TOMORROW'S SOLACE
-- Ch. 07; Act 01 - How to avoid the inevitable. (version. Max)
Ryou seemed to be making every possible effort to avoid me. This habit had increased in intensity recently. If I walked into the room, he would get up and retreat into a hallway or the kitchen without a word. I was having a bit of trouble wrapping my brain around everything.
Ryou could turn into a cat. That almost certainly meant that the unnamed human subject was Ryou. But why would he do that to himself?
I stared thoughtfully into my cup of tea and wondered about all this. Surely the teenager was aware of how dangerous it was to simply inject animal DNA into your bloodstream. If only I could get into his head. It was impossible to tell what he was feeling other than the usual cranky annoyance which was ever-present when he spoke to me, and the serious expression on his face which never seemed to recede into anything even remotely resembling a smile.
I sighed audibly. This was all so very difficult. I wondered, not for the first time, if I should just give up.
"More tea, Max-san?" the voice belonged to Retasu. She was much more accepting of me than either Ryou or Ichigo. The shy girl stood about a foot from me with a gleaming silver tea pot held out in one hand. She smiled sweetly, as if I were any other customer.
"Yes, please," I requested with a grin as she shakily filled my cup.
I thought for a moment, "Retasu-chan, you know Ryou-kun pretty well, don't you? How do you know what he's thinking?"
This question caught her by surprise. She grew rigid and almost dropped the tea pot before turning her face back to me. It was bright red.
'Ah, so she must have a crush on him,' I thought.
"Well, um, let's see..." She placed the prop she was holding down on the table and fidgeted with the edge of her skirt, "Shirogane-san doesn't open up to people very much, so it's almost impossible to tell what he's really feeling. But, um..."
"Go on, please," I pressed.
"There are times when he seems to be in a great deal of pain. But... I think he is a very strong person. He's always trying to help us out. It's just that sometimes when he smiles, I think it's for us. It seems kind of sad."
"I see."
There was silence for a while as the girl adjusted her glasses and retrieved the tea pot. She continued with the utmost compassion, "I admire Shirogane-san. I've noticed he doesn't seem comfortable around you, but I hope you will treat him kindly and continue trying. He's a very nice person once you get to know him."
I was somewhat touched, "Thank you."
As she walked towards another group of customers I merely shook my head. I was getting absolutely nowhere. I couldn't find any additional information on Ryou or the Mew Project. I needed to find out more or else. Or else... A knot formed in my throat. I knew all too well what would happen if I failed.
"Hey! Don't you ever do anything around here? You're worse than Minto! Instead of sitting down for tea every afternoon, you're at it all day long," it was Ichigo. She had her hands on her hips, a pose which seemed to come naturally, one hand gripping a soiled cloth that she had probably been using to wipe off tables.
"Give it a break, Ichigo. I told him not to bother because he'd scare off the customers," Minto piped up from a few tables over where she was sipping her own cup of tea.
"Still!" She complained, turning her attention back to me.
"What would you like me to do, Ichigo-chan?" I asked, placing my cup back on top of its matching saucer.
The blond girl, Bu-Ling, siddled up between me and the redhead, "Ooh! I know! You can be part of my next act, no da! How are you at balancing plates?"
"Not very good, I'm afraid," I replied.
Bu-Ling shrugged and continued energetically, "Balancing on a ball, na no da?"
"I'm a bit old to be pulling a stunt like that..."
"How about fortune telling na no da?"
"Well, maybe..." I confessed with a sweatdrop. Was she talking about performing for guests at Cafe Mew Mew or at a circus?
"Purin, that's not what I meant, you know," Ichigo spoke up.
"Ah, sorry about that na no da," Bu-Ling apologized before skipping off to find someone to entertain. The quiet one, Zakuro, was operating the cash register. She had not spoken to me since I arrived, but I had seen her stare at me in disapproval a number of times.
"How about you help Akasaka-san with the cooking?" Ichigo suggested.
I laughed at that. Apparently this joke alluded her because she just frowned at me.
"I'm sorry, Ichigo-chan. What you said wasn't particularly funny, it's just that I have a bad history when it comes to cooking anything. My wife used to chase me out of the kitchen whenever I even attempted to do such a thing."
Ichigo looked annoyed for a moment, but I could see a slight wave of curiosity drift over her, "Your wife?"
I felt my chest tighten and I looked away, "Ah... she's gone now."
Ichigo grew quiet. So quiet in fact that for a moment I thought she had left. When I finally turned my head to check, I heard her mumbling.
"Sorry."
I forced a smile, "It isn't your fault, of course. Please don't worry about it."
Ichigo shuffled her feet, draping the cloth over her arm and leaning back against one of the white-washed interior columns, "Still."
"Ah, well, things happen. How are things going with you and your boyfriend?"
Ichigo blinked a few times as she thought about this, "Fine. Masaya is more than I could ever ask for. He's caring and understanding. Everything's perfect."
"Wonderful. Although, I have been wondering about something..." I let my sentence fade off into nothing. It gave it a nice effect.
"Huh?" Her eyes widened with attention and she leaned forward slightly.
"What's Ryou-kun to you?"
My inquiry was met with silence. Ichigo stared at me dumbfounded for a few minutes before her eyebrows wrinkled up into an odd expression that I was not sure of the meaning behind.
"You're asking about my relationship with Shirogane?! He's my boss! And a slavedriver at that! He rarely has anything nice to say, he makes me work my butt off, he tortures me more than any of the other girls, he never gives me a raise, he thinks he's smarter than everyone else, he's always trying to make me look stupid so that he will look smarter, he messes with my head, he--!!"
This was not quite the answer I had been expecting. I held up a hand to slow her down, "Okay, I get you..."
"Good. Shirogane's a jerk. That's what I'm saying," Ichigo summarized, though she added, as an afterthought, "Well, most of the time..."
"He probably teases you because he's fond of you."
"HIM?! I really think you need to get your eyes examined. Ryou Shirogane does not in any way feel anything for his 'ultimate weapon'. Other than maybe pride in himself for making me into one. I don't know!," Ichigo scoffed.
"It certainly seemed that way to me," I murmured, resting my chin in my palm, "I was almost sure of it..."
"You're being ridiculous," she stated firmly.
"Suppose on the off chance my hypothesis was correct?" I asked.
Ichigo shook her head furiously, walking over to where I was sitting and slapping both hands down on the table, "You're wrong! A-a-and anyway, I already have someone amazing who loves me!"
"Yes, it does seem that way," I agreed whole-heartedly.
"Exactly!" she confirmed with an exaggerated nod.
A new group of customers had just arrived and it was difficult not to notice them. Their clothes, given the weather outside, seemed largely inappropriate. Perhaps these were a group of cosplayers from Harajuku? That must be it.
"Hey, old hag!" the youngest shouted in Ichigo's direction, "How about some service over here?"
"Just a minute!" Ichigo shouted in a strained voice. Her face was wrinkling in anger at being insulted by a youngster. Trying desperately to compose herself, the redhead whirled around to come face-to-face with a member of the party. I noticed with a slight start that his eyes were an unmistakable shade of yellow. He grinned, revealing sharp teeth that resembled fangs and boldy stole a kiss from the waitress before him.
"Hey, Koneko-chan!" he greeted as if they were old friends.
Ichigo went stiff as a rod. Moments later, her screaming filled the cafe.
"KISSHU!!" Ichigo shrieked, her face a complimentary shade of red to match her uniform, "What on Earth?!"
The boy, Kisshu, grinned wider, "I see you liked my surprise."
Ichigo was still struck speechless, but by now the other girls, Akasaka-kun, and Ryou had come into the room to see just what was going on, perhaps to see for themselves if these strange boys who seemed to know them were actually present.
The next one to speak was Bu-Ling. Her eyes glowed happily as she leapt at the youngest boy, breaking into a humongous smile as she hugged him, "Taru-Taru! You came back just like you promised na no da!"
"H-hey, get off of me!" he complained, obviously embarrassed by this sudden public display of affection.
The elder of the three looked slightly annoyed. He bowed his head only slightly before taking a few steps towards the rest of the crowd, "Kisshu. Taruto. We don't have any time to waste."
"What's going on?" that was Ryou. He seemed to understand immediately that something was amiss.
"Pai... I thought you all went back to restore your home planet..." the voice belonged to Retasu. Her eyes were brimming with tears.
Ryou finally glanced over at me, "You and Keiichiro finish things up here. Everyone else, follow me to the basement."
"Oy! Is this a typical earthling greeting?" Kisshu inquired, his grin never ceasing.
"Idiot," Pai stated, exchanging a look with Ryou that the two both seemed to understand. And it was an obvious message: something was wrong.
"Are you really going to make this man wait on the customers?" it was Zakuro who asked the question.
"Unless someone wants to volunteer. I think you should all be there to hear what the aliens have to say, however."
"Right," Zakuro agreed finally, "However, I still think it's a bad idea. Minto, fill me in when I've finished here." With that the actress brushed her violet hair behind her shoulders and followed Akasaka-kun into the kitchen.
"But, Zakuro-oneesama!" the smaller girl protested, but didn't follow.
"Let's go," Ryou said, leading the way for Pai and the others.
So these newcomers were aliens as well? Then why were the Mew Mews not battling with them? This definitely threw a wrench into my plans. Could some of the aliens be allies rather than enemies.
"Take this to the girls at table five," it was Zakuro's cool and commanding voice. She held an expression which meant that all excuses and jokes were going to be ignored.
"Very well," I complied, accepting the tray.
-- Ch. 07; Act 02 - A discussion and a plan. (version. Ichigo)
We all formed a cluster in the middle of the basement, surrounded by Shirogane's army of computers and technological whatnots. Pai stood beside my boss, his face as stern as I remembered. Taruto was squeezing out of Purin's grasp to join them. Kisshu hung off to the side, mostly watching me.
When the silver alien finally spoke, the room went still.
"You're all going to die," Pai explained emotionlessly.
You're all going to die... Going to die...
The words hit me like a brick. I took a few steps backwards towards my friends. Kisshu watched me with a look of sympathy.
"Wh-what do you mean?" I asked in bewilderment.
"There you go again, Pai. Being all 'doom and gloom'," Kisshu scolded lightly, but then his expression grew dark, "I'm sure you've seen them by now. The govenor ordered them to unleash the remaining Chimera Anima on Tokyo."
"You mean... that alien I saw?" I inquired.
"Yes," Pai took charge again, "The govenor sent two sisters, Mousse and BonBon, from the Space Exploration Unit to conquer Earth after our 'failure'. She intends to arrive here herself as soon as the divisions back home reach an agreement."
"Could you explain what happened?" Shirogane ventured. The three aliens exchanged glances and finally nodded to one another.
"It started when we were summoned by Govenor White after arriving home with the Mew Aqua," Taruto began hesitantly.
Pai then produced a cube which he tapped a few times. Almost immediately Shirogane's projector screen reacted, bringing up static momentarily before an image appeared. When it focused, I saw a dark hallway which resembled a throne room.
"What's the meaning of this! Are you trying to tell me that Lord Deep Blue is dead?" a female voice boomed.
Kisshu, who was kneeling infront of her, was silent, his eyes fixed on the ground beneath him, "...yes."
"But, it's not Kisshu's fault!" Taruto put in quickly.
"Taruto!" Pai hissed beside him.
"Pai, how could you have let something like this happen? I trusted you!" The figure moved to point an accusing finger at him.
Pai seemed taken aback on the screen.
"We came back at a bad time. Our people were still loyal to Deep Blue. Even though someone as slave to his emotions as Kisshu managed to realize Deep Blue's corruption, she was not convinced," Pai explained.
"We may have returned without Deep Blue, however, we have not returned in failure. We have this." Pai stated firmly on the screen, he then pulled an orb from his belt. The orb appeared to be made of a crystalline structure and glowed softly in his hands. I recognized it as the Mew Aqua Shirogane had given him.
"Could that be-?"
"That's right," Kisshu confirmed, standing finally to reveal his signature grin, "It's the Mew Aqua. With it, we'll finally be able to restore this planet to what it was before."
Taruto was also smiling.
"We were finally back home. Soon everyone would be able to live happily again. Above ground. In a world free of unbearable temperatures, earthquakes, and snow that never melts," Taruto broke in, his voice seemed uncharacteristically sad.
"No," the alieness said simply.
The trio looked up in surprise.
"Whether this planet is restored or not is no concern of mine. The blue planet, Earth, is part of our heritage. We will get it back at any cost."
"But... we..." Taruto stammered.
"But governor!"
"Do not talk back to me. Now get out of my sight," she hissed in annoyance.
"You can't do this!" Kisshu shouted with force, "There are people living on the Earth! They're really no different from us. She opened my eyes to that..."
The governor snorted, replying in a sarcastic tone, "She? Those miserable beings that defeated you? You're more pathetic than I had ever imagined..."
"Governor!" Kisshu shouted angrily, clenching his hands into fists.
"It was one thing to call me pathetic - but it was a completely seperate matter when she insulted Ichigo. I knew then that she'd never listen to anything we had to say," Kisshu narrated.
I stayed quiet.
"Get out."
"I'm not leaving! Deep Blue... and even you! Neither of you ever cared what happened to the rest of us! All you care about is yourselves and conquering Earth! We've survived this long without it! We don't even need that other planet anymore! We have the Mew Aqua! Our planet can be restored, and we can live in peace just like our ancestors did. What we need is a leader who will serve the people!"
The governor shot up in a state of fury, "Don't talk back to me! Such insolence will not go unpunished! Unless you care about your family, I suggest that you figure out where your place is... and stay there."
"I apologize on his behalf," Pai spoke up, dragging Kisshu and Taruto away with him. He seemed rigid as he walked across the screen like an emotionless soldier.
"Let go of me, Pai!" Kisshu demanded, struggling.
"Pai..." Taruto muttered quietly, watching as Kisshu continued to twist in Pai's arms.
Outside, Pai finally released them, letting both aliens collapse into knee-deep gray snow. Rubbing his shoulder with one arm and saying nothing else, Pai stared blankly into the sky which appeared to be collapsing on itself.
At first I thought it was something to do with the cube and Ryou's computer, but it finally dawned on me that the sky on their planet really was falling apart.
"Ugh!" Kisshu finally dug himself out of the snow - shivering and cursing. He wrapped his arms around himself and glared furiously at Pai's back.
"Well, what can we do? I'm sure the governor's sent another team to Earth already," Taruto asked, knocking snow out of his brown pigtails.
Screen-Kisshu muttered under his breath, "They don't care. They never did."
"Kisshu. Stop," ordered Pai.
"Don't tell me to stop. You didn't do anything..." Kisshu growled rebelliously.
"Hurry and release the Mew Aqua over the main village. Governor White's probably already dispatched guards to watch our actions. We need to head to the hangar as soon as possible."
"Huh?"
Pai looked to his companions, "You were going to do the same, weren't you? It looks like we'll be paying the Earth one more visit after all."
The image faded for a moment.
"So that's how it is..." Shirogane murmured.
"Then, how did you manage to escape back to Earth?" Retasu asked quietly.
Pai bowed his head and tapped the cube again until a new image appeared. In it, the aliens were dashing through the snow, or would have been if it wasn't hindering their progress.
"Kisshu! Let's go already!" Taruto called behind him as Kisshu yanked himself up onto the launching platform.
"Don't see you doing anything about them."
A group of Chimera Anima leapt onto the platform and continued their pursuit.
"Well, if you had done a better job of getting rid of them before n-!" Taruto teased.
"Stop it! We're almost there!" Pai shouted behind him at the other two.
"We're not going to make it. I'll distract them..." Kisshu growled, whipping out his dragon swords and turning to face the monsters.
"Kisshu!" Taruto broke from his sprint and hurried over to him.
Pai watched them from the corner of his eye as he continued to run. The silver alien teleported inside the ship, this scene appearing in a seperate window on the projector screen, switching on controls left and right. Lights began to blink on, motors hummed, and touchpads appeared in the air infront him.
"Baka-tachi..." he muttered as he worked on bringing the spaceship to life.
"Let's get them, Taruto!" Kisshu announced to his companion, rushing into the crowd of monsters, slashing on either side of him until they had parted like waves. Bringing his twin blades together, lightning began to charge at their tips like I had seen when he fought the Blue Knight.
Taruto was clacking his weapon together. Like Kisshu's weapon, static electricity was beginning to form, and soon he sent it as a ball of lightning towards a bunch of Chimera, "Ho Rai Kyu!"
Kisshu let out a yell and sent a ball of lightning rocketing towards another group of Chimera Anima to follow up Taruto's attack.
"Heh, not too bad, Kisshu!" Taruto announced as he rubbed his nose with his finger.
"No time to celebrate. There's more of them!"
Sure enough, a group of at least two dozen more monsters were swarming into the hangar.
Taruto backed up slightly, "We'll never be able to take down this many!"
"Kisshu!" Taruto called out a warning as one of the Chimera reared and took a swing at him with its sharp talons.
"Fuu Rai Sen!" a strong gust of electrically-charged wind erupted from out of nowhere, causing the Chimera to crash into one another and the sides of the hangar as they were pushed backwards. Studying the other window, I noticed that Pai was no longer visible.
"Hurry!" Pai commanded.
"Right..."
The three teleported onto the spaceship. Pai began flicking more controls at once, yelling about how much trouble it was to babysit the other two. As the trio finally settled down into their seats, the vessel sped into outerspace.
"Next stop: Planet Earth!" Kisshu announced confidently, "You better be ready for me, Kitten."
"Oh geez..." I whispered under my breath.
Kisshu leaned over and stroked the top of my head as if I were an actual cat, "I'm glad you left that part, Pai. Aren't you glad I think so much of you, Ichigo?"
I laughed nervously, trying to inch away without being too obvious about it.
Soon I heard Pai clear his throat, "Enough of that."
"So you came to warn us?" asked Shirogane.
"Yes, but that's not all. Govenor White is likely on her way by now. There is an item here on Earth which she intends to use to take control."
"What kind of an item? Is it like the Mew Aqua?" Minto asked.
"It is," Taruto explained, "It's a mineral our ancestors created long ago when they made the Mew Aqua."
"We have insufficient data on the mineral, however, like Mew Aqua could use a person's desires to restore life, we believe the mineral has similar properties. When exposed to other materials, its radiatiation energy will transform them."
"So, where is this magic rock no da?" Purin bounced around, "Bu-Ling can help find it no da!"
"We believe it is somewhere in this region," Pai answered, bringing up a map.
"That looks like Mexico," Retasu observed.
"Yeah," Shirogane confirmed, "And the area you're most interested in is the Yucatan Penninsula. There are pyramids located there."
"So... that's in Central America, right?" I wanted to be sure.
"Yes, Ichigo, congrats. You passed geography," Shirogane teased. I shot him a glare.
"I see," Akasaka-san descended the stairs with Max and Zakuro in tow, "So what we're interested in is the Yucatan Penninsula. I'm familiar with the area."
"Can you show us how to get there?" Kisshu looked to him.
"I can, and I intend to do just that. However, I was going to suggest that all of us assist you."
"Hmm..." Kisshu thought aloud, biting his fingernail.
"It does seem like our goals are similar," Zakuro agreed.
Pai nodded, "We'll discuss this further in the future. For now, I need to research this 'Yucatan'." Pai bowed and vanished.
"See ya!" Taruto waved mockingly and vanished after him.
Kisshu took a few steps towards where his friends had been, turned back towards us and muttered a "thank you" and then brightened. "Later!" In a blink, he too was gone again.
"So, what now?" Zakuro asked Akasaka-san in dry, seemingly bored, tones.
"Now, I believe we should also begin researching Central America before we make plans to go there."
"Yeah, but what about the rest of us?" I added.
"You," Shirogane answered for his friend, pointing a finger at me, "Can get back to waiting on customers. We'll let you know what we find."
"Hey!" I protested, knocking his hand away.
"Just think of it this way," he continued despite my complaints, poking my nose hard and causing me to yelp in response, "You get to go on a field trip for free."
-- Ch. 07; Act 03 - A vague request. (version. Max)
I was not at all surprised to see that Ryou's room was as barren as ever. It was occupied only by a bed and its wooden headboard, and a computer desk and chair. The only other visible objects in the room appeared to be the laptop and printer, an alarm clock, and a framed photograph. Picking up the frame, I studied it for a moment. The little boy in the picture could only be mistaken for Ryou Shirogane himself, though I would have believed otherwise had I found the picture in anyone else's room. The brunette, then, had to be Keiichiro Akasaka.
"Put it down," came the order. Averting my gaze, I caught the moody blond out of the corner of my eye and decided to obey immediately.
"Get out of my room," he muttered, tossing a jacket over the chair and slouching down in it. The chair squeaked a quick protest but fell silent.
"I will, but I wanted a word with you first," I explained, seating myself on his bed, "If that's all right with you."
"Make it quick, then, I have things I need to do," Ryou's words were ice as he glared across the room at me.
"It's about what the aliens said. You were going to send a report to the officials, weren't you, Ryou-kun? Telling them you'll be leaving the country."
Ryou did not bother asking how I knew about his meeting, although I was quite sure he was calculating all of this. I doubted he missed much.
"That was part of the agreement, so I'm obliged to-"
"You see, that's just the thing," I interrupted, folding my arms, "You don't need to tell them where you're going. And I'm afraid that if you do, the girls are going to get hurt."
Ryou's eyes widened momentarily and then narrowed dangerously, "You're blackmailing me?"
"If that's what you want to call it, yes. Akasaka-kun knows all about it."
"And why shouldn't I tell them? Do you mind telling me that?" His gaze was vicious.
"Because I'm going with you. There's no need to tell them."
"Ah, so you're working for the government?" he grumbled, wheeling back around in his chair and bringing out a sheet of paper rebelliously.
"I'm sure you'd like to think so, but the answer is not 'yes'. You see, Ryou-kun, I'm something of an entrepreneur... I work for myself. If my desires happen to match up with someone else's, then I may do them a favor, but it's not for them. It's for me. Do you understand this?"
"Why don't you just tell me what you want? It won't change the fact that I don't trust you. Nothing will change that, or that I despise you with every fiber of my being," he retorted.
I clucked my tongue against my teeth briefly, "Can't."
"Your loss," he sighed cooly, bringing out a pen and beginning to write what I could only assume was a letter to Takahashi.
Rising and crossing the room, I stopped infront of him. He looked rather indignant and his eyes held a controlled sort of anger, knowing the consequences of a wrong move on his part.
"Get out of my room. Now. You-!"
"Ryou..." I began in a soft voice, "Don't tell them we're going to Central America."
The blond glared, but I saw the pen in his hand waver. His jaw was taut.
With a sigh, I added, "Please."
Ryou's eyes flicked over to the window and I saw him place the pen back down.
"See you in the morning," I finished cheerfully as I headed from the room, certain that he would not mail the unfinished letter. I heard him cursing my back as the door shut behind me.