Wiping some of his blood away with the back of his hand, smudging it slightly in the process, he looked up at Yuri when he heard her speak again.

"You are a liar, Elton. And such a moral code shall not be tolerated by our noblemen. That is why I am going to demote you from your current rank with immediate effect. I also want you to retake the Morality Course at the Military academy, that should drill some respect in you, if Gato's hands and my words are not enough for you to understand. But before all that," she paused, a flash of something dark passing over her features when she lowered her head so that only her fanged smile remained visible, "I will first provide you with some alone time to contemplate your behavior thoroughly."

Upon hearing this, Elton's eyes widened in mute shock.

"Yuri, y-you can't do that," Elton yelled, obviously aware of his dire situation now, "I'm a member of the royal family!"

"Watch me," Yuri nodded to Gato, whose eyes glowed eerily, before the whole place fell into a haunting shadow of darkness, as a black hole appeared underneath Elton's feet along with various silver chains that shot out from every direction and wrapped themselves around the screaming alien's limbs, dragging him down into its vast opening.

Desperate cries and thrashing were heard throughout the room, when the blue-haired alien's body was slowly being sucked in the portal, but with a swift flick of Gato's fingers, the noise soon came to a grounding halt, once he ultimately teleported Elton away, leaving only stillness and an ominous noir behind them.

Kisshu watched the whole scene unravel from his kneeling position with horror and silent acceptance. He knew that he was next and it did not seem to fare any better for him, considering the vacant spot whereupon Elton had been kneeling not until a moment ago was now completely empty and still.

"Kish," the alien girl regarded him, as Gato reappeared by her side, a golden light momentarily streaking through his features.

"We are in quite a situation now, are we not?" she inquired, her eyes trained on her kneeling fiancé.

"Yes. I know that this might not be the best place, nor time to say it, but, as a Cyniclon warrior, I would like to formally apologize for my misconduct. Sincerely."

This time, Gato reacted without any verbal stimulus from Yuri.

When his hand collided with Kisshu's face, Gato sent the younger alien flying few meters back right into the white marble wall, leaving a large visible crater within it, when Kisshu fell down face flat.

Panting hard on the floor, Kisshu propped on his elbows to look up to see Gato's stone dead face, as he put his long brown glove back on his hand.

He did not have much time to recover though, since he soon felt his back bending over in an unnatural angle and air quickly leaving his lungs shortly afterwards. When the involuntary stream of blood stopped rushing out of Kisshu's mouth and nose, and his body was completely still, Gato lifted his lifeless form in the air for a brief moment only to send him smashing into the wall behind him again. Hard.

This process had repeated itself a couple more times until the green-haired alien lay on the cold marble floor in a small pool of blood, barely on the verge of consciousness.

Coughing, Kisshu closed his eyes and wiped the excessive crimson liquid away, ready to accept another blow from Gato but Yuri's voice startled him.

"Stand up, Kish," Yuri beckoned him, her initial sharpness gone, to his own surprise, "You are still my fiancé, so I would expect more dignity of my partner and the future leader."

With significant effort, Kisshu pushed himself off of the floor and slowly rose back onto his feet, finally meeting Yuri's intense gaze. Gato too was eying him warily, but his eyes held his signature impassiveness. He reminded Kisshu in many ways of Pai, minus the glasses, of course.

"Gato, I would like to talk to Kish in private, if you excuse us. You know what you need to do," Yuri shifted her attention momentarily to her advisor before her eyes snapped back to Kisshu.

"Your highness," Gato bowed and promptly began disappearing from the room.

Yuri watched him wordlessly, as his clear elegant contours successively distorted until they faded away altogether and he was gone. Sighing, she turned back to her beat-up fiancé.

"Sit down, Kish. No need to be so non-personal," Yuri motioned for him to join her at the coffee table, pouring them both a cup of tea. There was a hot steam wafting from above the rim of each of the cups, but she handed them with no difficulty.

Kisshu coughed some more blood before he managed to wobble to the arm chair closer to him and assumed a seat opposite to her, leaving a couple of bloody marks here and there. When he finally sat down, Yuri's hand ceased the stirring of her tea and, setting aside the golden spoon, she took a delicate sip. Kisshu could only marvel at how Yuri could possibly swallow such a scorching hot drink with such a rapid speed but, again, he had never seen her done otherwise.

"Yuri," he rasped, as he tried to grapple with both his wheezing voice and the idea of what was right and what was wrong; the line between these two becoming blurred to him in the period of the last ten days.

"Hear me out, Kish. I will speak first," Yuri commanded, when she finished her tea, placing the cup back on its saucer with a soft clink.

He swallowed audibly and clammed his mouth shut.

"You are a great person. Regardless of the last couple of days, I want you to know that I hold you in deep respect."

"Thank you, that means a lot," he answered, truthfully, taken aback by her professionalism.

"Which is why I know for certain that if I told you now to marry me, you would do it without hesitation, wouldn't you?" she continued with a serious tone in her voice.

"Of course," Kisshu nodded, dipping his head down in respect. Yuri gave him a long curious stare before she tilted her head to the side and asked him another question, throwing him completely off guard.

"Do you know why I picked you, Kish? Out of all the eligible noblemen that are out there on Cyclonia, why did I choose you to be my husband of all people?"

No, that idea had actually never crossed his mind. He had known Yuri for most of his life, so he naturally came to the conclusion that she had chosen him because of their bond that had harked back as far as when they were still little kids; or perhaps because she knew how good he was in bed. He could not tell. The truth was that he had done it with literally every single hot girl on Cyclonia and, somehow, looking at himself now from the hindsight, he felt both happy and ashamed at this sudden realization. Here he was with, by all means, beautiful, easy to interact with and sexually stimulating girl; a life with her would be so easy with everything that she had been offering to him. Why was it then so damn difficult to stay faithful to her and not seek any other sort of entertainment?

But, maybe, that was the main problem. It was all too easy; a polar opposite to how he viewed his relationship with Ichigo wherein he never really knew where exactly he stood. Wasn't he too old to act so foolishly? Wasn't it high time for him to settle down at last? Why was he screwing this opportunity that Yuri was basically dishing out for him on a silver plate so hard? Why were her long silver hair and perky breasts not enough to keep him in place? Why had he been cheating on someone with such killer looks like Yuri over and over again? Kisshu recollected all the meaningless sex with random girls that had led to many arguments with Pai and a couple of uncomfortable situations with Gato, and he grimaced when the truth had ultimately struck him with full force. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how amazing Yuri was, he could never truly love her.

Because his heart already belonged to someone else.

And, for the first time in his life, he was not proud of his actions or emotions; in fact, he felt like a complete idiot, all the more when Yuri's next words floated to his ears.

"I chose you because I trusted our friendship and thought that maybe one day that friendship will evolve into something even more profound. With a strong, intelligent and nation-wide beloved person like you, I had no qualms about ruling this country. I knew that if I was to do with you, I would be fine, protected and sheltered. In other words, it was out of my own insecurity, Kish, that I selected you to be my partner because I was not sure if I could succeed on my own. Please don't tell this to anyone. It is a secret that not even Gato knows."

Kisshu gawked at her in total disbelief.

"So you have no feelings for me altogether?" he asked in shock.

"That is not true," she quickly dismissed his doubts, as a small smile crept onto her face, "I always thought that you were very handsome even now, battered or not, and I am sure that you know it too, as far as all your fan girls are concerned. My feelings for you are real but I am starting to feel they are nowhere close to what you might feel for Ichigo or she for you, for that matter. Correct me if I am wrong."

At this, his eyes slightly widened, before he exhaled through his nose and carefully formed his reply, "I have no intention to pursue Ichigo ever again. That affair has cost a lot of emotional turmoil to many people, yourself and myself included, so there is no need to talk about her anymore."

Yuri propped her face on her elbow while she sent him a dubious glance.

"Isn't there? I can tell even by seeing your crestfallen face now that you yourself don't believe in what you are saying. Your words lie, but your actions speak the truth loud and clear. I saw the tapes, Kish. Of you on Earth, at the military base today. And I wish I could say that you looked at me once the way you have always looked at Ichigo any time she entered your line of vision."

Kisshu could not decide what puzzled him more; Yuri not trying to kill him, or Yuri having this conversation with him in the first place? Perhaps, it was a mixture of both, since she was opening his mental wounds but without any malicious intent of pouring more salt into them.

"Yes. But I learned to realize that there is a difference between blindly following love and loving somebody," Kisshu opposed her, reclining his head in the armchair, before quickly adding, "the hard way."

"That might very well be true, but you should also give people the benefit of the doubt. Things are not always what they initially seem to be. That is beautiful about love; you never know how it ends. If you are meant to be together, it will happen eventually. You just have to believe it."

He did not seem convinced by her words, still too perplexed by her reaction to the whole thing, but he did not have more time to ponder over that, as Yuri continued.

"Which is why I think we should call this engagement off now and you should go and pursue Mew Ichigo one last time," she took his hands in hers, temporarily startling him, when a warm encouraging smile formed on her face.

Kisshu only stared.

"Truthfully, I cannot bring myself to marry someone who is as little romantically invested in me as you are. I am not that desperate. Besides, wouldn't such a forced act only undermine the institution of marriage altogether? And I think that you would agree with me that both of us are way too prominent in this society not to have a say about the way we are going to live our lives," Yuri's eyes momentarily narrowed at this before her visage once again relaxed into a content expression, "Don't worry about what others want and think, worry about yourself. I am as good as I am. I learned my ways around these stupid patriarchal values that I fully intend to change and I don't need a man for that. That will be my very first proclamation."

He couldn't help but chuckle, as he squeezed her hand back.

"Thank you, Yuri. I will think about it," he kissed her knuckles and he meant it, truly.

"Oh, and Kish," Yuri smirked once their gazes aligned, "I want you to retake that Morality Course as well, just to be sure."

Kisshu gave her a confused look that soon morphed into an amused grin when he nodded in understanding.

With a soft laugh Yuri let go of his hand and waved him off.

"Dismissed."


Ichigo had not the slightest clue where she had been heading. Away. Outside. To the unknown, yes. But where precisely? She had no idea. She was aware that staying at the building complex would have immediately notified everyone of her failure to board Pai's ship, which had basically left her with only one real option to go. To run away, favoring an escape to the inner-belly of the city that she had never previously stepped her foot in instead, hoping that her face would be somewhat less recognizable there. This theory had been proven dead wrong shortly though, as well as the rest of the majority of her plan, when a trio of young Cyniclon males unexpectedly entered her line of sight.

"Look at that, guys! It is that human girl. That seductress that lured our future king into an affair," one of them hollered and the closer his steps came to Ichigo's, the more Cyniclon bodies emerged right next to him.

'Shit. This definitely wasn't one of your best decisions, Ichigo,' her inner voice rebuked her, but the Mew was too preoccupied with the alarming situation at hand that she barely had time to come up with some biting remark.

Retrieving her pendant from her side pocket, she cursed her inability to stay put and kissed the golden object fervently.

Soon enough, the whole place was covered in a pink light before Mew Ichigo appeared and, summoning her Strawberry Bell, she assumed a widened stance, ready to fight her way through.

"Get out of my way, or I'll make you," she shouted, her confidence boosted by her Mew genes.

"Oh, this should be interesting," the orange haired Cyniclon who stood closest to Ichigo licked his lips while something that looked akin to a dagger materialized in his right palm.

Ichigo sweat dropped and grasped her Strawberry Bell tighter. If there was one thing she could do, it was to fight. And none of these guys seemed to possess the same abilities with which Elton previously managed to beat her.

Pushing that gruesome memory aside, she surged forward and started attacking her company one by one. From all the yells and subsequent screams, it almost sounded like she was winning but then something caught her feet, making her trip, and Ichigo found herself lying in the grass with her Strawberry Bell cast to her side.

"Now," the Cyniclon with orange hair went on, "where were we?"

Ichigo swallowed and mentally prayed for a miracle. She was way too far from the building complex; there was no way anyone would be able to track her, not even Ryou. And, from the way of how all the gleaming eyes raked over her figure, Ichigo knew that she was done for, and that there was no telling what they would do to her. That was, at least, what she had thought until a sudden change in the atmosphere caught her attention, when the whole place around her rapidly darkened and a ghastly, ominous aura enveloped everything there was to see.

"You're quite a disturbance on this planet, Mew Ichigo."

In spite of his murky appearance, she could recognize his form easily.

"Gato," Ichigo exclaimed, never in her life happier to see him coming to her rescue, but still visibly intimidated by his majestic demeanor.

When she saw him turn around at the other Cyniclons standing nearby, she couldn't miss how their eyes all mirrored the same quality of severe shock and immediate fear. And once his next words reached her, she felt her own stomach churn uncomfortably.

"You're a disgrace to our nation," Gato gritted in between his teeth, as he raised his arm in front of him and, with a flip of his hand, he let the screaming Cyniclons subsequently disappear into the bottomless black hole that had suddenly emerged underneath them until all that was left to hear was Ichigo's heavy breathing.

"Thank you. That was a close call," she looked up to smile at him but, judging from his cold stare, something told her that this might not be a happy reunion after all, and she was right.

Gato's eyes momentarily glowed again and, in a flash, she felt the ground from beneath her feet fading away, and herself sinking into the same pitch-dark blackness that had sucked in the others not that long ago.

"NOOOOO! Stop it, don't! Aaaaah!"

When the oppressing feeling of nausea ebbed away in the end, Ichigo slowly cracked one of her eye lids open to peruse her new surroundings, but all that filled her vision was blackness. Dark, gloomy blackness that stretched everywhere and drowned everything into gloomy shadows. There was absolutely no chance to pinpoint her location. And, even if she closed and reopened her eyes again, nothing had changed except for that ever present kind of encompassing darkness that could not be conquered, nor understood. Was she dead? Did Gato kill her? But she could still feel her movements, or rather hear them. No, she was not dead. She was just imprisoned. Somewhere deep, deep and dark.

Suddenly a feeble light came into the room, blinding Ichigo temporarily, before she was met with a pair of glowing eerie red eyes.

"I can only wonder, how someone with not a single shred of elegance like you could cause such a havoc, mhm?" Gato remarked, once he materialized fully in front of her.

As she failed to answer, he briefly raised his hand and clenched it into a fist upon which Ichigo felt her lungs immediately cease to breathe as a result. It was as if he had stopped her windpipe with a mere movement of his fingers and she could not inhale or exhale on her own any longer. Kicking around herself desperately with tears in her eyes, she tried to catch her breath but it was not until Gato loosened his hold on her that a breeze of fresh air finally came back into her system and she could regain her breathing, to her own relief.

"It is good manners to reply when someone addresses you," he raised a quizzical eye brow at her misbehavior while he watched her clench her hands at her heaving chest.

"I thought it was a rhetorical question," Ichigo spat and she instantly wondered if Gato would choke her again for that comeback, "Where the hell am I?"

"Welcome to another dimension, Mew Ichigo. I hope you will find your stay here pleasant," Gato drawled and, bowing his back, Ichigo froze when it had dawned on her that he had intended to leave her here to rot to death.

"Hey, wait! You can't just leave me here like that," she screamed, causing him to pause his teleportation and turn his gaze back onto her fear-stricken face.

"A good observation, indeed," Gato's eyes glowed with red hues and Ichigo found her body immediately suspended in the air before a lump of chains caught around her limbs from various directions, rendering her effectively immobile in the realm fraught with darkness.

"Farewell."

His low distant chuckle rattled through her bones when she saw him teleport away and, at last, the creepiness of the whole experience had begun to sink in; but that was not the only problem Ichigo had to confront at the current moment.

To her own horror, she realized another very important fact. For the second time during her stay on Cyclonia, she could not use any of her Mew powers.