xuri: Teehee. I like the number 6. xD Anyways, I was thinking of putting the pictures of Kona and Yumi up on my profile, but I looked at them and they suck horribly. If anyone wants to see pictures, please let me know and I'll re-draw them, because I hopefully suck less now than I did when I first sketched these characters out. So drop me a note in a review or something and I'll get to it! (Because I have a lot of time. So, seriously, I might just end up doing them anyways) On that note, reviews equal love. You want love. I want love. Love equals new chapter. So review!
BridgitKiido: Coolios. If you do get around to reading them, see if you can pick up the tiny changes I've made in the chapters here and chapters there. Which isn't much. I think the biggest one I've made so far is from changing Yumi's Mew name from Mew Yumi to Mew Framboise. Oh, and the dialogue thingie I added at the end of this chapter. Wish I could take credit for the horse-mew idea, because it is a cute one. -nod- Thanks for the review!
Yay on with chappie six, yo.
-----
Blend (chapter six)
Reluctance
"Yumi! Yumi, please put that down!"
"YUMI!" Crash! Kona let out a groan, her head drooping into her palm. With a sigh, she added to Ichigo, "I'll get the broom..." And wandered off, muttering to herself. Ichigo chuckled nervously.
"Heh... She reminds me of Pudding..." Shaking her head, Ichigo went back to work, stepping over the broken dishes that Yumi was hurriedly trying to gather up. This busy life, this constant hectic schedule... how did she ever go without it? It just fit her so well now. Ichigo didn't ever want to have to let it go away. Normal life was just too... normal for her. With a warm smile, she turned to the customers who were leaving through the door, chatting happily. "Thanks for coming to Cafe Mew Mew!" She said cheeril, and then turned around to go clean the table.
The bell gave a light and cheery tinkle as the door opened again, and Ichigo quickly pulled the cloth away to greet the new customers. "Welcome to Cafe Mew Mew!" She chided, tilting her red-covered-head to the side. Kona hurriedly guided the broken glass away from the tables, commanding Yumi to go and get an empty bucket. She turned around, though, just long enough to see the customers walk in.
"Thanks," The brown-ponytail girl said sweetly, nodding at the boy beside her. Ichigo wandered over to Kona as Yumi happily skipped off with a bucket in hand to lead them to their table.
"They're here a lot," Ichigo commented with a smile, watching as Yumi excitedly showed them their table and began listing off the pastry specials, "Those two. What a cute couple - I wish Aoyama-kun had time to bring me out to adorable places like this..."
"Hm? Oh, Aoyama-kun, right," Kona just acknowledged absently. She had never met the guy, but Ichigo rambled on about him enough for her to know he was probably her boyfriend... or something. While it was kind of cute, the high school girl found it vaguely annoying and repetitive. Half the time, she wondered if she was just obsessing over a break up, considering she'd never actually seen the two together, but never had the courage to ask. Yumi zoomed by, gabbing on about strawberry chocolate cheesecake.
Ichigo sighed, still watching the unknowing couple as they talked happily, inaudible to the two waitresses. "Hmmn. Do you think that Aoyama-kun's avoiding me on purpose...? Maybe I've been too clingy... That must be it. Stupid Ichigo. I drove the perfect guy away because I love him too much!" She wailed, clutching her face in her hands.
Ryou cleared his throat.
Kona looked up, boredly, and then set the broom aside, stalking off to get the bucket from Yumi so she could finish cleaning up the broken porcelain. Looking up in alarm, Ichigo's face reflected surprise, but that faded quickly into a glare.
"Shirogane! What do you want?" She huffed, folding her arms over her chest, "Can't you see I'm not in the mood for your stupid chores?"
"Yes, I'm sure wallowing in self pity is very time consuming, Strawberry," He said sarcastically, shrugging, "But I need to talk to you and the other two in the basement now."
Ichigo blinked. "But... the customers..."
"They're fine. This is urgent." Not saying another word, Ryou turned back around, stepping casually towards the basement door. He obviously expected Ichigo to follow, but she just stood there. Then, looking helplessly at the rest of the cafe - she didn't want to leave all this and come back in a bad mood - she sighed and slunked towards the kitchen to fetch Kona and Yumi.
--
"Fool!" Ari boomed, knocking some unimportant object carelessly off the desk. She was throwing something of a tantrum at that moment. A bad one. Though it was hard to take her angry-face seriously, as it, just like the rest of her, was covered in bandages. Side effects - losing most healing abilities. "I had them! Did you see how weak Ichigo looked! If you hadn't wimped out on me and dragged me back like you did... She'd be done by now!" Side effects - losing most common sense.
"Weren't you paying any attention?" Hanajima seethed in return, leaning coolly up against a wall, "Kitten and her friends were only getting stronger. And you... you were beaten. There's no denying that, Ari. One more hit, and you would have been done. You need to learn when it's time to quit."
"I'll quit," Her voice lowered angrily, eyes blazing, "when neko-girl is destroyed. Then, and only then. We'll never accomplish anything if you keep dragging me out of battles because I get one measly scratch!"
"One?" Snickering, Hana raised an eyebrow, her eyes focused on the many bandaids coating her face and arms. Ari sneered and promptly pushed her sleeves down to hide them.
"I told you not to interfere."
"I wasn't interfering. I was helping. Do you know what that means, Ari? To help someone?"
"I don't need any help!" Snapped Ari, flipping her hair haughtily over her shoulder. She mumbled, "I've never needed any help. I should have just come here on my own..."
Giving an exasperated sigh, Hanajima straightened up, folding her arms across her chest. "You know, if you don't smarten up soon, we'll need to include her in all this..."
Ari snorted. "Well, we won't need to then, will we?" Pushing her hair from her face, she started walking towards the door, digging her bandaged hands into her pockets. Her dark blue hair swayed lightly with every step, in an almost unreal way, her face shadowed in anger. Eyes shining with a promise of revenge.
"Next time, Hanajima. Next time will be the last time."
--
Ichigo groaned. "Can we just get this over with?"
"It's called 'patience', Ichigo," Ryou shook his head, and then looked up to once again confirm that Kona and Yumi were in the room, and the door was locked. Keiichiro was sitting at one of the desks, prepping a disk of some sort. "Come with me."
Obediently (if a bit reluctantly on Ichigo's part), the girls followed Ryou over to one of the computers, where he easily projected something onto the screen. Four different pictures appeared, including the corresponding DNA match ups. Kona instantly recognized two of them; one was her, matched with the DNA of a black panther; the other was the small-figured Yumi, blended with a horse. The two other figures were fuzzy, but she was able to identify them right away.
"The other two," She said out loud, squinting at the picture, "Are fused with a Fox, and a Panda Bear."
"Yes," Ryou said, nodding calmly, "If that helps any."
"Help with what?" Ichigo eyed him suspiciously, leaning forward as if to catch a look of guilt on his face.
He didn't have one. "To find the other Mews."
Ichigo growled impatiently. "We're already doing that, Shirogane!"
"Well, you're not going fast enough."
"What did you just say!" Kona and Yumi rushed forward to restrain Ichigo from ramming into Ryou and trying to beat him. They both knew how well something like that would turn out.
He held up two fingers, glancing over at Keiichiro blankly before turning back to them, completely ignoring the little struggle going on. "Masha's recording of the event further proved that there is more than one alien here. At the moment, two have appeared. Did any of you expect that?"
They were silent. Ichigo had stopped squirming, but her face was drawn into a frown.
"Yeah, that's what I thought. If you didn't see that coming, how are we supposed to know that there aren't hundreds here?"
Yumi raised her hand. "Ara... I know! I know! We don't!" She chirped proudly, and looked over at Ichigo for approval. The red head's eye was twitching.
"Uh, right." Ryou sweatdropped, raising an eyebrow, and turning back to look at the screen. "You need to do everything possible to find the other two. Once all of you are together, you can combine your powers most effectively to keep the aliens at bay, and then eventually destroy or convince them to go back."
"But - " Kona cut in this time, her voice a little timid in the blonde's presence, " - What are we supposed to do? I mean, we got lucky with Yumi at the track meet, and I was a complete coincidence. Neither of us even knew we had these powers until Ichigo found us. We can't keep relying on fate to bring us together."
"Exactly." Pressing a button, the projection on the screen flickered off, leaving the room almost completely dark again. "Instead, you're all going to actually search. Don't look at me like that, Ichigo, you still have to go." Ichigo just mumbled to herself angrily, turning away and sulking to herself while the other two girls stayed at attention.
"So... what?" Kona seemed to be doing most of the inquiring here. Yumi was busy staring at the gadgets in the room, and Ichigo was off somewhere feeling sorry for herself. "We check random people for marks, and if they have them, announce that they're Mews?"
Ryou shrugged. "Yeah, pretty much."
"And that's not going to creep people out?"
"Well, you should be able to work out a system. Make it seem less suspicious or random than it really is. I'm sure you can come up with something." He nodded trustingly, causing Kona's cheeks to tinge slightly.
"Konaaa!" Yumi cried and nearly pounced on the girl, giggling madly. "Ara, Keiichiro's ponytail looks so fun to pull, don't you think? 'Course, I'm restraining myself, because I don't want him to be angry. Even though he'd never be able to catch me." She beamed happily, nodding. Ichigo chose this moment to appear again, looking fairly curious.
"What's this about random searches?"
--
In a few more minutes, the girls had been herded back upstairs into the cafe, where customers were frantically searching for empty tables and waitresses to take their order. "Kya! The cafe is falling apart without us!" Ichigo whimpered, and then mumbled something incoherent about how this was all Shirogane's fault.
Kona nodded, not in complete agreement, but she knew Ichigo had a point. At least, part of one. "Getting the customers in order would be the top priority. And," She added, holding up a thoughtful finger, "You might as well check around for marks, too. Hit two birds with one stone."
"Two birds! Two birds!" Yumi chirped, and immediately spun around, her dark burgundy uniform bouncing around her as she ran to take some orders. There was further grumbling from Ichigo, but she regained a cheery exterior and went to greet some lost-looking customers. Sighing, Kona headed towards the kitchen to pick up some cakes and deliver them to the appropriate tables.
"Welcome to Cafe Mew Mew! Would you happen to have any strange marks on your body?" Ichigo politely asked a group of people. They stared at her strangely, and then exchanged glances before laughing. Disheartened, the redhead sighed and directed them to their table.
Kona wasn't having too much luck, either, though her story was much more convincing. "We've been having some trouble with the paint drying lately. Have any of you found any marks suddenly that may be a cause of a spontaneous melt?" Most of the customers were willing to check their arms and legs and such, but were unable to find anything unusual. Trying not to let it get her down, she went on to pick up a parfait order.
And then, Yumi was... "Random property search! Roll up your sleeves and pantlegs!" She announced happily from table to table. Most people just stared at her funny until she left them alone to go cheer along some other customers.
After about 15 minutes, they gathered back in the kitchen to compare results. All of them had the same: nothing. They'd checked pretty much every table, and came up empty handed. Not that they 100 percent expected to find a Mew convieniently seated at one of their tables, willing to show them a mark... It just would have been so much easier. Now they had no idea where to look.
"Wah, this is so frustrating..." Ichigo whined, leaning her head against a wall. Her dress was crooked and her hair was mussed. Kona thought she looked like some kid had
just pushed her over.
"I know what you mean," She agreed with a solemn nod, "Anyone could be carrying that DNA... It's like finding a needle in a haystack."
"Ara... What about them?" Yumi poked her head out the kitchen door, not following the conversation at all. Kona and Ichigo turned to see she was pointing at the couple, still seated at their table, talking contently. "I didn't check them."
Kona shook her head, shrugging. "Neither did I."
Seeing both girls suddenly looking towards her expectantly, Ichigo pouted, "Come on. Can't we just stop now? I'm tired, and we've humiliated ourselves enough, well I have anyways, and what are the chances -- owowow," She cried as the two dragged her out of the kitchen and to the aforementioned table anyways.
The couple didn't seem to notice the three at first, standing there, waiting quietly by their table. The ponytail girl was chatting excitedly, about some friend doing something amazing, her face lit up with happiness. The boy sitting across from her listened, his soft blue eyes focused on her attentively. Even when Ichigo fidgetted in place, they were too absorbed in conversation to even glance over. Finally, Kona cleared her throat, grabbing their attention.
"Gah." Ichigo felt a shiver as they looked up. The look of happiness sprawled on both of their faces suddenly turned dark, cold, as they turned towards them. Almost as if to say 'how dare you interrupt?'. She ducked behind Kona, who seemed mildly unaffected by all this.
"Sorry," She bowed her head politely towards the boy, and paused, looking over to the girl, "Could I speak with you for a moment?"
"I'm sorry, do I know you?" Sitting up straight, the girl looked Kona in the eye, a courteous tone in her voice.
"Er, no, you don't," Kona shook her head, "I just wanted to ask you something." She eyed the boy. "In private."
He glared icily back at her, but the girl at the table stood up with a sigh, nodding apoligetically to him. "Fine then. Please make it quick."
With Ichigo following cautiously behind, and Yumi rushing all over the place, Kona led her over to an empty part of the cafe. "Er... sorry, I'm Kona... and this-"
"Can you just get to the point?" She folded her arms impatiently, her eyes watching the three girls skeptically. Kona swallowed, having half expected her to introduce herself back.
"Oh. Of course," Nodding, she took a deep breath, "We're doing a bit of an... investigation. Would you happen to have any strange marks on your body? Having appeared suddenly, I mean."
Odd look. That was what they got. The stranger girl's face took a drastic change, her eyes narrowing, eyebrows raising, lips pursing shut tightly. "Marks?" She treated the word as if it were a joke. "I have no idea what you're-"
"Here, let us look!" Before anyone could stop her, Yumi was up in her face, lifting her arms and checking various places for marks, twisting to this side and that, mumbling all the while to herself as she suddenly grabbed the girl's leg to check it.
"Oi, what are you --!" In alarm, she hopped on one foot, nearly falling over. Ichigo hurriedly caught her, but was unable to keep her own balance, and fell with a smash to the floor. Just before the brown-ponytail girl could fall herself, Kona grabbed her arm and pulled her upright.
"Ah, I'm so sorry -"
"What are you people doing?" She looked frightened now, yanking herself away from Yumi as she rubbed her wrists defensively, keeping a cautious eye on the three girls in case they tried to attack her again. "Look, I don't have any marks. None. Can I go back now?"
They were silent. Even Ichigo, who was sitting on the floor, looked down quietly. Yumi twiddled her thumbs. Kona kind of shuffled in place, before murmuring, "Yeah. That's all."
"Okay." Staring at them suspisciously through hazel eyes, she took a step back, and turned back around to walk back to the table. They couldn't help but notice how her face suddenly lit up when she went back over to her boyfriend.
For a bit, they all just stood there. Then, Kona sighed. "Well, that was a disaster." Yumi silently agreed, and then switched back to her cheery-cheer mood.
Ichigo was silent, oddly enough, staring absently out the window. Neither of them noticed, though, and were discussing getting back to work ("Ara, are you sure you checked everyone? I can check for more marks! It's easy-peasy, I'll even check some people twice just to make sure - !" "You'll scare the customers more than you already have, Yumi..."), but a strange and curious look crossed her face.
"Be right back," She muttered to herself and walked to the door. Neither of the other two noticed.
I could have sworn... Furrowing her brow, Ichigo stepped out the door and looked left and right. Nobody. Nothing. Sighing, she rubbed her forehead with a hand. "I guess I need fresh air more than I know..." Scooting over to the edge of the porch, she rested her chin on her knees and stared ahead blankly. The wind ruffled her hair a little bit. Aoyama-kun... Closing her eyes, she tried to remember the last time they'd went out together. So long ago. Stupid Ichigo - just because the Mew project was kicking back into gear didn't mean that Masaya would suddenly pay unyielding attention to her again. She figured it was still selfish - she loved him so much, and she knew she could never really be angry with him. He was just busy. Just like everyone else.
Breathing a light sigh, she listened to her surroundings. Birds... wind... leaves... Her ears perked lightly. Footsteps? Her eyes flashed open again, but she saw no one there. Now, though, she heard them clearly. Step, step. Step. Standing to her feet, she edged along to glance around the corner curiously. Blue hair just narrowly floated past.
Ducking back against a wall, Ichigo could feel her heart beating wildly. Ari. Ari. Why was she popping up everywhere? Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. Ari wouldn't get the jump on her this time. No, she'd find her first.
Eyes flitting open again, she quietly dashed around the corner, pressing her back up against the wall. Her cat senses were kicking in - keen, sharp, alert. She could pick up the footsteps, meandering around the back of the Cafe. Swallowing, Ichigo took off again, bounding through the grass in her red cafe uniform without so much as a sound.
And there she was. Standing in her human form, hands in her pockets, staring absently - coldly? - up at the roof, her eyes glazed over. Biting her lip, Ichigo peered over, trying to figure out what she was staring at. Was she looking for something? What about --
Just as she was about to edge closer, her foot caught on a tangled plant and sent her flying to the ground. Luckily, she was able to pad her fall with her arms, but not without making a little 'eep' along the way.
Oops. Ari started, her head snapping over in the direction of the sound. Her look of surprise dissolved into a scowl, then a faint smirk. "Ichigo-neko," She said softly, slyly.
Still trying to sort her mind out, Ichigo stumbled back to her feet and held her fists up defensively. "Ari! What are you doing here?" She accused, eyes narrowing.
The blue haired alien tilted her head, eyes glaring off to the side. As if looking for any by-standers. "What does it look like? Taking a walk. What a nice cafe you work at, neko."
A knot formed in Ichigo's throat. The alien knew where she worked. Great. "Leave, now!" And, not about to allow a surprise attack, the strawberry girl called out, "Mew Mew Strawberry! Metamorpha-sis!"
Light swallowed her, sparkles engulfed her in her bright pink Mew costume, hair falling around her face in light strands. Her pink eyes opened furiously, and she struck a pose, eyes never leaving Ari for a second. Blue haired girl just laughed.
"So eager for a fight? So be it," Holding her hand out, palm upwards, a light emitted from it, breaking away her appearence like glass to show her true alien form. A grin twitched on to her lips. That was when Ichigo realized the full danger of the situation.
Alone. She froze to the spot. Ari wouldn't have been able to attack her if she'd just went back into the cafe... She could have gotten the other girls. With Ari alone, they'd be able to take her down, no problem. But... Looking down at her gloved hands, Ichigo knew her mistake. Ryou had created an entire project, after all, so she wouldn't have to fight alone. But here she was - alone.
Baka! Mentally screaming at herself, she didn't see Ari whipping towards her. She didn't feel the cold metal slice through her skin. Only as warm blood trickled down her arm did she realize what had so quickly happened.
"Augh!" She cried out, clutching her arm, the blood seeping through her gloves. Not only was the cut deep, but she felt the firey energy blazing through her blood, bones, weakening her to the point of jelly-legs. Biting her lip as hard as she could, she tried to keep her vision from going blurry... but suddenly felt light headed. "Strawberry...bel..." Everything wavered around her, and she panted heavily for breath. The scene spun circles around her, around and around, until she felt the ground giving out beneath her. No... no, I can't faint! Ari...she'll...baka Ichigo!
"ICHIGO!" There was a flash of light before her unsteady eyes, an arm reached over to catch her before she could hit the ground. Steadying herself to her feet, Ichigo managed to catch her breath, the wound's pain fading significantly. Her vision focused to see Kona and Yumi, wielding weapons in mew form.
"Ah! You guys!" She cried in relief, wincing at her wound.
"We've got your back!" Kona assured with a wink, and then held her bell out. "Ribbon Blossom Shine!"
Ari grimaced, preparing her flame spiral attack as she easily dodged Kona's. Yumi got into the fray immediatly, swinging her small bell excitedly.
"Ribbon Raspberry Dazzle!"
Kona tried again. "Ribbon Blossom Shine!"
Ichigo straightened up, becoming much sturdier and balanced again. She summoned her Strawberry Bell, and prepared for an attack.
I'm not alone anymore.
"Ribbon Strawberry Check!"
--
Why am I here?
In a daze, Kikyo walked along the side of the Cafe, her long brown ponytail swaying from side to side. It must be those weird girls. Why were they asking me about a mark? Koji had even commented on how strange that was - before they'd resumed their conversation, that is. And it had been going just fine, just like all the other days they came to the Cafe together just to spend time together. And then, all of a sudden, those girls - only two of them, the third seemed to have disapeared - suddenly ran out of the cafe. Even though they had just ordered. What kind of customer service was that?
Yes, that's why I'm out here, She convinced herself. To complain. To demand why they couldn't do whatever it was they were doing on their own time, instead of holding up paying customers. But her feet seemed to move by some unknown force, drawing her along the Cafe wall. She'd told Koji to wait for her return. Kikyo hoped he would. Otherwise, she'd be even more angry with those... people.
Turning the corner in a bit of a daze, she felt her foot lurch against the ground, toe nearly snapping against the pressure of the dirt. An icy feeling swept through her blood, eyes widening at the sight. Somehow, her first impression of a bunch of anthro girls shooting beams of energy at some floating person wasn't that it was strange. No, right away, she was frightened. As if her lungs suddenly kicked in, she inhaled, gasping, before throwing her hand over her mouth, unable to move.
What is this...? Her fingers twitched in alarm. It was then she recognized the 'anthro girls'; the waitresses. Well, sort of. The Pink one was more pink that she remembered. The Black-and-Pink girl looked the same, though she suddenly had these ears and a tail... and the Red one was unmistakably the one who had tried to attack her, looking for a mark of some sort. How they suddenly looked like this, she had no idea. And she wasn't sure she wanted to.
Finally finding the feeling in her legs again, Kikyo stepped back, wanting to get away from here more than anything. Then something nudged on the back of her foot, nearly causing her to trip. "Itai...!" Falling back against the outside Cafe wall, she looked down to see a little pink cell phone lying on the ground. Bending over to pick it up, she figured it must belong to one of the waitresses, and was probably dropped. Her mind drifted back to the scene she'd just seen, and her gaze hooked itself to the cell phone,
her finger shaking uncontrollably against the fuzzy pink keychain that dangled from it.
"Ichigo! Ichigo!" Nearly screaming as the cellphone 'poofed', it clattered back to the ground, and she stared wide eyed at a pink fuzzball now floating cheerily infront of her eyes. It's cheer faded slightly, and a question mark appeared above its head as it processed her appearence. "Not Ichigo. Masha is Ichigo's! Masha is Ichigo's!" It cried, and began to swirl around her head, shouting out and making noise.
Suddenly afraid that all those 'freaks' might hear, she scrambled up and grabbed it, trying to cover its... mouth. If it had one. But she just squeezed it as tightly as possible, not wanting to get involved in this. Oh my god, please, please, don't let them hear me...
To her relief, no one came. But while she wasn't paying attention, Masha suddenly focused on Kikyo again, data scans running through its wide eyes. Then, with a perky chirp, it swayed its tail and wriggled from her grasp. "Masha knows! Masha will help!" It pleasantly chanted as it floated towards the back of the cafe. Kikyo's eyes widened.
"No! Come back!" She hissed, stumbling after it, swinging her arms wildly in an attempt to grab it. Then, being just feet away from the action, she jumped in a panic, hands clamping over its tail and yanking it to the ground.
"Wuah! Wuah!" It struggled, and, as she reached to shut it up, Masha opened its mouth and tossed to the side a bit, a dazzling pendant appearing in its place. It flew back into the air, trying to drag Kikyo with it, but she let out a cry and dove at it again, her hand brushing against the pendant.
Then, suddenly, in that one second, her fingers seemed to prickle. Just a light brush, a touch, but some kind of inexplainable power coarsed through her, warming her body and filling her to the top. Before she knew it, words were softly spilling from her mouth, flowing from her lips smooth and naturally. "Mew Mew Kitsune! Metamorpha-sis!"
What? What did I just say? Her mind whirled as ribbons of light wrapped around her, blinding her temporarily, as she felt her body changing. Feet becoming lighter. Sight becoming more keen. It was almost painful, but it seemed to ease by, as if it were completely natural. The next thing she knew, Kikyo stood there, wearing a strange uniform, a fox tail swaying behind her and a pair of ears protruding neatly from her head.
What just happened?
--
"AUUUGH!"
Ichigo screamed as she was thrown up against a wall, her bell nearly slipping from her hands. Landing in a heap on the ground, she gasped for air, screeching and rolling out of the way as a spiral of fire shot towards her, scorching part of her tail's ribbon.
Even Yumi and Kona were having difficulty; Ari may have been on her own, but she was sure packing a punch. The battle was dead even, though; the alien seemed to be tiring out, herself - every once and a while, she'd bend over and inhale, as if to regain her strength.
"Nekos..." She spat, giving a warped smirk, "You just won't give up, will you?"
Yumi raised her hand. "I'm not a neko - waah!" A wave of flame hurled towards her, and she dashed out of the way, ringing her Raspberry Bell along in Ari's direction. "Raspberry Dazzle!" She chimed, and a bright flash of sparkles shot to Ari. The alien cried out in agony, losing her float height significantly, obviously very weak. Kona took the opportunity right away.
"Ribbon Blossom ---"
Lights flashed all around her, in her head, in front of her eyes, and she lost her balance, falling to her side and crying out. When her vision cleared again, she realized, as did Yumi and Ichigo, what was causing this... and how much trouble they were in because of it.
"Hanajima!" Ari snapped, her voice wispier than before, "Where'd you--"
"You were gone for a long time," She answered plainly, and then held her staff out. Ichigo stumbled back up to her feet, glaring hard in their direction, her heart shaped weapon trembling in her hands. "Looks like you did alright though, Ari. I can take it from here."
Before Ari could even protest, the brunette alien grasped her Illusion Staff with both hands, aiming it dead on towards Kona. "Fire!" She summoned, and a great ball of flame appeared.
Ichigo was frightened at first, and then she remembered. "Kona, don't let her fool you! It's just an illusion!" She cried, and Kona braced herself for this. The flame blasted towards her in a frightful quantity, growing closer, closer... engulfing and scorching Kona's body once it reached her, the girl disapearing in the inferno, crying out in burning pain as the flames ate her alive.
"KONA!" Ichigo screamed, tears sprinkling from her eyes as she rushed forward. Then, in a blink, the flame disapeared, leaving Kona standing there, equally as confused. What...? "Oof!"
Having just been roughly elbowed in the back, Ichigo collapsed to the ground, Ari holding her in a tight unrelenting grip. "Foolish," Was all she said, and, with the dagger she held in her free hand, allowed it to burst into real flame, drawing the blade harmlessly along the cat girl's back. Though 'harmlessly' didn't necessarily mean 'painlessly'.
"Kyaah!" Ichigo cried, thrashing as it felt like her skin was burning. All over, burning, burning, hurting... She sobbed into the ground, too weak to even fight back. Kona and Yumi were being detained by Hanajima, who was throwing panicking illusions at them, distracting and then physically attacking them.
"No!"
Quite an unfamiliar voice. Ari and Hanajima were the first to look up, then the Mews. To see a tall girl standing there, with ponytail-brown hair and fox ears and tail, a battle costume, a glowing mark on her right temple.
"Y-you!" Ichigo cried in bewildering disbelief, and suddenly it turned to joy. A mew. The third new Mew! She'd found them. She'd found them, instead of them finding her. The girl from the cafe, the one with the cold boy, had figured out she was a Mew all on her own, come to save them...
They misunderstood her use of the word 'no'. Kikyo looked down at herself in horror - the ears, the tail, the costume. She was one of them. Even if she didn't know who they were, now she would. Now her life would be different. But she didn't want that - Kikyo just wanted her normal life! 'No!' She had cried in terror, in refusal to believe, not realizing how tangled she would become in this 'new life'.
And yet everyone still stared in wonder. It must have taken several minutes for them to be drawn back to the reality of the situation, engage once more in battle, though still pieces of their mind were with the strange girl who had just appeared. Ichigo was able to break free of Ari's grasp in this time, aim her bell for another attack.
"Ribbon Strawberry Check!"
"Ribbon Blossom Shine!"
Both attacked each alien; Ichigo's knocking Ari briefly to the side, Kona's leaving Hanajima temporarily stunned where she floated. And yet they still did not have the edge. Only as Ari came in for another attack and narrowly missed, did Ichigo notice the new Mew was simply standing there. She assumed it was because she didn't know what to do.
"Listen to the words your heart tells you!" She cried to the girl, who just stared blankly at her. Ichigo shireked and leapt over a diving Ari.
Her heart? Kikyo heard them. Loud and clear. But she restrained herself this time; wouldn't allow them to be said. This had gone far enough already. No more. She had already jeopordized her normal life to this point. No. No more. Kikyo would not ruin her perfect life for something as freakish as this.
"Waaah!" Yumi cried, throwing her hands over her ears as an ear-splitting sound rang through her head. Kona was already in a heap, gasping, her eyes glazed as she fought whatever illusion was facing her. And Ichigo... Ichigo hardly stood a chance in the state she was in. And yet Kikyo continued standing there, her feet still glued to the ground. Control, control...
"Kikyo?"
Her eyes widened and her head snapped around to see the black haired boy walking up behind her, staring oddly. Kikyo paled. No... he can't see me like this...! Promptly, she hid her face from Koji, trying to sidestep out of sight. Maybe then he'd go back to the cafe. Back where he couldn't see her... not like she was, not like this freak...
"Kikyo, wh-huaaaah!"
Kikyo's eyes flashed open to see Ari ramming him in the gut with her arms, knocking Koji to the ground. "Nosy prat," She murmured, and carelessly set her sais aflame, aiming to slash at him before he interfered any further.
Horror overtook the fox girl. "Koji! No!" She screamed loudly, tears subconsiously filling her eyes. She had to protect him - she had to! "Fox Charm!" She sobbed, letting the words come again. Even if it made her something she didn't want to be... Kikyo could not allow Koji to be hurt. As if she'd forgotten all about the girl, Ari turned towards her curiously, delaying her attack on the normal boy.
The weapon that appeared in Mew Kitsune's hands was of regular size, a half ring with curled tips and a short staff running through the middle, the heart situated in the center glowing fiercely. Tears glimmering in her eyes, she gripped it in both hands, aiming for the offending alien. "Ribbon Kahidra Blast!" Crying out, she felt the energy burst from the end of her weapon, sending her back a step as it raced towards Ari.
"Gwah!" Her blue hair flared about as she was knocked against the ground, rolling into a heap. Kikyo rushed over to Koji immediatly, putting her hand on his forehead. Still warm. He was unconsious, though unharmed. Sighing in relief, she lowered her forehead to his, whispering a word of comfort before standing to her feet again, facing the aliens again. Now her enemies.
"Ribbon Kahidra Blast!" She aimed for an attack again, and was surprised to hear the other three girls backing her up.
"Blossom Shine!"
"Raspberry Dazzle!"
"Strawberry Check!"
All merged into one bright light, swarming around the two aliens. By the time it was gone, they'd both disappeared... Even though they knew they'd just fled on their own. Simultaneously, they all collapsed to their feet, all but Kikyo detransforming back into their cafe uniforms. Kona immediatly rushed over to Ichigo, making sure that her wounds weren't worsening, and then getting Yumi to help her come up with some way to get her back in the cafe without customers noticing her cuts.
Kikyo just sat there, quietly, staring hard at the weapon clutched beneath her hands. Koji was alright. She was so glad he was alright. But... her hands balled into fists. This wasn't fair. She didn't want this. She did want these powers, or have to do anything other than normal. Her life was fine the way it was. Why did it have to turn upside down like this?
While Kona and Yumi devised a sneaky-plan, Ichigo noticed this. The tall girl, on her knees, hazel eyes nearly glimmering with tears. Ichigo had seen the boy that had been with her in the cafe attacked. That was the only time she actually pulled out her weapon, made an effort to fight back. It only occured to the red head now that she may have transformed by mistake... and then figuring out she didn't want to. Slowly, ignoring the pain of her cuts, Ichigo made her way over and knelt next to her. Kikyo took no notice - or, she made an effort not to. That much was obvious.
"I'm sorry," Ichigo said softly, looking down at the ground herself. It was always hard, being injected with the Wild Cat DNA. But she seemed to accept it so easily... Nothing like what this new girl seemed to be struggling with. Even Zakuro dealt with it well, even though she was reluctant to team up. She couldn't possibly understand. So, all Ichigo was able to say was, "I'm so sorry..."
"Like you'd know," She said in a muffled voice, burying her face into her arms. Ichigo lowered her eyes.
"I do. But... not much," How could she, when this was the lifestyle she had come to love? But there was something about being randomly picked for a project, and then forced against your will to save the world... All because you're 'chosen'. Ichigo agreed with Ryou that she couldn't fight the aliens on her own - but selecting a randomized group of girls and forcing this fate on to them was something even she would dread. It was hardly fair for this fate to be shoved on them.
There was no reply on the other end. For a long while, it was completely silent, save for the chatter in the background from the other two. Ichigo blinked and softly tilted her head, trying to see the girl's hidden face. "I just want it to be normal," She choked from beneath her arms finally, a fox ear twitching, "I don't want any of this."
"I..." Ichigo was at a complete loss of words for this one. What was she supposed to say? Too bad? Suck it up? There was always a possibility that Ryou could reverse the effects of the injection, but she couldn't see him agreeing to that. Some other girl would just be forced to take her place. Staring at the ground herself, Ichigo was silent. Then, from the corner of her eye, she noticed the brown haired girl looking up, glancing worriedly in the boy's direction. He looked fine. He had a scratch on his right arm, and had probably just blacked out from shock, but other than that he was unharmed. It was obvious that this girl was still worried about him though, and that she cared for him very much.
Finally, she knew what to say. "You can protect him, this way." Ichigo said softly, nodding in the unconsious boy's direction. This seemed to make the other girl relax a bit, her head lifting, considering wisely. Holding her breath, Ichigo waited, unable to read her calm and thoughtful expression. "There are those who just want to hurt. And that's why we fight them - we fight because we want to protect the ones we love. That's all that we're able to do. Do you... understand?"
For a long moment, there was nothing but quiet. Even Kona and Yumi were silently contemplating. So Ichigo waited, swallowing, trying feebly to hide the hopeful look in her eyes. It didn't seem like the girl would consider anything based on her expressions anyway. She just kept staring, unmoving, and Ichigo in turn waited. We need another comrade. We need another friend.
"...yeah," She said with a light nod, and her uniform disapeared as she transformed back to normal. Straightening up, the girl looked caringly over at her companion, eyes soft, and yet suddenly strong at the same time. "...yeah, you're right." Turning her head, she managed a small smile, her long bangs falling lightly over her eyes.
Ichigo was overjoyed. Her face lit up, and a wide smile appeared on her face instantly. "So, you'll help us then?" She nodded. It took all her restraint to keep from lunging out and hugging her, the new Mew, the new member of their group. "That's..." Ichigo quickly calmed herself down, to keep a collect image in front of the mature girl, "That's good. I'm Ichigo. Kona and Yumi are over there," She motioned towards the two, who were now walking around to the back door to see if they could get it open.
"Kikyo," She introduced herself plainly, nodding politely. Her eyes drifted to the cafe, the pink mass of building, and then back over to Koji. If anything, now he looked more like he was peacefully sleeping, which brought a soft smile to her lips. Unsurely, she glanced at Ichigo, who blinked a few times before figuring out what the problem was.
Piping in a cheery voice, "Oh! Right. You can... er, bring him in if you'd like. I'm sure Shirogane has an extra room or something he can lay down in until he wakes up. Then I can introduce you to them, okay?"
Kikyo nodded, and then shook her head right after, turning to Ichigo. A small smile appeared on her face. It was different now. She may not like it too much, but this was who she was. She'd cope with it, even if it was just to protect and keep Koji safe from the dangers that surrounded him. "No," She muttered, more to herself than anything, her long hair blowing lightly in the breeze, "No, I can introduce myself. This is who I am, now, after all."
--
"You did it again."
"From what I remember, you disappeared too, Ari."
"Keh. Like I was going to try taking them on my own."
"Oh, so you finally admit you can't handle everything all by your mighty self? Good. We've made some progress."
"You saw the bandages, Hanajima. This damn state of transformation is annoying as hell."
"About that. I've noticed you've skipped classes. You do know they're all wondering where you've disappeared to, right?"
"Like I care. There's no reason for me to be there anymore - neko-girl pulled that blame thing once already. At least they all thought she was a nutcase instead - not like she could have proved it, anyways. I found her, and that's why I put myself in that position in the first place. Now there's no reason for me to waste my time in that cramped space. I'm surprised you're still there."
"Hmm, it's entertaining. You can't be battling mew girls 24/7, after all. I find it especially amusing to ask Momomiya questions - she tenses right up and stutters. Though it's becoming stale. Perhaps I'll pull a little disappearing act, myself."
"Well aren't you creative."
----
Next Chapter:
Three down, one to go. Ryou reveals a discovery that alarms Ichigo more than anyone. As they set off to find the fourth and final Blend Mew, Ari decides to pay her target-kitten a visit - while issuing a very dire threat that sets the clock in motion. Ruining the lives of strangers is one thing - but what happens when you have to choose the fate of a friend?