Tokyo Mew Mew: Reborn
My computer was down so I was unable to update, sorry. I really hope no one is mad at me
Chapter Three: Mint's Delight
"I just can't believe what you're saying is true," insisted Sakura. "My daughter, one of the seven girls chosen at random to fight off aliens using animal powers?"
"I wouldn't say chosen at random," Ryou corrected. "It's just that we, personally, had nothing to do with the decision process."
"I'd say that her ears and tail are proof enough," Keiichiro added quietly.
Ichigo herself was on the brink of tears, and Mint simply looked angry at the world. There was a long moment where no one said a word, as if daring to break the silence would result in dire consequences. Finally, the quiet was disturbed by a knock at the door.
Everyone immediately looked up and stared at the door uncertainly. For a while, no one moved or spoke; finally, Keiichiro muttered under his breath, "Who could that be?" In the stillness of the café, he may as well have shouted these words.
"Should… should we open the door?" asked Sakura slowly.
Even Mint's voice was small and steady as she answered, "I wouldn't think so."
"Yeah, it might be -" began Ichigo, but she cut herself off as Ryou, without warning, began to walk towards the café entrance.
"What are you doing?" Mint asked, her expression a mixture of disbelief, shock, and disgust.
"We don't know who that could be!" Sakura put in. "What if they want to hurt Ichigo?"
Ignoring them, Ryou reached out and swung open the double doors. There, standing outside the café, were several cameramen and a reporter, whom Ichigo recognized from the nightly news.
"Arina Kawakubo, here with News Japan!" the reporter yelled into her microphone without even bothering to say hello. Her short, mint green hair and dark blue dress were perfect-looking despite the winds which continued to howl outside, though her cameramen were attempting to hold down their hats and jackets while they filmed. Shoving her way into the café doors, which earned her a surprised yet stern look from Ryou, Arina continued, "I am here to have a short interview with Ichigo Momomiya, who, as earlier reported, recently grew cat ears and a tail at the doing of Café Shirobara's owners. Civilians have taken to calling her 'Mew Ichigo' because of these animalistic features."
"W-wait a second!" Ichigo blurted, standing up quickly. "Who said you could interview me? And who said I would let you?"
Turning to face one of the cameras, Arina held up her microphone and stated, "Clearly, the animal instinct has already begun to take over."
Ichigo glared at the reporter's back, fighting an urge to dash over and punch her in the face. Being so stupid should be criminal.
"Um, excuse me," Sakura interrupted, walking up to stand next to Arina. "I'm Sakura Momomiya, Ichigo's mother, and…"
"So you're an insider, then!" cut in Arina, suddenly shoving her microphone into Sakura's face; Ichigo's mother was forced to lean backwards in order to avoid a bruised nose. "Can you tell us more about your daughter's transformation?"
"Well… um…" stammered Sakura. "I think that Akasaka-kun should answer that question…"
"I'm sorry," answered Keiichiro, shaking his head. "I cannot give you those details yet – Ryou and I have an appointment to explain them to the police, as it is, and I don't think they'd appreciate it if I told you first."
"Well, that's…" began Arina, pulling her microphone back and looking up in Keiichiro's direction. Suddenly, she froze, her eyes flickering to Mint. "H-hold everything! There's another one?!?"
Mint narrowed her eyes. "I have a name, you know!" Crossing her arms and sticking her nose into the air, she declared, "I am Mint Aizawa, daughter of Kentaro Aizawa and –"
"Fascinating!" interjected Arina, walking further into the café with her entourage of cameras following behind. "Mew Mint… Just fascinating."
"Mew?" repeated Mint, seemingly aghast. "I'm a bird!"
"Tweet Mint, then?"
A few moments of silence followed. Finally, Mint grumbled, "Never mind."
"So, if you don't mind, I have only a few questions to ask all of you before I go."
And who says I don't mind? Ichigo thought angrily.
"First, for Mew Ichigo." Pointing her increasingly annoying microphone at the catgirl, Arina asked, "What were your first thoughts upon your change, your… metamorphosis, if you will?"
Pushing aside her thoughts that metamorphosis was not exactly the right word, Ichigo muttered, "I was… scared, and I didn't know what had happened. Also… I guess I didn't want anyone to see me like this and think I was… weird."
Arina smirked, as if she were thinking, too late. Turning to face Sakura, she asked, "Sakura, how did you feel upon discovering your daughter in this state?"
"I was just thankful she was alive," Sakura answered honestly. "She's been missing all day, and for hours I'd been praying that –"
Arina suddenly abandoned Sakura, whipping around to face her daughter. "Mew Ichigo, does this mean that upon gaining your unusual ears and tail, you attempted to run away from home?"
"What?" Ichigo replied, shocked. "No!" She was aware of Mint's glaring eyes boring into her from a few yards away, but at the moment could truly not care less. "I was unconscious for hours, thank you very much!"
"Ichigo would never do such a thing," Sakura added. "She's a good girl."
"Well, thank you very much!" burst out Mint, and everyone turned to stare.
"Mew Mint!" exclaimed Arina, dashing towards the blue-haired girl and pointing her microphone forward. "Does this mean that you tried to run away?"
"Don't ask about things that are none of your business!" sniffed Mint, pushing Arina away.
"Next," sighed Arina, backing away from the hostile bird-girl. "Since there are two 'Mews' now, how do you feel about assigning a plural term – other than 'animal girls' and 'Mews,' which are boring."
"Um…" Ichigo stared, not quite sure how to react to this bizarre question.
"I know!" exclaimed Arina, suddenly perking up and snapping her fingers excitedly. "How about we call you the 'Mew Mews!' It's brilliant!"
Although Ichigo did not look at any of the others, she was sure that all of them, including the cameramen, were staring as unbelievingly at the green-haired reporter as she was. She felt her eye twitch, and heard Mint say, "What." She thought she may have heard Ryou groan softly, as well.
Without even waiting for an answer, Arina continued, "On a similar topic, how did you react to the news that the well-known model, singer and actress Zakuro Fujiwara may also be a Mew Mew?"
Ichigo looked up in shock; she hadn't actually heard of Zakuro Fujiwara, but just the possibility that a celebrity had undergone the same change she had amazed her all the same. Glancing at Mint, she saw that the bird-girl was staring ahead, mouth agape. Does she know who Zakuro Fujiwara is?
Her question was answered a moment later when suddenly Mint sprang to life, her arms flailing about and a tiny scream escaping her lips. "Z-zakuro… Zakuro onee-sama is one of us?!?"
Turning his head to glance at Arina, Ryou said, "I think they reacted a little like that."
"T-this is unbelievable!" Mint exclaimed. She dashed about in a small circle, seeming to forget that she was on live TV at the moment. "Zakuro onee-sama…"
"Mew Mint, are you a fan of Mew Zakuro?" Arina wore a slight smirk, and she seemed to be struggling to keep a note of amusement from her voice. Mint quickly stopped in her tracks, appearing a bit embarrassed.
"W-well, not a big fan or anything…" she muttered, wringing her hands together as though nervous.
"But you called her onee-sa –" began Ichigo, but her reminder was cut short as Mint quickly leaped into the air, flew towards her with wings pumping furiously, and clamped a hand over her mouth. Ichigo considered biting her – after all, didn't cats like the taste of bird? – but decided against it at the last moment.
"We honestly had no idea that Zakuro-san was possibly a… a Mew," admitted Keiichiro, and one of the cameras swung to face him. "All that we did was infuse seven girls whose DNA was a suitable match to that of a red data animal, or endangered species. We had no idea exactly who we were targeting at the time."
"I guess this means a trip to the movie studios," put in Ryou, slowly and casually walking over to stand beside his partner.
"Oh, yeah," put in Sakura. "Isn't she filming a movie right now… Cherry-Colored Summer, I think it's called? I really wanted to see that."
A movie studio? Ichigo thought with amazement. For a moment… before I remembered why we were going… that seemed really cool! Could it be that becoming a "Mew Mew" could have its advantages, after all?
Mint was still standing where she had stopped, looking almost ill. Sakura looked uncomfortable as well, although her face had had a slight glow ever since the mention of Zakuro's movie. Ryou looked slightly annoyed, and Keiichiro was smiling for no clear reason – rather typical behavior for the both of them, really. Ichigo found herself staring down with eyes watering, simply wishing that the reporter would leave and she could go to sleep. After such a long day, she simply wanted to shut everything off for a while, even if tomorrow would be just as miserable; perhaps a small part of her was still hoping that the entire evening had been but a dream.
"My next question is…" Arina began, appearing to be a bit hesitant, for once. "Well… why exactly are all the Mew Mews named after foods? You have strawberry and mint so far. If Zakuro really is a Mew, and her reported ears and tail aren't just a rumor or a publicity stunt as many believe, that adds in pomegranate as well."
All eyes instinctively turned to Keiichiro.
The brunette café manage shrugged. "I told you, I had nothing to do with it. If all seven girls turn out to have food names, then I suppose that it's fate."
"Ichigo's father is the one who named her," piped up Sakura. Ichigo stared at her mother, slightly embarrassed, but no one else seemed to pay the red-haired woman any notice.
"Well, I suppose that I have nothing more to ask of you," Arina stated, seeming rather upset by the thought. "This has been Arina Kawakubo, with News Japan."
Once every last cameraman had dragged their equipment outside the café, Ryou pulled the doors shut after them, slamming them a bit too hard. "Man, I thought they'd never leave!"
"I agree," Mint replied, seeming just as irritated as the blonde boy. Perking up a bit, she added, "But I can't believe that Zakuro Fujiwara is really one of us!"
"So you're a fan, huh?" observed Ryou, leaning against the wall and raising an eyebrow.
Looking down and gripping the edge of her skirt, as though embarrassed, Mint admitted quietly, "I… I want to be just like her."
Ichigo opened her mouth to ask why, but much to her surprise, Ryou beat her to it. "Why would you want to be like someone else, anyway? Aren't you happy with your life as it is?" he asked, and Mint looked up in surprise.
"But she's gorgeous!" the blue-haired girl insisted, her face turning red with what seemed to be a mixture of embarrassment and anger. "Beautiful, and talented – she can sing, dance, act, model… everything! And her parents are probably around to support her when –" Suddenly Mint cut herself off, clasping her hands to her mouth as if she could not control what words would come out next.
"Mint… you don't know that," Keiichiro said softly.
"And besides… you're pretty, as it is," added in Ichigo, feeling an actual stab of pain at complimenting the stuck-up girl. Still, she couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for the second Mew Mew.
"Whatever," Mint murmured.
"So, when do you think we can go to Zakuro's movie set?" Sakura asked, seeming desperate to change the subject.
"We would need to find out where –" pointed out Ryou.
"I know where it is," Mint replied quickly.
"Really." Ryou turned to look at her, smirking. "Well, little genius, can you tell me where she lives? Because if Arina Kawakubo knows that Zakuro is a Mew, then everyone knows. The movie's probably been cancelled, at any rate, or at least recasted."
"I think we should investigate the movie set first," insisted Mint. "Those big-shot directors are so weird, you never know what they'll do next. If onee-sama is actually a Mew Mew, they may be trying to pass it off as a stunt, or even take credit for her transformation."
"I suppose you have a point," admitted Ryou.
"This is amazing!" Sakura exclaimed, eyes sparkling. "Can Shintaro come with us, too?"
"W-wait!" blurted Ichigo, waving her hands back and forth frantically. "Hold everything! Just let me get this straight – on the basis of a rumor, we're travelling to a movie studio we may not even be able to get entrance to in order to find out if the famous celebrity Zakuro Fujiwara has suddenly grown animal parts, at the risk of looking both stupid and completely insane if we're wrong?"
Ryou nodded. "That's about it."
Ichigo fell silent, staring at Ryou with her mouth agape. "Unbelievable."
Sakura appeared unsure of what to say at first, but after a few seconds, with a bright smile and a thrilled expression, she chirped, "So, let's get packing!"