Chapter 3: Crushed

"Well, come on," Kish turned to Umeko. "Don't you want to meet your predecessors?"

"You-you mean…the MEWMEWS?!" Umeko squealed.

"Man, how new to this are you?" Kish asked with a smile.

"Um…like a day," Umeko blushed.

"Ah, that explains it," Kish said as he set off. His posse followed him.

"W-w-wait!" Umeko ran after him. "Are you sure they won't be mad? I mean, you did do all that horrible stuff in the past."

"Sure, but we've already seen them since then. How do you think these three got engaged?" Kish pointed out logically.

"Oh. Hai."

Umeko entered the Tokyo Mew Mew Mewseum with Sakura clinging to her arm.

"Oh my…word! Look at this place!" Sakura squealed in Umeko's ear. "It's like sooooo kawaii!"

"Does she ever shut up?" Kish whispered in Umeko's other ear when Sakura broke off her stranglehold. His lips brushed her mouse ear slightly and Umeko barely resisted the shiver that rushed through her.

"I don't think so," Umeko whispered back. "She hasn't been quiet for more than two seconds since I met her this morning."

"Such a long relationship," Kish smiled. "However have you survived?"

Umeko giggled. "I have no idea," she mumbled under her breath.

"Ah, Umeko-chan, you're back!" Keiichiro greeted her. "And you've brought friends. You're lucky. The entire team is here. You can meet them right now."

"Wait. What team?" Umeko asked, off-balance from Kish's presence at her side.

"The Mew Mews, of course," Keiichiro smiled.

Umeko ran past him with Sakura close on her heels. BAM! The two burst through the doors and the women and three men looked up.

"Who are you?" Ichigo asked. "You look like a Mew Mew cosplayer. Except, I've never seen that outfit before."

"She's Mew Umeko," Ryou stood. "She was created a day ago. That's actually why I asked you to come here."

"Let me guess," Masaya interrupted. "You want to see if any of the girls can transform again."

"Hai, but also I wanted to know if one of them would mind tutoring Umeko-chan in how to be a Mew Mew," Ryou answered.

"Oooh, Pudding will do it, nan no da!" Pudding squealed.

"Noooooooo!" everyone screamed at the same time.

"Umm, Ichigo-chan, Berry-chan, Mint-chan, Lettuce-chan, I would prefer one of you do it," Ryou explained. "Not that you can't do it, Zakuro, Pudding-chan, and Ringo-chan. I just think the more experienced Mew Mews and the ones who grew as a Mew Mew would do better at teaching Umeko-chan."

"Um, I'll do it," Lettuce volunteered.

"Arigatō, Lettuce-chan," Ryou replied.

"It's Tart, nan no da!" Pudding screeched suddenly. The next thing everyone knew was that Pudding had somehow crossed the room and tackled Tart.

"Pie-sama," Lettuce whispered as her eyes met his.

Umeko watched as everyone else paired off in couples. Her stomach clenched then. She didn't have anyone to sit with at a table. She never had. Sakura quickly said goodbye saying she had homework to do.

"Well, it appears the two of us are the only ones without someone to sit with," Kish's voice came from beside her. "Want to sit with me?"

"Umm, sure," Umeko said. They moved towards an open table and Kish pulled out a chair. Umeko hesitantly sat down.

"Well, this is…fun," Umeko said as they sat across from each other in silence.

"Hai," Kish said, drumming his fingers on the table. "So, why were you so excited to meet the Mew Mews?"

"Well, when I was about five, I was in awe of the Mew Mews. They were my idols. I was in Shibuya when that building blew up. In fact, I was inside that building. In the panic during the evacuation, I got separated from Okāsan. I was alone in a foyer, crying when Mew Berry arrived. It was only seconds before the explosion. The building exploded but I didn't die," Umeko looked up from the table here. "Mew Berry saved me. I fainted during the explosion. If it hadn't been for Mew Berry, I would be dead. But my experience with the Mew Mews didn't end there. When I finally came around, the people were rioting against the Mew Mews. Specifically, Mew Berry. The white Mew Mew. The one who saved me. I ran in search of Mew Berry. I don't know why but I had a feeling she needed help. That she needed me. I found her caught by the people and looking so sad. I ran out in front of her, between her and her attackers. 'Don't attack the Mew Mew!' I shouted. But they didn't listen. 'Kill Mew Berry,' they said. They began to say horrible things about Mew Berry. That she was the enemy, that she was horrible. I knew they were wrong. She saved me. She saved me when she should have run for her life. She could've died. So I knew it wasn't true. Mew Berry begged them to stop. She threw off her attackers, apologizing, and grabbed me. She jumped away and took me somewhere safe. She saw someone and thanked me. Then she ran off. It was then I decided that I wanted to be a Mew Mew someday."

"So, that's why. Because you were saved by Mew Berry twice," Kish mused. "You're really lucky."

"Hai," Umeko replied thoughtfully. "I guess I am."

"Excuse me, but you remind me of someone," Berry stood by their table.

"Really? Who?" Umeko feigned innocence.

"I'm not positive but I think you're the little girl I rescued from Shibuya," Berry said. She leaned closer. "You have her hair color and you do your hair in the same way."

"Well, you're right," Umeko tilted her head to the side and smiled. "I am that little girl. Except I'm not so little anymore."

"I can't believe it," Berry said. "After all this time I've run into you again. I always wanted to thank you."

"Oh, no!" Umeko rushed to interject, "I should be thanking you! After all, you saved me twice. I only saved you once. So really I'm the one still in debt."

"That girl's really special," Masaya said. "She's been gone from Japan for a while and yet she still remembers all the facets of Japanese culture."

"What do you mean, Masaya?" Ichigo asked, looking up from her strawberry shortcake. "How can you tell she's been away from Japan?"

"Her accent," Masaya replied. "It sounds a little different."

"Well, she must be a true Japanese girl. Look what she has tucked away in her bookbag," Ichigo pointed. Peeking out from Umeko's bookbag was a copy of Tokyo Mew Mew.

"This is bound to be interesting," Masaya chuckled as he watched Umeko converse with Berry.

A/N: I don't think I used any new words in this chapter