xuri: T-T I love you guys! Thank you for reviewing. You have no idea how much that means to me. sniff. Anyone else who's reading this, too. Leave me a comment! Even if its 'what a lame fic' or ' cool', or something. It's all so appreciated! So appreciated that chapter three is up early. See? You can change the worlllldddd! And now that I have reviews, I can respoonnnnddd!
SamKo: -hugs- My first reviewer! You are worshipped! xD Thanks so much. And I have a feeling I didn't do the plot much justice in the description or something... I have a thing about spoiling stuff. I dunno.
Kamyra: Cool, people from there go here too. -nod nod- Now I know. x3 It kind of was hard to follow there, since every chapter took up sooo many posts... Well, I'm glad to know I have a reader. :3 Thanks bunches!
BridgitKiido: You'd actually be kind of surprised about those forums. Yeah, there are a lot of 'ZOMG I'M A MEW MEW' and 'ZOEY IS BUTIFEL' kind of topics, but there are also several sane and faithful TMM fans that roam there, too. You just have to look. xD Big thanks to you too.
I think you get the picture by now, but I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew. I do own Ari though. So ha.
Review, and chapter four will be up quicckkeerrr:D
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Blend (chapter three)
..Survive..
"Bye-bye, Momomiya Ichigo,"
She froze up on the spot. Nothing moved. Ichigo's eyes were wide, her body stiff with terror. She couldn't pull her gaze away from the pale arm wrapped around her neck, clutching a dangerous weapon, one that she had seen many times before in the hands of a certain alien. But this wasn't Kishu. No, this was someone - something? - far different and unexpected.
Ari!...
Her cat reflexes tuned in within a second. Letting out a muffled yelp, she bent her left leg in and then kicked her captor's shin with as much force as possible. Their grip around her flinched, just enough so she could shove her way free, gasping for air. Without so much as a word, or even a glance behind, Ichigo bolted.
"Nehh, Ichigo-neko!" Ichigo's heart caught in her throat. That voice... It really was Ari's, wasn't it? But why would Ari be trying to harm her? What had she done? Did this mean that Ari was an - "Running away instead of fighting back? Just like before. Foolish girl - I'll just have to catch you!"
Ichigo kept running. But she wasn't gaining any distance on the voice trailing behind her - every word was clear as the one before. She sharply turned a corner, and sprinted down the alleyway. Why was she being chased? "Help," She choked, weakly, as she ran as fast as she could. There was no one around. Where was she, anyways? Ichigo couldn't see a single building. Only brick walls whirling past. "Help-!" Her foot caught on the edge of a garbage can, and she nearly fell over. Luckily, the girl was able to catch her balance and stumble back to her feet, but she found she was unable to start running again. All she could do was stand there, bent over, panting furiously for breath.
"That wasn't much of a chase, if you ask me. Oh, well. This is the part that gets interesting,"
Her head snapped up to see a blurry figure approaching. Once her vision focused, she gasped, stepping backwards and nearly falling again. Ari. Ari was stepping towards her, slowly, a long bronze weapon clutched in each hand. A smirk lay simply on her pale face - she was enjoying this. Ichigo just stared in horror as the distance between the two slowly began to close, becoming smaller with every step.
Alien. Ari's once dark-blue eyes were now a deep, gold colour, her pupils a more sinister shape. From beneath her mat of navy blue hair poked out two long, pointed ears. She was clad in a dark-tan tank top and a short, simple black skirt; her ankle-high boots had similar coloured ribbons flowing from them, and her gloves bunched up heavily just at the wrists.
"W-Why are you-"
"Weakling," Ari hissed, grinning tauntingly, "Is running away really all you can do, Ichigo-neko? How disapointing. How was Kishu-sama ever defeated by you?"
"Eh?" Ichigo's eyes widened. Kishu-sama.. Did that mean Ari knew Kishu? What did she mean? More importantly... why was she attacking her?
They had made peace with Kishu and the other aliens. Ari was an alien, wasn't she? This didn't make any sense...
"It was fun, but I think it's time for me to end this conversation. Permanently!" Ichigo snapped back into reality just as the blue haired alien had started a direct charge towards her, sais in hand. Her mind started racing, but she stood her ground. Think clearly, think clearly... You can't panic, Ichigo!
"You're not even going to fight back, are you!" Ari yelled as she dove towards the other girl, about to take a slash. In an instant, Ichigo bounded into the air, bouncing her feet off of Ari's back to knock her to the ground temporarily. "Tsu!" Breathless, she landed behind the fallen alien, not wasting another moment.
"Mew Mew Strawberry! Metamorpha-sis!"
In a flash of bright pink, a now-transformed Mew Ichigo stood there, striking her normal pose. There was a sense of familiarity in the air - memories of the times after times she had been in this situation came running back to her. All those times, she had been surrounded by people she cared about. Her friends. And even though she was now alone, Ichigo couldn't hold back the ghost of a smile that put itself on her lips. This was my life.
Unfortunatetly, Ari was unphased by Ichigo's 'jump' on her, and now stood up straight, ready to fight back. She paused, however, amusement glimmering in her eyes. "Ah, you've decided to join in the fun, Ichigo-neko! I'm glad."
Frowning, Ichigo said nothing, and stood perfectly still. Then, with an instinctive 'nya', she shot forward towards the alien-girl, keeping a clear focus. Ari wasted no time with racing in her direction as well.
Just as the two were right about to collide, Ichigo sidestepped and bounded out of the way. "Strawberry Bell!" She shouted, her heart shaped weapon appearing in her hands instantly. The girl wasn't even able to muster an attack, however, as a sharp dagger brushed dangerously close past her arm.
"How cute!" Ari taunted with a laugh, taking another swing at her. Ichigo moved to deflect it with her bell. "You seem more fit for a cosplayer than a warrior, though. But I love your boots - who designed them?"
"You're kidding!" Ichigo grunted, ducking under another attack. This was taking all of her energy, just to keep from getting hit. Ari, however, was moving so easily that she could be inquiring about her boots without even breaking a sweat. As she blocked another missed-hit with her bell, Ichigo knew this wasn't going to work.
"Haah!" Cried Ari in triumph as her dagger weapon snagged onto her arm-puff, tearing a small piece of fabric away. "Not so quick on the feet anymore, hm, Ichigo-neko?"
"Stop it!" Swerving to the side, she delivered a swift kick to Ari's ankle, briefly causing the other girl to flinch. Taking advantage of the moment, Ichigo ran several yards back before stopping and turning to face her attacker, clutching her Strawberry Bell in both hands. Having recovered very quickly, Ari was now gliding at an incredible speed in Ichigo's direction, ready for a head on attack.
"Ribbon Strawberry Check!" Swinging her bell out infront of her, Ichigo shouted out her attack. Upon command, a pink light burst from the weapon, waving directly over Ari.
She was slowing down. Significantly. "What-?" As Ari became enveloped in the warm, pink light, she felt a sudden and considerable amount of pain. It was if her energy was being sapped, pulled from her like knotted string. It also became harder and harder to breath, until it was at the point where the alien was sure she would suffocate from the pressure. She hadn't expected this kind of power. She hadn't expected this kind of pain. Then, just as quickly, the light faded, and Ari fell to her knees, panting.
Ichigo was equally as tired, but she wasn't about to let her guard down. She stood there, firmly, still holding her bell out in case Ari tried to surprise her. But she didn't. Ari struggled to catch her breath, and then looked up at the other girl, silently, for quite some time. A smirk appeared on her even-paler face.
"Maybe you're more than just a kitten after all, Ichigo-neko." With that, Ari teleported from where she knelt, disapearing out of sight.
For a while, Ichigo just stood there, refusing to move in case Ari popped out of nowhere. Nothing happened. After several minutes, the girl slowly lowered her bell, making a double-take around the area, before transforming back into her school uniform and running off down the alley.
--
"Shirogane! SHIROGANE!"
Ichigo yelled as she pounded her fists against the cafe doors. They were locked. Why had Ryou locked these doors? He was inside, wasn't he? For a panicked moment, Ichigo thought that he was living somewhere else now.
A second later, however, the door opened abruptly, causing Ichigo to nearly fall over. There stood a rather drowsy looking Ryou, a sleepy-irritated expression on his face. As she hurriedly regained her balance, a strange and confused look crossed his face, and he narrowed his eyes - or was he squinting? "What are you doing here, Strawberry?"
"I was walkingbackfromschool and shetoldmeshe was going to -" Ichigo cut herself off, blinked, and tilted her head. "Were you... asleep, Shirogane?"
"Eh. Well," He muttered, combing down his messy mat of hair with one hand, "I was... up pretty late."
"It's 5 pm."
"Really late," He retorted, stifling a yawn. "So, what were you saying?"
It took a moment for Ichigo to register and remember exactly what she had been talking about before she got distracted. A look of distress crossed over her face. "It's... I... Shirogane, there's an alien here!"
Ryou didn't move. He just stared at her, blankly, and then blinked in obvious disbelief. "...alien?"
"Yes! Alien! She attacked me! And don't even try calling me crazy again, because I had to fight her!"
"Her?"
"Her name is Ari, and she's in my science class - Oh my god, Shirogane, how did she end up in my science class? Why hasn't anyone else noticed her pointed ears or her golden eyes or - "
"Calm down, Ichigo," Ryou was standing fully alert now, completely serious, "Where did you see this alien?"
"School...no, that time she was normal, but then we got to this alley place and - Hey! Wait!"
Before Ichigo could finish explaining, Ryou had turned around and was stalking across the cafe floor, heading straight for the basement. She hurried after him. Ryou wouldn't say a single word as he walked briskly down the steps and into the lab, where he located a computer and promptly leaned over to punch some things in on the keyboard.
"Shirogane?" Ichigo asked quietly, her eyes glued to the screen as she stood behind him. He, too, was staring at the screen, trying to make something out.
"I don't see - hold on," Frowning, his fingers began flying across the keyboard, the image on screen flickering as it zoomed in. There were green dots wandering around, signalling the presence of people in that area. Nothing unusual. Ryou paused, and then clicked something. "There."
Since she didn't really see anything, Ichigo leaned closer to the screen, squinting. It looked exactly the same as it had before. Ryou lifted his hand, gently touching his finger to a faint red dot on the screen. "She's right there."
With another click, the dots began moving again, but the red dot was nowhere to be seen. The two of them just sat and stared. Ryou looked completely frustrated and helpless... Ichigo just looked completely clueless. For a long while, they said nothing, before Ryou broke the silence with an exasperated sigh. "... She's here, then, that's for sure. But she must be finding some way to blend in with the other people, without the computer even being able to pick it up... Much. There could just as well be more of them..."
"Oh no..." Ichigo's face fell, and she pulled her eyes away from the screen to look at Ryou. "...more...aliens?" She was completely crestfallen. Just the idea of going through all that again made her feel as if she were suffocating. It was hard enough as it was. But this time... she would be all alone.
After a while, Ryou stood to his feet, turning back towards Ichigo. He looked exhausted, from both lack of sleep and this disturbing new information. "Go home, Ichigo," He said quietly, "There's nothing we can do about this right now. The best thing is to get some rest. Try not to let it bother you."
"But-" Ichigo stopped herself, and took a deep breath before nodding. There really wasn't anything else she could do right now. Maybe Ryou was right... for once. Quietly, Ichigo nodded. She began making her way up the basement stairs, but then paused, turning back towards Ryou. "...Shirogane?"
"Yeah?"
"...You need to take a break, too."
He smiled a little bit. "Yeah. I will, Ichigo."
The red-head smiled, slightly, before hurrying back up the stairs. He waited until he heard the door slam shut, and then turned back to the computer, sitting down and turning it back on. Ryou began typing something, and then slipped a disk into the drive, the light from the screen flickering on his eyes.
"So... They're back," He muttered to himself, scanning the information, "There's no way Ichigo will be able to handle them on her own, especially if there's more than one...And with the girls gone... Damn, there's got to be something..."
It would be a long night, that was for sure.
--
Ichigo decided to take Ryou's advice to heart, and did her best to relax and not think about the situation. There's nothing you can do, there's nothing you can do, she kept telling herself, over and over, and managed to get a pretty decent sleep. The next morning, she set out to focus completely on things like breakfast, finding Cherri, Roxi, Moe and Miwa on her way to school, and actually paying attention in class. It was actually turning out to be a fairly normal day. That was why Ichigo was so surprised when she walked into her first block Science class, and saw Ari sitting in her usual seat.
"" She froze there, in the doorway, for a long time. Ari. Ari? But she had attacked her yesterday. Ichigo knew that Ari was really an alien. Why was she right here, in class? In her class?
A student shoved past, forcing her to move along towards her desk. Maybe this was Ari's way of insulting her. Calling her a coward. Knowing that Ichigo would never have to courage, or trust herself enough to reveal the truth. It was almost as if the alien-girl was silently mocking her, testing her. Well, Ichigo wasn't going to let it slip by. She was going to catch Ari by surprise.
"Alien!" She blurted, pointing a finger in the blue-haired girl's direction. The classroom fell silent, and several heads turned in her direction. Ari looked exhausted, but a little surprised by Ichigo's outburst. Nothing happened. Ichigo just blinked.
"Miss Momomiya, what is the meaning of this?" Mrs. Kazuhawa asked calmly. Ichigo glanced over at the teacher - adults knew these things, right? She already sensed that she and this teacher had a connection of some sort. Maybe, with her help, she could pin Ari to the spot...
"Ari Chiyako is an alien!" Ichigo repeated, glaring hard at the student in question. At this, Ari raised an eyebrow, looking thoroughly confused, yet uninterested. A murmur broke out through the class - a few students even began to stifle giggles. The red haired girl felt as if she were shrinking on the spot, but she stood her ground, and turned hopefully to Mrs. Kazuhawa. She flinched.
Maybe the connection had just been her imagination...
"Momomiya Ichigo," The woman hissed angrily, her eyes narrowed into a viscious glare, "Not only do you come to my classes late, but you insist upon disrupting and insulting the other students. Without even so much as logical forethought, might I add."
"But-"
"Take a seat. Now. And please don't be late for your after school detention," Ichigo suddenly felt very small, and wished she could disapear. Everyone was whispering now, casting strange and sometimes fearful glances in her direction. Maybe that had been a mistake. No, she knew that was a mistake. An impulsive, stupid mistake. Of course no one understood the nature of aliens like Ichigo and the others had. Ichigo herself didn't quite understand how Ari was able to look so much like a normal, if slightly foreign, person. Was that an alien ability? Why hadn't Kishu and the others used it?
"Don't worry about what she says, Ari-chan. I've heard that Momomiya girl is crazy, anyways," Ichigo heard Minako, the girl sitting beside Ari, mutter. Her shoulders slumped down. Slowly, she made her way over to her seat, and sat down, her face still red. People were still staring at her funny, so Ichigo just sat there and stared hard at the ground until class went on. Was it just her, or had Mrs. Kazuhawa been dragging out the silence on purpose?
Once most of the attention had been averted from her, Ichigo picked up her pencil and chewed on the eraser nervously. She had thought she was sneaking up on Ari. But, in the end, Ari had snuck up on her.
--
Meanwhile, in the basement of Cafe Mew Mew, Ryou hadn't left his computer. At all. Actually, once, he ran upstairs to grab a bottle of water, but hadn't touched the door again for the entirety of the day.
Not that he noticed. Time seemed to be slipping through his fingers like sand, and he needed all the time he could get. He couldn't be completely sure, but upon closer inspection some of the computer's tracking devices were acting up in reaction to some strange and hidden presence. Presences, even. This was just putting even more stress on Ryou - he just hoped that Ichigo was able to keep a clear mind, at least for now. She'd be needing it.
"...I hope this works," He muttered to himself after a long time, inspecting the final few touches on the program. Everything seemed to be in order... then again, he could never really be sure with this business. It didn't look like there was anything else he could do. Checking it over one final time, Ryou drew out the remote. He had used this before, but on less dangerous terms...
Flipping the panel open, he paused, looked up at the screen. The program slowly began humming to life. "Project: Mew Blend," He voiced aloud, pausing as his finger hovered over the one red button. Ryou seemed reluctant, almost as if he was hesitating, contemplating whether he should be doing this or not. But he knew. He knew there was no other way.
Ryou's finger pressed down on the button.
"Commence!"
--
"Huaa..."
Ichigo groaned as she finally exited the school building, feeling completely drained. What was it, 5:00? All the other students in detention had been allowed to leave at 4:15... But Mrs. Kazuhawa, apparently, had sent a note to the supervisor requesting that Ichigo be detained for an extra 45 minutes. Plus, she was sure that there was going to be a forced apology involved on her part... Ichigo sighed.
She decided she didn't like this new teacher, after all.
Something about sitting in a classroom for almost 2 hours made her feel tired, as boring as it was. Maybe it was just the boredom that had drained her so much - she didn't know. But Ichigo didn't feel like walking home today. Besides, it was getting dark - with all that had been happening lately, that was the last thing Ichigo wanted to be wandering around in.
As she fumbled around in her bag for some bus money - the next transit should have come around by 5:30 - Ichigo made her way over to the bus stop. The sun was starting to make its way down in the sky, but it was still comfortably warm outside. It wouldn't be much of a miserable wait. Maybe she'd even be able to chat with Masaya on her cellphone while she sat...
Nodding on that thought, Ichigo began to draw out her little pink phone when she paused in her footsteps. On the bench, presumably waiting for the bus, was seated another girl. She appeared to be a bit taller than Ichigo herself, with shoulder-length black hair tipped in hot pink. Her crystal blue eyes were glancing upwards, glazed over in deep thought. She was wearing a loose, baggy jacket, but Ichigo noticed the pattern of the skirt she was wearing underneath. Ichigo recognized it as the nearby High School girl's uniform.
Quietly, she checked the time on her cell phone. 5:10. It would be a little while still until the bus arrived... With a little sigh, the red haired girl plopped down on the bench beside the other, who barely seemed to notice. It was nice to get off her feet for once. On top of that, it was the weekend now - time for rest and relaxation. She gave a little smile at the very thought. There had to be at least one point when she could spend time with Masaya.
"Ahh, I hope he takes me somewhere for lunch," Ichigo wondered aloud without even realizing. This caught the other girl's attention, and she turned towards her, looking almost as if she had just woken up.
"Where?" The black haired girl asked curiously.
"Oh, I don't care... Somewhere fancy, maybe, but as long as I get to spend time with -" After she'd started talking, Ichigo froze, realizing that not only was she speaking out loud, but in response to someone else. She looked over at the other girl, eyes wide. "Eh?"
She started laughing a little bit, a wide smile on her face. "Heh, sorry. I didn't mean to pry. You were just talking, and there was no one else here, so I assumed..." The girl laughed quietly again, brushing a lock of hair from her face.
"Oh!" Quickly, Ichigo shook her head, turning towards the stranger fully now, "It's not your fault. I was just thinking out loud... I guess I do that sometimes."
"You too?" She inquired, smiling sheepishly, "I have to try really hard not to just doze off and start sleep talking... Guess we already have something in common. By the way, I'm Kona. Are you waiting for the bus?"
"Uhm, Ichigo," Ichigo introduced herself back simply, giving a little nod, "Yeah, I am. What about you?"
"Mm-hm," Nodding slowly, Kona looked thoughtful about something for a moment. Then, her eyes widened, a look of surprise spreading across her face, "Ichigo? Momomiya Ichigo?"
Ichigo blinked. "Y-yeah...?"
"Ohh! So you're that girl from Daikan that started that whole 'alien fiasco', neh?" Kona exclaimed excitedly, clapping her hands together.
"W-what?" Ichigo cried in alarm, taken aback, "How do you know about that?" She had never seen this girl at school before. How did she know? It had only happened this morning!
"My sister, Sayai, goes there. She told me about it on my way home. Looks like you're quite popular today, Ichigo," Piped Kona cheerfully, cocking her head to the side, "I've even been hearing rumours about that from my classmates all afternoon. Word spreads fast around here, huh?"
Ichigo was completely silent, staring at Kona in horror. Her outburst had gotten all around the school? On top of that, to the high school? She was mortified. It made her want to crawl into a hole - a very dark, quiet, secluded hole - and die. Kona was looking at her funny, so she guessed she must have looked like some gaping idiot at that moment. Quickly recovering, Ichigo cleared her throat and managed to squeak a "So...". Her eyes fell over a backpack that Kona had set up neatly beside her. "Why are you out of school to late?" She asked in interest. Was it possible that she'd had an extra-long detention, as well?
Smiling, Kona looked over at her, but it faded rather quickly. She looked over at the street. "...I dunno," She said, finally.
"Ah?"
Frowning, she lowered her eyes to the ground, "I was fine all day, but when I was walking with Sayai, I started feeling really sick and dehydrated. I told her I would go to just buy a bottle of water, and meet her back home, but... Then I started getting really dizzy, and had this horrible headache. I guess I must have passed out somewhere."
"Oh, no," Ichigo's eyes widened, "Do you need to go to a doctor's office or something?"
"Ah, no, no," Kona hurriedly waved it off and smiled, "I feel fine now. I did as soon as I woke up. It was just strange, that's all. Kind of scary... And I don't trust myself with walking home again, just in case, so I'm taking the bus. It's not really a big deal."
"Oh. Okay," The redhead replied with a nod. They were quiet again, so she took this chance to check her cell for any messages. None. Not even a missed call. Ichigo sighed, and moved to stow it away when she saw Kona leaned over, rubbing her neck with a pained look on her face. Every few seconds she would flinch, and move her hand, but then run her fingers over and flinch again. "What's wrong?"
"Huh?" She hadn't realized that Ichigo had been watching her, so she looked a bit startled. Kona moved her hand away from her neck, slightly, and shrugged. "Well, it's... I have a bruise, I think. I don't know when I got it, but it's on my neck, and it's been bothering me for a few hours now. It doesn't really hurt, but it feels funny when I touch it..."
"Do you play any sports? That's where it could've come from," Ichigo suggested, holding up a thoughtful finger, "Like, if you got hit by a ball, or tripped, or..."
Kona quickly shook her head. "Nope. I haven't fallen or run into anything, either."
Wrinkling her nose slightly, Ichigo tilted her head. "You sure? Here, let me take a look,"
Nodding, Kona scooted over a bit and turned so her back was facing Ichigo. With her hands, she made a part down the back of her hair, spreading the two sections apart so the other girl could see. "It should be right near the base of my neck, I'm pretty sure. That's what it feels like, anyways..."
Since she couldn't really see from the distance she sat, Ichigo squinted and leaned closer to get a better look. She stared, silently, for a minute, before she froze, her dark amber eyes widening in shock. "Kona-" Ichigo breathed, reaching over and tracing her finger over the dotted-heart design she found on Kona's neck, "Kona, why do you have this mark?"
-----
Next Chapter:
Ryou has taken initiative, and the results are coming to fruit. What will this mean for Ichigo? More importantly, what will this mean for the lives he's put at stake? Six was supposed to be enough, but now that those six have been scattered, new paths must be opened. For Ichigo's sake, and the sake of the world.