Chapter 1

Hii :D Here's the actual chapter 1

The other one was prologue, sry Anyway, enjoy xP

I wiped the café table with a wet towel, barely noticing the stinging in my right hand where the disinfectant entered my cut. The common chatter and noise produced by the costumers annoyed me, but I no longer cared about them. Behind me, wearing the pink uniform, Ichigo zoomed from one place to another, putting on the same carefree smile while she worked to her hearts content. And probably beyond. Mint was, as usual, sitting at her own private table, with a silk handkerchief beside her tea. She sipped it with ease, ignoring her surroundings. Lettuce helped with the cleaning, and Pudding continued to show off or skills, swinging from one place to another. I sighed and walked back to the kitchen.

It is was generally a nice, clean kitchen, but every day, by the end of their shifts, the sweet smell of icing and chocolate hung in the air and was intoxicating. I didn't like it, to be completely honest. It was too…heavy, the scent. Plus, it stays in my hair. Although that's not necessarily a bad thing. It gives me an impression of an eager cook.

Well, back on track. I zoomed out and continued with the serving until the shift ended. I gladly removed the purple uniform and changed back into casual, comfortable jeans. Running my brush through my hair, I listened to the others talk for a moment.

"Let's go somewhere after this!"

"No way, I have a lot of homework today. And I have a date with Aoyama-kun on Saturday, so I have to work hard this week."

"Pudding wants to go to the circus."

"Pudding-chan, there's no circus around here."

"What about Zakuro-nee-chan? What do you want to do?" I turned around and smiled casually to them.

"I think I'm heading back home. I'm kind of tired today." They nodded understandingly. That was one good thing about being around them; they were the ones who understood me most, and so, they are easy to handle. Is this friendship? I don't know. But it's fine with me, as long as they don't get in my way.

"All right, if Zakuro-nee-chan says she's not going, I'm not going either." Mint determined, grabbing her bag. She skipped over to me and beamed. "Let's go."

"What?! But I kept saying that I didn't want to go and you just brushed me off!" Ichigo said, her face red with annoyance. Mint flippantly waved her hand and walked off, not bothering to answer her. Pudding raced after us, with Lettuce trotting swiftly behind her. Ichigo yelped. "Hey, guys, wait!" I couldn't help but smile. This was so typical, I was getting used to it already.

"Ne, ne! Zakuro-nee-chan!" it was Pudding who spoke. I glanced behind us. Mint was still ignorant of Ichigo's complaints, while Lettuce tried her best to calm her.

"What is it?" Truly curious. It was unusual that Pudding would talk to anyone without a small audience; she adored being watched. She's the most outspoken too. I was jealous of that aspect of her; honest, open and kind.

"I have a problem: can you help me out?" I nodded warily.

"I have a friend who has a cousin from Los Angeles who's coming tomorrow, and her cousin wants to tour around Tokyo for one day, but since we're so small, we can't do much. Can you help us out?" She whispered, glancing quickly towards the loitering three Mew Mews behind us. I glanced in their direction, even more curious than before.

"Well, I wouldn't mind, but why are you whispering?" I asked. Pudding ignored me, only giving me a really big 'thank you' hug before bounding back to the others. I sighed, looking at the happy four. It was always like this. I did not belong in that circle, but it doesn't matter. I turned around heading home, waving good-bye. I looked up, my purple eyes starting to sharpen slightly as the light started to darken. That's right. This is how it is supposed to be.

I opened the door to the small apartment, closing it softly behind me as I entered the darkness. The moonlight streamed through the curtains. I took off my shoes, jumping onto the high floor with ease. It was dark, with only the moon to light my way, but it was the kind of atmosphere that I liked. At least I didn't need to spend money on the electricity bills for lighting. I went into the kitchen, finding the cups with ease in the darkness. Even when I wasn't transformed, my eyes were far superior to normal people's. It's actually quite convenient.

I poured some hot water and sat down on my pillow, putting it on the table. That was all there was in this apartment. A table, a pillow for seating, a TV set, some books and a bed. Simple, but this was my style. I turned on the TV and set the volume to low, watching the flickering pictures without any interest in them. The silence was comforting, and the darkness was my home. I guess you could call it my sanctuary. I sipped the tea, relishing the peace as I thought about Pudding's strange request. There were so many questions I wanted to ask, but I guess there isn't anything I could do now. I might as well check it out…after work, of course.

"Good! Nice pose, Zakuro-chan!" The photographer said happily. I smiled gently.

"Thank you."

"Okay, now solemn expression, solemn." I put on an expression of sadness while seemingly looking into the distance. "Good!" Snap snap snap.

I glanced at my watch quickly as the camera-man paused to switch the negatives for new ones. 11:45. Good, I thought, I'll finish at 12:00 and eat lunch quickly to meet up with Pudding's friend's cousin. I snapped back to attention as the photographer called, giving him a quick smile before changing positions again. It took longer than I thought for the shoot to finish, in which I was secretly fuming. At the end, I gave everyone my best smile, congratulating them on their hard work, before saying goodbye to my manager and darting out the door. Really, I thought, Pudding should've warned me earlier. I sighed as I rushed forward towards the meeting spot. My stomach growled in protest, reminding me of the forgotten lunch. I hesitated for a second, weighing my options before continuing along the road.

It was a busy afternoon. And the fact that it is lunch time is not helping. The business men and women hurried along the already-crowded streets, hurrying to lunch within the short hour they had. Shoppers in the streets searched for their ideal clothes and their desired items. Cell phones were ringing non-stop, people were chatting loudly. The environment was deafening and suffocating. It really made me feel uncomfortable. I charged on ahead to the nearest square, searching for a girl who would be standing under the only sycamore tree in the whole Shinjuku square. I searched for a while around that area, finding no one but girls who clearly weren't here for a tour. I sighed and went back to the tree, leaning against it and closed my eyes, trying to block out all sound.

"Zakuro…san?" A male voice asked cautiously. My eyes shot open to see a boy about my age with warm brown hair and chocolate-coloured eyes. He was smiling hesitantly. I shot backwards, but my head soon hit the branch of the tree. "Ouch!"

"A-Are you okay?" the boy asked, in an alarmed voice. I rubbed my head and backed away slowly.

"Why are you talking to me?" I asked in the same alarmed voice. He blinked. Then a shocked expression flashed across his face.

"Aren't you supposed to meet me?" I stared at him. Then thought for a moment. Then stared again. Then my jaw nearly dropped open in surprise.

"You're Pudding's friend's cousin?" I said, stammering in shock. He chuckled.

"Yeah. I guess you're Akiha's friend's friend?" He leaned back, looking around. "Sorry for scaring you, but I was trying to catch your attention and it didn't work, I just leaned in." I blinked, then smiled. Then shook my head, silently scolding myself. Do not show your soft side! I turned around and slipped on hand into my jeans pocket, waving to him with the other.

"Fine. Whatever. Let's just go." He cocked an eyebrow at my attitude, but broke out into a long stride, easily keeping up with him. "Where do you want to go?"

"I don't know. You're the tour guide." He said in the same nonchalant tone. I frowned.

"Fine. I'm going to grab some lunch first, so let's head off to a good noodle shop." He nodded, clearly still confused about my changed attitude. I didn't care. Not like I was going to see him again after this.

We walked back the same path I had just taken, but for some odd reason, it seemed a lot easier to walk now, even though there is another person to take care of. The crowd was starting to thin out, leaving the young girls in uniform still looking for something interesting to do, and some couples hanging out with each other. I didn't really care, until my sharp ears caught something at the side.

"hey, hey, look that that couple!" somebody whispered to the right. I looked around, searching for something interesting to look at while we continued this boring walk.

"Yeah," her friend answered. "The brown-haired guy looks so hot! And the girls so pretty…wait…isn't that Zakuro-san?" I frowned, my eyes widening with surprise. Flipping back my hair, I held my head up high and hurried up ahead, hoping to evade a fan rush. The guy beside me hurried up to my level, looking back at the two girls. Clearly, they were a lot louder than I thought they were.

"So your name's Zakuro?" he asked casually. I nodded shortly. "Mine's Arata." He beamed recklessly. I nodded again, my face carefully blank. "So…this place is pretty nice. There seems to be less people now. Is it because of the time? Or is it just that we are going to a less crowded place?" I ignored him. He glanced at me. I could clearly feel his annoyance. "Oi. Can you at least talk to me?" He grabbed my arm, wheeling me around. His face a blank mask of anger. In my surprise, I regained my composure and pulled my arm out of his grasp.

"There's no need for me to. All I need to do is tour you around." I said in a normal tone, but my anger showed through. He glared at me for a moment.

"You-"

At that moment, my phone rang, breaking the angry bubble. I sighed and shook my head, taking out my phone and flipping it open with ease. "What?" I tried hard not to hiss.

"Zakuro-nee-chan!" Mint's tense voice yelled through the phone. In the background, the sounds of battle were clear. I could hear Ichigo's yelp of pain and the roar of a Chimera animal. I snapped to attention.

"What's going on?"

"We need help! It's a Chimera animal…and we still don't know who's using it. I don't think it's Kishu's fault, but there's something strange…" there was static. "I…Central Park…hear…" then phone broke of with a scream. I retained my composure, but my insides were in turmoil. Flipping the phone shut, I turned to Arata. My serious expression must have calmed him down.

"I have to go somewhere, sorry. I'll take you around next time." I said shortly. He nodded, and I tore off, heading towards the location. As I got closer, the sounds of battle started getting louder. I hurried, pushing my legs to run faster, as I took out by cross. "Mew Mew Zakuro! Metamorphosis!" I yelled, jumping up into the air as the transformation took place.

I darted through the bushes and into the clearing. Then I stepped back in shock, my nerves frozen. Every wolf instinct roared at me to run away. "W-What kind of Chimera Animal is this?!"

Yay :D I'm done. I hope you liked it

Review please! :)