TOMORROW'S SOLACE
-- Ch. 03; Act. 01 - How to subject yourself to blackmail. (version. Ichigo)
A shabby old man stood there. His complexion was Asian - what I could see of his complexion anyway. Most of his face was covered by long dulled brown hair and a matching beard. I couldn't even pick out his eyes in that mess. Clearly this guy was pretty bad off. But... he was also a little creepy. I decided right there that I didn't like him. Somehow, he reminded me of a zombie. A zombie wasn't a ghost, of course, but it wasn't far off either...
"Can we help you, sir?" Masaya asked. Leave it to Masaya Aoyama to be friendly with strangers! I practically leapt at him to put his body between me and the zombie-guy, knowing Masaya would protect me if this guy did suddenly turn into a ghost, or try to attack me, or something...
However, the man's attention seemed to be not on Masaya but on me. I shivered and sent him a glare.
"You're... you're a Mew Mew, aren't you?" he asked finally. I had to admit I was slightly relieved that he hadn't screamed 'BOO!'. But, on the other hand... he must have seen me transform! I could only imagine what Shirogane was going to do to me now. He'd kill me.
"Um, I'm sorry sir, I have no idea what you're talking about! Maybe you've been drinking too much sake..." I suggested nervously. It wasn't a completely random idea... he smelled like alcohol. Or... maybe he just hadn't bathed in a while. Either way, he reaked!
"You can't fool me..." he said calmly, "I saw you transform and then defeat the Chimera."
Oh crap! I wanted to flap around in a panic, but my hands were glued onto Masaya's arm and I was afraid if I pried them off, I might take his arm with me. My identity! He really saw me transform! If he tells the media... they'll be all over me! I was probably shaking now and gripping Masaya's arm even more tightly. It probably hurt...
"Ichigo!" Masaya scolded, looking helplessly back at me.
"Ma-sa-ya!" I hissed under my breath, giving him a pleading 'help me!' look.
"...If you are, I'd really appreciate it if you escorted me to your headquarters. I'd like to meet with your leader."
My face fell further, and I poked my bottom lip out as I fretted, forgetting that I had just been found out, "Hey, I am the leader..."
Masaya sighed.
The stranger laughed a good-natured laugh. I had to hand it to him, that was the one handsome thing about him - his voice and the two rows of almost perfectly aligned teeth from which that voice came. Didn't change the fact that he looked like a zombie, however.
"I think he means Shirogane," Masaya offered.
"Oh... right... I knew that," I defended, "But... why should I let you meet him? What business do you have with Shirogane?"
The stranger fell silent, before responding in a somewhat cocky tone, "...Because if you don't, I could reveal your identity to the entire world... Ichigo Momomiya-san."
I gulped.
"Geez..." I was muttering as Masaya, zombie-guy, and I walked through the park towards Cafe Mew Mew. It was getting late, and I was sure that Shirogane wouldn't be too thrilled about seeing us at this hour. What was worse was that I had to use tomorrow's lunch money to pay for an extra subway ticket. I really hoped Dad was in a generous mood... but then, I was already out past curfew - and with Masaya - so that was not going to happen. Life sucked, and it was crashing down around me. Oh despair!
I was greatly relieved when Akasaka-san was the one who opened the sweet shop's doors. He looked tired.
"Ichigo-san, what a surprise," the brunette greeted genuinely, something that I doubted anyone else could pull off with as much sincerity. I couldn't help but smile at this.
"Hi, Akasaka-san, um..." I hesitated as I glanced over at zombie-guy who was eyeing the cafe's manager with supressed interest.
"Ah, Ichigo-san, who's your friend...?" the adult asked in a surprised (and slightly confused) tone.
"HE'S NOT MY FRIEND!" I hissed, shooting a glare in the stranger's direction; he only laughed nervously.
Akasaka-san blinked, a sweatdrop rolling down the back of his head. Luckily, I hadn't completely deafened him. Masaya, on the other hand, hadn't spoken a word.
"Please call me Max," the zombie-guy offered, bowing slightly.
"Ah... nice to meet you, Max-san," Akasaka-san replied with a bow of his own.
I just made a scary face. There was no use in zombie-guy trying to act like a gentleman now when he was the one who had blackmailed me!
"We need to speak with Shirogane," Masaya put in, "Some things have come up..."
The tones in his voice must have alerted Akasaka-san to the fact that something was amiss, for his face grew serious immediately after Masaya's voice had trailed off, "Ryou was asleep when I checked on him last, but..."
On cue, the blond teenager appeared at the top of the steps, running a hand tiredly through his hair which was sticking up a bit. The noise must have woken him up. You had to hand it to him, he could still look cool even with bed hair.
"Do you have to be so loud, Ichigo? I was in the middle of a nice peaceful dream until your screaming interrupted it..." he grumbled.
I just frowned, stomping my foot on the floor, "This is important, Shirogane! And you're not going to like it!"
Shirogane had noticed Max now, and was regarding him with a look one might have when finding a dead bug floating in his cereal, "What's that?"
I wasn't sure if he was referring to Max or the news, but decided to go with both in the end, "Masaya and I ran into a Chimera Anima in Harajuku! I managed to defeat it, but... then this female alien shows up..."
Shirogane was glancing from me to Max with a look which read: 'You idiot, why'd you say that infront of a civillian?'. I followed his glance back to Max, who seemed a bit shocked and dumbfounded at finally meeting our leader. I was kind of glad he found Shirogane intimidating.
"And then this jerk claims he saw the whole thing and said if we didn't bring him here that he'd reveal my identity!" I bit my lip, mentally preparing myself for whatever things Shirogane was going to launch at me.
My boss raised an eyebrow, "You just stood there and let him blackmail you? Well, that was brilliant, Ichigo..."
"Argh!" I dug my fingernails into my palms to keep from leaping at him and scratching his eyes out.
Shirogane watched me, making a slight "psh" noise under his breath, before narrowing his eyes at Max, "And you... have got a lot of nerve."
Max said nothing for the next five seconds. He still looked somewhat scared, much to my satisfaction, but he finally sighed and explained himself, "Well, actually, I'm looking for a place to stay. I don't have any money."
"I don't think Shirogane's running a charity," I retorted, but was silenced by a look from the blond. This was followed up by Masaya placing a hand on my shoulder to restrain me. Masaya shook his head lightly.
"And I should grant you board why, Mr...?" his voice trailed off.
"You might not mind it so much if you gave me a chance... The name's Max."
The blond raised his eyebrow further in sketicism, crossing his arms infront of his chest in the same motion, "After you threatened my employee?"
"I wouldn't really call it a threat..." Max stated somewhat awkwardly, realizing now that his previous vague way of speaking wasn't having a very desirable effect on the blond.
"It so WAS a threat!" I exploded. Masaya placed his other arm on my free shoulder to keep me from lashing out again.
"Right... and what exactly will you require to keep Ichigo's identity a secret? An autograph? Money? ...or maybe you're out for something even bigger. Like the Mew Project perhaps."
Max actually looked somewhat insulted. Rubbing the side of his head, the stranger replied, "I just need a place to stay for a little while. And the neccessities. That's all. I can even repay you later."
Shirogane cast Akasaka-san a doubtful look. The blond obviously wasn't convinced of zombie-guy's innocence, and wanted his companion to give him the 'OK' to tell dear Max off. I wanted him to also.
"Ryou..." the brunette prodded verbally, "We should at least give him a chance..."
Shirogane and I both stared at Akasaka-san with very much the same expression: 'What on EARTH are you THINKING?'. Maybe the pastry chef was so far gone into dreamland that he wasn't thinking at all...
"You may stay as long as there are no complaints," Akasaka-san announced for the group.
I let out a groan. I was, for once, truly tired of arguing about this.
Shirogane sighed loudly, looking very much annoyed, but apparently he had enough respect for his guardian to let him make the call this time. I could only imagine the sorts of dangerous thoughts running through the genius' mind at that very moment.
"I thank you for your hospitality," Max replied, bowing deeply. Shirogane was now irritably scratching the back of his neck - after all, he was the one who would now have to live here with Max. I couldn't blame him. Akasaka-san supposedly stayed in an apartment a few blocks away when he wasn't pulling all-nighters with Shirogane - where things were much quieter.
"You'll have to follow the rules..." Shirogane grumbled, glaring at the new cafe resident with a look that could kill, "And the first one you'll need to observe: I want you to go upstairs and take a shower. A long one. With soap."
Ha!
Max swayed a bit, catching his balance and nervously following the path Shirogane's finger was making towards the staircase, "I apologize..."
"Straight up the stairs, to your right, second door on the right. Mess around up there and I'll-!" the blond paused when Akasaka-san gave him a warning glance.
Max was in for an adventure all right.
When he had finally disappeared from sight, the blond turned his eyes back on the rest of us, "Now, about this encounter?"
I tried my best to explain the entire battle and what the alien girl had looked like. Shirogane nodded along on occasion, glancing over at Akasaka-san every so often to confirm when a particular detail seemed important.
"I couldn't tell how strong she was," I concluded, "But she did seem pretty confident..."
"If she was confident of her abilities beyond a doubt, she would have finished you off right then and there," Shirogane answered, "She probably has other reasons for coming to Earth, although they may all lead to the same end."
"Shirogane... I'm sorry I couldn't do anything to help..." Masaya's warm dark eyes met his icy blue.
The blond teenager eyed Masaya, finally giving a shrug, "I know what it's like to feel like you can't do anything. You should just take Ichigo home."
That was probably best.
Masaya didn't seem quite satisfied with the other boy's answer, but he nodded his head.
"And Ichigo... bring R2000 by tomorrow. I'll do a scan on the area so that we can upgrade his abilities. With that, he should be able to detect any new disturbances that appear the very instant that they do."
"Okay," I responded without much argument, "But... what'll we do about that guy?"
Shirogane heaved another sigh, "We'll worry about that one later. Besides, I can monitor him easily as long as he's in the cafe. He won't be able to get away with anything if he tries."
"Well, that's good..." I breathed. I was still waiting for Shirogane to yell at me and tell me I was a total idiot, but it never came.
"I'll go check on our guest," Akasaka-san offered, "Be careful on your way home, Ichigo-san."
"Thanks, Akasaka-san!"
And with that, the brunette ascended the steps. Shirogane followed his guardian with his eyes, then stalked across the room to the front door and swung it open for us.
"Okay, so, I'll come in to work a little early tomorrow so you can fix up Masha," I murmured, making a mental note of this as I spoke, "Oh! And, uh... I'm sorry about-"
"Don't worry about it," Shirogane stated. He had that expression on his face, as he usually did, which made it impossible to decipher his thoughts. I had to wonder what it would be like if he'd take the mask off - just once. But, that didn't really matter much, did it? Shirogane was Shirogane. And he always would be.
"If you're sure..." I answered hesitantly, turning my head to see that Masaya was still standing beside me.
"I'm sure. And you'll be here at seven tomorrow morning."
"SEVEN?!" I croaked, "But we don't open until NINE tomorrow!"
"Seven," the blond repeated matter-of-factly.
I started whining. Seven-o-clock was... really, really insanely early. That meant I'd have to set my alarm for... six? I was getting sleepy just thinking about it.
Masaya gave a smile in an attempt to end this, "...Good night, Shirogane."
"Yeah. And don't let that guy get away with anything else!" I added in a forceful tone.
The blond blinked calmly, "Don't worry about that. I won't make the same dumb mistake that you did."
There it was! I was about to go into another shouting fit, but Masaya pulled me out into the night air just in time to prevent it. "Goodbye, Shirogane."
-- Ch. 03; Act. 02 - How to make a guest feel welcome. (version. Ryou)
I rolled my eyes as I shut the door behind them, forcing down the idea of having walked Ichigo home myself. It was too bad that I had gotten up, since things would have been much nicer for me if I had simply shoved a pillow over my head to block out the catgirl's whining and gone back to sleep.
Muttering a random insult under my breath, I took a silver key off its hook in the kitchen and stuffed it into the lock on the basement door. The hinges gave an irritable squeak as the door swung open, letting musty air escape from the dark prison and into my nostrils. I really should have let the basement air out more often, but I didn't want to deal with any adventurous customers wandering down there, either. I hooked my fingers around the railing and headed down, my long legs easily allowing me to skip steps as I did so. Flicking on a switch, I roused the scattered light sources awake. This was soon followed by a chorus of humming from various PCs, overhead projectors, and other equipment. A map of Tokyo began to appear on one of the projectors, making a series of blips as the computer began to highlight certain areas in red.
"Looks like this isn't over just yet." I was almost a little pleased at that. I hadn't had much to do in quite a while, and frankly, waiting on tables wasn't my forte. Not only was I convinced that I looked like a dork in the waiter's uniform, but I had managed to pick up a number of female admirerers - something I'd much rather avoid since none of them interested me. They all gave off "fangirl" vibes, and everyone knows fangirls are obsessive and noisey. Local businesses didn't seem too interested in buying research off of me either. After all, I didn't have strict loyalties to any of them. Who was to say that I wouldn't discover something greater and sell it off to someone else?
I swung out an office chair and plunked myself down in it, my fingers moving expertly across the keyboard as I typed in the system's username and password.
Nobody had ever tried to hack into the cafe's computer system before, but I knew that the task would be far too easy. You see, the password was simply her name. Yes, hers. It was stupid of me, but I didn't have the heart to change it even now. It was obvious that Ichigo would never love me - I knew that. But still, just the name inspired something in me. If nothing else, you could call it pride. She was a constant reminder that I had managed to achieve something not only for myself, but for my father, and for humanity itself. And now... it looked like another round was about to begin. I waited as the scanning program booted up and went to work on each region, tapping my nails boredly against the desk infront of me.
"Keiichiro's going to get it tomorrow..."
-- Ch. 03; Act. 03 - A lesson in hospitality. (version. Max)
I waited awkwardly inside this brilliantly-colored building for the other adult to return.
The brunette had found some clean clothes in the cafe's storage. They were nothing special, just a pair of black pants and a T-shirt advertising a random book club that Ryou had subscribed to, he said. (No doubt Ryou had shoved it in a box so he'd never be persuaded to wear it.)
I - now squeaky clean, but still an unshaved mess even by my own standards - accepted them gratefully, "I don't believe I caught your name..."
The ponytailed adult smiled, "Ah, I'm sorry. My name is Keiichiro Akasaka. I'm the cafe's cook."
Of course. I blinked, "You're a chef?"
Akasaka-kun laughed a little, "Actually, I'm an archaeologist, but I bake pastries at the cafe when things are busy. Other matters have put my own research on hold."
"I see..." I murmured thoughtfully, "I guess I have you to thank for letting me stay here, although I was a bit surprised..."
The cafe manager's smile didn't falter, "It was nothing. I just felt it was something I should do."
"Something you should do for someone you can't trust?"
"Actually, I have my doubts that a guilty person would ask such a thing," Akasaka-kun continued, watching as I disappeared back into the bathroom, and returned in the borrowed clothes.
"If you need anything, you should go talk to Ryou. Just be sure to knock. He hates it when people barge in on him unannounced," he advised.
"I'll remember that..." I sighed, "However, he's rather intimidating... I'll admit that I'm afraid of him..."
Akasaka-kun simply smiled, "Ryou's not a frightening person once he lets you get to know him, but I must be leaving now... I'll be back to open in the morning, so have a good rest."
I watched him leave. I sincerly doubted that I would be able to get anywhere near the blond teenager. That just wasn't going to work at all... I was also a bit worried now that Akasaka-kun was leaving because that meant there was nothing to stop Ryou from giving me a piece of his mind, or at worst - kicking me out.
But other than that, where was I supposed to spend the night?
Walking out into the hallway in search of a spare room (or even a spare couch), I nearly ran head-first into the scientist.
"Excuse me..." I mumbled nervously under my breath.
"Where are you going?" the blond questioned in a voice which indicated that he was not in the mood for nonsense. Up close, he was actually a rather handsome boy. It was a shame he seemed to be so serious all the time. Constantly. Didn't he ever smile? Perhaps under these circumstances, and having had his sleep interrupted... it was understandable.
"I was just wondering..." I replied through my mess of hair, "...where I should sleep..."
Ryou seemed to consider this, and finally responded, "There's a study room at the other end of the hall. There's a sofa that's fairly comfortable, but you'll have to move the books that are laying on top of it somewhere else in the meantime."
Observing me for a second more more, Ryou pushed past the me on his way back to what I presummed was his room and shut the door behind him.
I stood motionlessly for a moment, then proceeded to follow through with the teen's instructions. Finding the sofa, I began to transport the volumes of books to a nearby table. I caught a few titles as I did so: Decyphering D.N.A., The Genome Project: 2nd Edition, A Guide to the World's Rarest Species...
So this was what Tokyo Mew Mew was based on. No, what it was actually based on was the so-called "Mew Project". It was something Tokyo whispered about but knew nothing of.
Removing the final publication, I started as a sea of papers leaked out of it and onto the floor. Bending down to pick them up and place them back in what I prayed was the correct order, I couldn't help but scan the documents for their origin.
"So this is what I was actually looking for..." I breathed, as I found myself gazing down at what appeared to be the contents of a research journal that someone had copied down in English in a rather messy and very loopy script.
A small smile crossed my face as the realization fully hit me, "Well, it looks like things will be getting a lot more interesting from here on out..."