It was the first day Ichigo felt like the activity in the café was relatively back to normal. Busier than it should have been on a Thursday, but for the first time in three days, the café didn't have a waitlist. It may have had something to do with the clouds and slight drizzle outside. Or it could have been Tart's inability to serve a table without an accompanying insult. Ichigo was glad for the respite from the chaos of the last few days. Next week, she would return to high school after her spring break. It would be a welcome change of pace to have a few workdays where she wasn't understaffed and overbooked.
It had been two days since Quiche had walked her home from her shift. Their uncharacteristically serious discussion had Ichigo's mind whirring. Not to mention Quiche's hand on her back, and that he had leant her his hoodie for the night. Ichigo was still coming to terms with the fact that the three alien boys were going to be at the café indefinitely – and that she would have to cope with being around Quiche in some capacity for most of her shifts.
The most unsettling part about her dynamic with Quiche was the grey area they both occupied while both were working at the café. Quiche wasn't her enemy anymore – and they weren't actively trying to kill each other like years past. But Quiche had made it clear with his grand entrance back into her life that he was not backing down from his pursuit of her. And that made Ichigo nervous.
It was in this strange, hazy middle ground where Ichigo's relationship with Quiche rested. Did her relationship with Masaya mean that Quiche would always be an enemy? Was there a universe where Quiche could be her friend and nothing more? Could Masaya and Quiche coexist in the same social circle?
A small voice in the back of her head whispered to her absolutely not, but she couldn't know for sure. Ichigo had been pointedly avoiding Quiche at work, despite his seemingly constant attempts to catch her eye whenever they passed each other in the kitchen or dining room.
She found herself in one of those moments as she mulled over the question, her attention breaking briefly from the prep station in the kitchen to notice that Quiche had just come through the doorway looking for something. She forced herself to look as busy as possible decorating the garnish on three banana milkshakes. Quiche breezed past her wordlessly, ducking into the walk-in fridge briefly and pulling out a giant jar of maraschino cherries. Ichigo could feel his eyes on her as she finished the chocolate sprinkles on dollops of whipped cream.
"Your hair is different," came his remark from behind her. Ichigo furrowed her brow. It wasn't the comment she was expecting.
She turned around slowly, watching Quiche drop the cherries on the two sorbets he was getting ready to deliver. "I...really?" she said, confused.
Quiche caught her eye as he turned back, smirking. She watched his eyes flick up and down from her hair back to her face. "It's up in the back. You never used to wear it like that," he remarked.
It dawned on Ichigo that he was talking about her high ponytail she had tied up in a white scrunchie. He was right that she didn't used to wear ponytails in the early days of high school when they first met. She tried not to be impressed that he noticed, feeling flattered but slightly uncomfortable knowing that he had perceived her personal style in that detail.
"I– yes, I guess so," she replied lamely, casting her gaze to the white tile floor. She dropped her tray on the kitchen countertop and loaded the three milkshakes on it.
"It's cute," came Quiche's remark from behind her. She whirled around to see him waltzing out of the kitchen, walking backwards to watch her reaction. "Wear it like that more often."
Ichigo scowled, feeling the heat blooming in her cheeks. "Don't tell me what to do!" she yelled around the corner at him. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she hoisted her tray up on her shoulder and followed him out of the kitchen. Idiot.
She fixed his lithe figure with a glare as she watched him walk the sorbets to his table. Even when he was walking like a human, his stride was admittedly graceful and light. Ichigo envied his natural coordination, something she had struggled with, especially in her early days of working at the café. Quiche was admittedly picking up the job quickly, and Ichigo was beginning to resent him for it.
Once Ichigo had dropped off the milkshakes, she took another table's order and was on her way to close out a third table's tab. She was just totaling the receipt when Lettuce emerged from the back room after her break.
"Hey, Ichigo," Lettuce greeted, wiping her glasses with the corner of her apron. Her blue eyes sparkled with excitement as she smiled shyly, "Sooooo … I have something to tell you."
Ichigo printed out her table's check and ripped it out of the printer with a little more force than she intended. "Oooh, what is it?" she murmured excitedly, grinning at Lettuce. She leaned up against the counter. "Spill!"
"Well…" Lettuce started bashfully, putting on her glasses and pushing them up her nose, "I mayyyy have a date this week…"
Ichigo's face lit up. "A date?" she repeated in excitement, "Oh Lettuce that's so exciting! Wow! Wait, is it that guy from your calculus class?"
Lettuce bit her lip, letting her eyes wander bashfully. "Well, not exactly…" she started.
"Wait wait," Ichigo interrupted. She crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes and grinning. "Let me try and guess. Someone I know?"
"Ah, hm...yes," Lettuce murmured. Her eyes continued to wander around the room nervously.
Ichigo thought for a moment. "Wait, it's not…" she started, whispering. Lettuce sucked in an anxious breath awaiting Ichigo's guess. Ichigo tilted her head to one side, "...Shirogane?"
Lettuce shook her head quickly, waving her hands in dismissal, "No no no! I uh… no, not Shirogane."
Ichigo let out a relieved sigh. "Well good!" she muttered, "I don't know what I'd do if I had to be nice to him for once."
Lettuce chuckled. She was playing with one of her braids, picking at her split ends. Ichigo narrowed her eyes again. "Wait, who is it then? I'm out of ideas."
"Promise you won't freak out?" Lettuce murmured, grimacing.
Ichigo nodded, "Of course!"
"Well…" Lettuce started with a sigh, "...the person who asked me on a date... it's Pie."
Ichigo's eyes were as wide as saucers, her jaw going slack. "Shut. Up," she exclaimed in a gasp, "Wh-what? Pie? Like, no-emotions, super-serious Pie?"
Lettuce blushed, weaving a braid through her fingers anxiously. "I– uh– yeah…but like, you said you wouldn't freak out!" she stammered. She pushed her glasses up her nose.
Ichigo cupped her face in one hand, searching Lettuce's expression. "I just wasn't expecting it to be him! Wait, how did it happen? Did he just ask you today?"
Lettuce glanced behind her anxiously. She leaned in towards Ichigo. "We should talk more about this after work," she murmured. "You're off at 6 too, right?"
Ichigo nodded, "Yeah, I'll walk with you home! Oh my gosh, I can't wait to hear all the details."
Lettuce grinned excitedly, beaming. "Y-yeah! Ok, I'll meet you by the back door after work."
The two girls parted ways with excited giggles and a hug. Ichigo finished the rest of her shift while trying to wrap her head around Lettuce and Pie being an item. She'd be amiss to say she hadn't noticed Pie's soft spot for Lettuce when they were still enemies. But Pie's softness towards Lettuce wasn't nearly as blatantly obvious as Quiche's advances towards herself. Ichigo mulled over the comparison as she changed out of her work uniform and into her black ribbed long sleeve shirt, jeans and tan rain coat. She ventured out to the back door of the café vowing to have an open mind and an open heart towards her dear friend.
Lettuce greeted Ichigo with a wide smile. She held a clear umbrella and invited Ichigo to stand under it with her as they walked. A light mist descended from the sky; feathery, warm drops dusted Ichigo's fingertips as they walked.
"So tell me everything!" Ichigo was quick to say, "I need to know details! When, where, how...all of it!"
Lettuce sighed, glancing up at the cloudy sky. "Well," she started hesitantly, "We've kinda been talking here and there at work … you know, in the back room, kitchen, that sort of thing. Just chatting. He's very smart, and I … there's just something that works. It's so odd, but I feel like we could talk for hours. About anything."
Ichigo glanced at her friend curiously, drinking in her words. "Wait," Ichigo interjected, "Talking about what? Give me an example."
Lettuce mulled over the question for a moment, glancing up at the misty, grey sheet of clouds. "Well, I've learned a lot about what life is like in their world. And how it's different because of the Mew Aqua," Lettuce replied. "Pie talks about how their planet was really barren – it snowed all the time – and now the climate is temperate, with vibrant flowers and trees blooming just like on Earth."
Ichigo pictured the landscape in her mind's eye with wonderment as Lettuce continued. "The three of them have some sort of position in their government now, you know," she remarked. "Pie told me about it briefly. Their lives are quite fascinating. We had lots to talk about."
Ichigo filed the information away in her mind curiously. "Wait, so when is your date?" she asked with a grin.
"Saturday!" Lettuce replied excitedly. "We haven't really figured out what to do yet – we're going to meet at the downtown park and just kind of … play it by ear, I suppose."
Lettuce paused, smiling warmly at the thought. The slight drizzle of rain was coming down harder now. Beads of water tapped loudly on the clear plastic umbrella above the two girls, punctuating the silence with a peaceful, rhythmic chorus.
"That sounds perfect," Ichigo remarked. A pang of guilt lept into her chest as she remembered how she had a strong reaction with Lettuce when Lettuce had first told her about the date.
Ichigo exhaled slowly. "Also, Lettuce, I'm sorry I sounded so shocked when you told me about Pie asking you out on a date." She paused momentarily, searching her thoughts for a half-second. "To be honest, I've been having my own issues with Quiche, so I might have been projecting a bit."
Lettuce blinked, meeting Ichigo's gaze with her clear blue eyes. "You don't have to apologize Ichigo," she started, "It didn't bother me much. But uh, if you don't mind me asking…what's going on with Quiche?"
Ichigo's mind was immediately filled with recollections of a twinge in her stomach, brilliant gold eyes and the smell of cloves. Ichigo fidgeted with the edge of her sleeve anxiously.
"Just him pestering me all the time," she muttered. She tried her best to sound irritated despite the strange mix of emotions whirling in her head. "He made a scene in front of some guests the other day with his flirting, and I guess I'm just fed up with being busy all the time at work and having to deal with him too. Not to say the alien boys are all the same. I guess I've just been anxious around them lately."
Lettuce paused on this for a moment as they walked. "No I understand," she replied after a pause. "So does Aoyama know that Quiche has been bothering you at all?"
Ichigo bit the inside of her cheek. "Well…" she started hesitantly, "...not exactly. I'm sure he wouldn't be surprised if I talked to him about it. But Aoyama and Quiche had a pretty bad argument when the aliens first showed up at the airport…when I was picking Aoyama up from his flight…"
Ichigo's voice trailed off as her thoughts caught up to the trickle of words spilling from her lips. She hesitated to continue her train of thought, but Lettuce finished it for her: "...and you don't want Aoyama and Quiche fighting again?"
Ichigo sighed. "Yeah," she admitted. "I mean, Aoyama has less than 2 weeks before he leaves again! I don't want him stressed the entire time because Quiche is being a pain."
Lettuce nodded thoughtfully, "Well Ichigo, that seems like–"
Lettuce stopped suddenly, her voice trailing off. Ichigo watched as Lettuce narrowed her eyes behind her circular glasses.
"I– is that–" Lettuce started hesitantly, staring straight ahead. Ichigo followed her gaze, eyes widening. She sucked in a breath sharply when she realized what was happening.
The creature emerging from the center of the park to their left was unmistakably a chimera animal. It was burrowing out from the muddy dirt path running parallel to their walkway. The chimera looked to be the size of a car, its fur a deep purple and covered in spiney needles. Its form was similar to that of a mole; beady, red eyes searched the park before landing on Ichigo and Lettuce.
Ichigo stiffened. Why would a chimera appear here, now? Ichigo's conversations with Ryou and Quiche bubbled up in her mind. She wasn't with Aoyama this time, so where did this chimera come from? Ichigo didn't have time to wonder about its sudden appearance – the chimera let out a loud shriek, startling Ichigo out of her daze.
"There's no one around!" Lettuce cried out, "Hurry, Ichigo, we need to transform!"
Ichigo nodded, pulling out her pendant from her back pocket and kissing it hurriedly.
"Mew Mew Ichigo, Metamorphosis!"
"Mew Mew Lettuce, Metamorphosis!"
Ichigo felt the familiar warmth of her body changing in her metamorphosis. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply as she allowed her power to envelop her figure in a gentle, pulsing wave of strength. Once she felt her platform boots touch the ground, Ichigo opened her blazing pink eyes and quickly summoned her strawberry bell.
"Lettuce!" she called out to her friend behind her, "I'm going to try to get behind it if you can distract from the front!"
"Okay!" Lettuce yelled back. Ichigo tucked away her fear and anxiety about taking down the chimera with only Lettuce helping her. She began to run in a wide circle around the chimera, feeling the rain prick at her shoulders as she kept her eyes trained on the beast. Lettuce rushed towards the chimera to Ichigo's right, summoning her castanets and calling out her attack.
"Ribbon LETTUCE RUSH!"
Two jets of water rushed out of her weapons and hit the chimera with a crash. The chimera fell backwards, shrieking loudly. Ichigo skidded to a stop just 20 meters behind the chimera. Lettuce's hit was a short-lived victory – the mole-like creature shook off the water from its spiney fur and abruptly dove down into the hole from which it had first appeared.
"Ichigo!" Lettuce yelled in alarm, "it's burrowing! Look out, it could come out anywhere!"
"I know!" Ichigo yelled back, crouching and whirling around to study any movement on the ground. Then, she felt a slow, deep rumble bubbling up beneath her feet. Ichigo immediately began to sprint as fast as she could, further towards the back of the park. The rumbling beneath her feet seemed to follow her the whole way, growing in intensity as she ran.
Ichigo felt like she was gasping for air, her lungs burning from the strain of her breakneck sprint as she squinted into the sheet of rain. Her dress was soaking wet and heavy. Ichigo knew she was about to lose the race against the chimera digging beneath her feet if she didn't think fast.
Sucking in a breath of air, Ichigo whirled around and dug her heel into the muddy grass, taking off abruptly in the opposite direction. She looked over her shoulder as she heard the sound of cracking roots from the surrounding trees. The chimera squirmed out of the grass, shrieking at Ichigo and flexing the sharp spines on its fur.
Ichigo was completely out of breath. She turned to face the chimera, holding up her strawberry bell and concentrating all of her energy into an attack.
"RIBBON STRAWBERRY CHECK!" she cried out in a hoarse voice. White light erupted from her weapon and shot towards the chimera. The creature easily ducked back into the ground before the attack could reach it.
"Ichigo!" came Lettuce's voice from across the park. "Be careful!"
Ichigo turned to look back at her friend for a brief moment. A splash of color behind Lettuce caught her eye, though it was hard to distinguish in the pouring rain. Ichigo narrowed her eyes. She made out the distant forms of Pudding and Zakuro rushing towards the park.
Relief flooded over Ichigo at the sight of more of her teammates. However, that relief was short-lived when the ground beneath her began to shake violently. Ichigo immediately regretted breaking her concentration, taking two wide steps back before she felt herself being thrown in the air by the chimera bursting from the earth beneath her. She let out a shriek as she fell to the ground and landed on her back with a loud thud. She skidded across the wet grass, gasping for air and looking up at the creature towering above her.
Ichigo scrambled backwards on her back as she rushed to get away from the menacing beast. She narrowly avoided a swipe of a spiny arm. Gasping, she turned and clamoured to her feet, only to be met with the grasp of someone picking her up. Ichigo let out a yelp of surprise as she felt her feet leave the ground.
Ichigo immediately recognized what was happening when she inhaled the now-familiar smell of cloves mixed with grass. She felt the telltale flush creep up her cheeks as she realized she had an iron grip around Quiche's shoulders, and her legs wrapped tightly around his hips. She loosened her grip on his shoulders so she could fix him with a scowl. Quiche's molten gold visage was the very definition of smug.
"Hm, this is comfortable, isn't it?" he quipped, grinning. Ichigo felt a squeeze on her upper thigh and realized that Quiche had one arm supporting her under her butt and thighs, and one wrapped tightly around her waist. Her crimson blush deepened.
"P-p-put me down!" she stammered.
"Don't think I will," Quiche replied, raising an eyebrow. He glanced down at the ground briefly. "In case you haven't noticed, this chimera is partially blind – it relies on its sense of movement on the ground to attack."
"How did you know that?" Ichigo demanded, bewildered. She glanced down at the confused chimera, then instantly regretted it – they were about 50 meters off the ground. She gripped Quiche's shoulders tightly, unwittingly pulling herself closer to him as she tried to swallow her fear of heights. When she met Quiche's gaze again, he was studying her with a smirk and a fire in his eyes. Ichigo bit the inside of her cheek.
"In case you forgot, kitten, I'm somewhat of an expert on chimera animals," Quiche said. Ichigo felt them start to move in the air. "Stay behind those of us who can fly for now."
Ichigo realized that Quiche was flying them closer to the rest of the mews as they slowly began to descend closer to the ground. "How about you quit telling me what to do!" she fired back, feeling her stomach churn as the ground grew closer.
"Yeah, because running aimlessly around the park was working out really well for you before," Quiche replied sarcastically. His boot touched the ground first, then he relaxed his hold on Ichigo and allowed her to slip out of his grasp and land on her feet. She immediately took two steps back and clenched her gloved hands into fists.
"Don't worry kitten," Quiche said with a grin, walking backwards with his hands behind his head, "I won't mess it up this time."
Ichigo furrowed her brow. She opened her mouth to reply but Quiche turned and took off into the air. Ichigo watched him summon his weapons in his hands. She suddenly recalled how he had nearly gotten himself hurt in the battle with the chimera just days ago.
"Quiche! Be careful!" she yelled into the air after him. She didn't know where the words of concern came from, except that she knew how reckless Quiche could be.
Squinting into the rain, Ichigo spotted Pie and Tart hovering above the chimera on the other side of the park. Pie appeared to be diverting the chimera away from the mews, while Tart seemed to be summoning roots out of the ground to try to keep the chimera in place.
Ichigo felt an arm on her shoulder. She turned to catch Lettuce's concerned gaze.
"Ichigo, are you okay?" Lettuce asked fervently.
Ichigo nodded. "I'm fine! Lettuce, I know what to do now — the chimera animal is partially blind," Ichigo started. She glanced at the other four mews just arriving and nodded to them.
"Okay, listen up!" Ichigo called, "Mint, we need you at the front with Quiche, Pie and Tart. This chimera is mostly blind and can't anticipate any attacks from the air!"
Mint nodded, "Got it! Leave it to me." Mint took off to join the aliens in the air hovering above the chimera animal.
"Next, we need Zakuro, and Pudding behind everyone who can fly," Ichigo instructed, "You two have weapons that can keep the chimera in one place. Lettuce, Berry and I can bring up the rear."
"Rodger!" Pudding yelled enthusiastically, pumping a fist in the air.
"Makes sense," Zakuro agreed. "Let's go, Pudding." The two girls started a jog towards the agitated chimera animal.
"Berry," Ichigo addressed the blonde mew, "Whoever gets to the chimera first needs to perform a check on it to separate it from the body. Either your Loveberry Check or my Strawberry Check, whoever gets the best shot."
"Yep!" Berry agreed with a grin, "Leave it to me!"
Ichigo nodded and motioned for Lettuce and Berry to follow her towards the scene of the battle. Already she could see that the team was making a mess of the park. Tangled roots were springing up from all over the park as Tart tried to entangle the creature from the ground. Pie and Quiche were both trying to land a shot with their electricity — Pie's golden streaks of lightning and Quiche's blue electric shocks barely missing the chimera as it rapidly ducked and burrowed into the muddy soil. Pudding's jelly attacks appeared to slow the creature, but it burrowed out of her confines in a matter of seconds.
"Hold it still!" Mint screamed down at the mews below. Zakuro watched the ground as the beast sprung up from its tunnels. She quickly cracked her whip at the creature —
"Ribbon ZAKURO SPEAR!"
Her whip managed to catch the foot of the chimera before it could burrow again. "Nice one!" Quiche applauded from above.
Suddenly, the creature yanked Zakuro's whip with a shriek. Zakuro yelped as she was flung in the air suddenly, up and over the chimera, losing the grip on her weapon.
"I got you!" Mint called to her. She caught Zakuro midair and flew both of them back to the rest of the mews. The chimera seemed to notice the increase in bodies on the ground; it whipped around to face the cluster of mews crouched on the ground.
"Everyone, get out of the way!" Ichigo screamed at her teammates. The group of mews scrambled in different directions as the chimera took a swipe in their direction with its spiney paw. It narrowly missed, sending Pudding and Lettuce diving to the ground to avoid the attack. Ichigo grit her teeth, mind racing as she struggled to think of how to pin down the chimera.
She spotted a flash of purple in the corner of her eye – Zakuro's whip. It was still caught on the chimera's leg, wrapped tightly with the hilt discarded on the ground. Ichigo glanced up into the air.
"Tart!" she yelled up at the young alien. Tart turned to catch Ichigo's gaze. "Zakuro's whip! Grab the hilt and pull!"
"Are you crazy, old hag?" Tart screamed back at her. "This chimera probably weighs two tons!"
Ichigo was momentarily distracted by a shriek of the chimera as Lettuce fired another Lettuce Rush into its eyes. The beast shook off the water and swiped its spiny paws in Lettuce's direction. Ichigo sucked in a breath as Lettuce narrowly dodged the attack.
Refocusing, Ichigo scowled up at Tart. "Come on twerp, now's not the time to argue!" she snapped. "We need to keep it from burrowing!"
Ichigo saw Tart roll his eyes. "Fine!" he spat reluctantly. Turning, he dove towards the hilt of the whip. He snatched it from the ground with ease and pulled sharply, flying backwards with the hilt in both hands. The reaction from the chimera was instantaneous – Zakuro's whip was strong, and seemed to be hurting the leg of the chimera. The creature fell on its front legs at first, then righted itself. It turned its head and snarled in Tart's direction.
"Shit!" Tart swore, straining to hold on to the hilt. The atmosphere around Tart shifted slightly before Quiche appeared beside him.
"Hang on!" Quiche yelled. He grabbed on to the guards of the hilt and began to pull next to Tart.
The chimera began to resist further, digging its massive paws in the dirt in an attempt to burrow. It strained against the whip, thrashing left and right in an attempt to throw the alien boys off of its restraint.
"It's working!" yelled Mint from the air above Ichigo.
"Ichigo!" screamed Quiche, "We're losing it! Now's your chance!"
Ichigo clenched her jaw and took off towards the front of the chimera, running around the side of the beast. She skidded to a stop not ten feet from its mud-covered snout. The chimera bared its teeth at Ichigo, snarling into her face as she quickly raised her Strawberry Bell.
"RIBBON STRAWBERRY CHECK!"
White light erupted from Ichigo's weapon and swallowed the body of the chimera animal. It shrieked as it grew smaller, warm light enveloping its form and radiating heat out into the rainy chill of the park. Ichigo relaxed her grip on the Strawberry Bell, lowering it slowly as she watched the chimera animal change back into nothing more than a common garden mole.
Ichigo slumped her shoulders and let out a long, relieved breath. Pudding dashed to her side and tackled Ichigo in a hug.
"Yay! We did it!" Pudding squealed, squeezing Ichigo in her arms. Ichigo grinned as the other mews jogged over to her. Tart touched down next to Zakuro and handed her her whip. Zakuro nodded in thanks, twirling the hilt between her fingers.
"Wow, that was scary," Lettuce remarked, powering down to her normal self. "The chimera animal seemed to come out of nowhere. How...how did you all get to Ichigo and I so fast?"
"Ah! It was Quiche who told us!" Pudding chimed in.
Ichigo furrowed her brow, confused.
"He told us something was wrong and you were in trouble, and to follow him!" Pudding continued energetically. "Turns out he was right!"
"Wha – how?" Ichigo interjected. She glanced around at the other mews, searching for answers. Mint and Berry looked at each other and shrugged.
"Shirogane must have told Quiche that he spotted something on the radar," Berry hypothesized, tapping her cheek thoughtfully.
Ichigo glanced over Berry's shoulder, catching glimpses of a conversation happening outside of the group of mews. Quiche, Pie and Tart stood in a circle a few meters away. Quiche looked defensive, crossing his arms and scowling up at Pie.
"Hell if I know! I just heard the voice and followed it!"
"The same one as last time?"
"Obviously!"
Ichigo tilted her head slightly. She powered down to her normal teenage appearance as she pieced together her thoughts. A voice? And it's happened more than once?
Pie seemed to catch on to the fact that the alien boys had an audience for their conversation. He turned to look back at the mews with a steely grey gaze. Quiche and Tart followed suit, abruptly halting their discussion. Ichigo involuntarily locked eyes with Quiche as he turned. He appeared to read her confused expression – a brief look of concern flashed across his face before he quickly hid it behind a smirk.
"Nosy bunch, you are," Quiche remarked, stretching his arms and resting his hands behind his head. "Try not to get into too much trouble without us."
"You guys barely helped!" Mint retorted, crossing her arms in a huff. Berry let out a snort of laughter.
"Hey, I did all the work holding that thing in place!" Tart fired back. He put his hands on his hips. "You all should be thanking me!"
"Sure, short stack," said Ichigo with a grin. The mews giggled around her as Tart turned a distinct shade of bright pink.
The mews and the alien boys agreed to return to the café together and recap the battle with Ryou and Keiichiro. Their walk in the rainy drizzle was filled with chatter hypothesizing the origins of the chimera, punctuated by laughs and jabs between the two groups.
Ichigo made a point to walk towards the back of the group with Mint and Zakuro; she wanted to observe the interaction between Lettuce and Pie. Sure enough, seeing that Ichigo was nowhere nearby, Lettuce offered to share her umbrella with Pie. The tall alien boy held the umbrella high above their heads as they walked side by side. Ichigo smiled, prodding Mint with her elbow and nodding in the direction of the couple so that Mint could see. Mint's face grew into a curious smile.
"Well, how about that," she murmured to Ichigo. Mint sighed wistfully. "It's almost like we're one big team now."
"I suppose so," Ichigo murmured quietly. She watched as Pie flashed Lettuce a rare, warm smile. "Almost."
(A.N./
Geez, where the heck are all of you TMM people coming from?! My number of visitors doubled since I posted the last chapter! I am honestly surprised there's more than, like, 12 of you reading this hot mess of a fic, but I am so grateful for every last person reading! I hope you all loved the longer chapter this time around. If you have time, please drop a review to let me know you're reading!)