A/N: In Mew Mew Power, "Little Sprouts" is the name of the daycare that Kiki's little sister goes to. This is where Ms Rosbe works. In this story, Little Sprouts is a children's shelter. (Forgive me for the confusion, 4kids set me up for error when they kept changing their character development lol)

Starrlit: Yes, there will be more! This is a story I originally wrote when I was about thirteen. I rewrote it last year but it still needed its improvements. Currently I'm in the process of rewriting the rewrite (: Glad you like it!

Guest Reviewers(?): Thank you! I'll continue to try to keep my updates regular! Hope you enjoy!

Ms Rosbe was a very pretty woman. Amaya could not help but feel drawn to her somehow. She was like a shining lighthouse in the midst of a dark storm. She radiated safety. Right now, Amaya needed that kind of safety.

She had taken her and Mamaya to a building a few blocks away in a much more rural area. The writing on the light brick walls read "Little Sprouts".

Ms Rosbe smiled down at them. "This is where I work. There are lots of other kids in here who are just like you. They're very nice, so you don't need to worry about a thing. Most of them will be eating their dinner right now. Would you like to meet them?" she asked.

The thought of being introduced to a lot of kids her age made butterflies twist in Amaya's stomach. What if they recognized her? What if they didn't like her? What if they thought she was a weirdo? The nerves made her fingers shake. She looked up at Ms Rosbe with uncertain eyes. "Um, can I just go to sleep? I don't feel too good . . ." she murmured.

Ms Rosbe gave her a sad smile. "Of course, dear. You've probably had a very long day." She took her hand, still carrying Mamaya's sleeping figure in one arm. "Come with me. I'll set you and your sister up with a room to sleep. I hope you're okay with sharing for now."

Amaya simply nodded. She followed her down a dimly lit corridor with plain brick walls and flickering lights. The air was a little hot, but Amaya did not complain. She passed a few opened doors and peered into them as they walked by. They were rooms, as far as she could tell. They were all identical in size, with up to three beds in each room, a fan for the heat, some toys and a dresser or two for clothes.

Tears welled up in Amaya's eyes. She had once had everything: a house her friends envied, a room most people could only wish for and a lifestyle that everyone craved. Now she had nothing. She no longer belonged anywhere. The rooms here were the size of her mother's old closet. How would she survive with so little to get by?

Finally, Ms Rosbe stopped at the end of the hall. She took a key from her pocket and jiggled it into the doorknob, twisted, then pushed. The wooden door opened and Amaya peered in as the woman flicked on the lights. "This is the last single room we have left right now. Unfortunately, we've picked up more kids than usual lately. Luckily, some have gone to homes or were found by their parents, but." She looked down at Amaya. "I know that it's hard, but we'll give you everything you need here."

Amaya nodded, hiding behind the curtains of her dark hair. Ms Rosbe seemed to notice her growing sadness and walked in, carefully depositing Mamaya onto the double-sized bed. She pulled the covers up around her shoulders and brushed the strands of hair from her face. Amaya watched from afar. "My mom used to do that," she murmured.

Ms Rosbe looked up at her. "Do what?" she asked gently.

Amaya scrubbed her eyes but that did not stop the tears from streaming down her cheeks. "She'd put us to bed and then touch our hair." She sniffed. "Mrs Shirogane too . . . She," she sniffed, and her tears came faster, "She would do it too."

Ms Rosbe opened her arms. "I'm sorry Amaya," she murmured. "I'm sorry."

Amaya hesitated, but she yearned for someone to hold her. She just needed to be taken care of, to feel safe. She wanted the burden taken from her shoulders. She stepped forward and into Ms Rosbe's arms. The woman smelled like some kind of flower. Amaya couldn't put her finger on it, but the fragrance helped her tense shoulders to relax a little. She buried her forehead into her shoulder and cried. Ms Rosbe simply stroked her hair and rocked her back and forth gently.

They sat there like that for a long time. Amaya wasn't sure how long, but she knew she could not stay like this forever. Soon the tears finally dried up and Amaya had nothing left to cry out. Exhausted, she stepped out of Ms Rosbe's hold and smiled weakly up at her. "I'm sorry," she sniffed, wiping her face with her sleeve. "I made your shirt all wet."

She smiled and shook her head. "Don't worry about it, Amaya." She stood from her spot on the edge of the bed. "Get some sleep, okay? You'll feel a little bit better in the morning. You must be very tired."

Amaya nodded and climbed into bed next to her little sister. She pulled the sheets up around her arms and lay back against the pillows. They weren't the comfiest she'd slept on, but right now they felt like clouds to Amaya. "Thanks Ms Rosbe," she whispered, throat tight and straining.

Ms Rosbe was already shutting out the light. "You're welcome Amaya," she murmured. "I'm always here for you. Don't forget it."

She shut the door.

Amaya stared up at the ceiling for only a few seconds before she felt herself drift away into a deep, deep sleep.

For the first time in years, she slept without nightmares.

7 years later . . .

"Amaya! I hope you're awake! You need to get ready for school!"

Amaya could vaguely hear a familiar voice shouting through the fuzzy haze of her sleep but she'd opted to ignore it. She gave out a long, hard sigh and rolled over, shoving her face deeper into her pillows. So waaarm, she thought. The spring air had recently made the mornings chilly, and Amaya hated waking up cold. She curled further into the warmth of her blankets and practically purred.

"Amaya! Ugh! Mamaya! Come here and wake your sister!"

Amaya heard that. She was immediately pulled from the paradise of her sleep. Ms Rosbe trying to wake her was one thing, but her sister knew which buttons to push, which covers to pull off, which pillow to attack her with. Her eyes shot open. She darted upright. "N-no! I'm awake! Don't get Mamaya!" she wailed as the stomping neared closer.

Too late. The door swung open and a gush of air hit Amaya like a freight train. Her sister stood in the doorway, hair brushed, dressed in her school uniform and ready for the day - unlike her. "Wake up!" Mamaya shouted.

Amaya raised her hands in surrender. "I'm awake! I'm awake!" she yelped.

Mamaya huffed. She stomped into the room and grabbed the corner of the heavy duvet that had been keeping Amaya so blissfully warm. "I know you, you'll wake up and wait for me to leave and then you'll go back to sleep! Get up!" she shouted, yanking the covers hard.

Amaya tried to grab the covers but it was too late. She shivered as a sudden cold breeze overcame her. "Okay, okay, I'm up! Just give me my blanket back!" she wailed.

Mamaya hopped up onto the bed. "No way! Get up!" She grabbed her sister's arm and pulled. Amaya tried to fight against her, grabbing the headboard for support, but her sister was much stronger than she was. She glared back over her shoulder at her older sister. "Amaya, you weigh like 70 pounds, I can flick you like a bug if I wanted to!"

Amaya hated to admit defeat, but, well, she'd lost. She let out a heavy sigh and let go of the bed. "Fine, fine, look, I'm standing up. See? So let me go before you catapult me across the room," she muttered.

Mamaya released her sister's hand and grinned. She hopped off the bed and walked around toward her. "Hungry? It's your first day of high school. I know how you get hungry when you're nervous. Make sure you brush your teeth extra good today, you don't want to scare the high school boys with your god-awful morning breath."

Amaya sent her sister a dead glare as she stood from her bed and begun dressing for school. "You're awfully chatty for a girl whose first day of Junior High is today. I know how you get talkative when you're nervous."

She laughed meekly. "You know I'm telling the truth anyway," she said. She went silent and watched her older sister as she begun to brush her hair. "Hey Amaya?" she said.

Amaya was engrossed in de-tangling the mass of deep red curls. "Uh-huh?" she muttered, flinching as she pulled through her hair with a hairbrush.

Mamaya fidgeted. "Well, you know, I'm getting older . . ." she said.

Amaya leaned toward the floor and flipped her hair over, brushing underneath the curtain of her hair's surface. "That you are," she muttered.

"And I'm getting to that age where, you know, boys are starting to matter kinda."

"Yep."

"So I was wondering . . ."

Amaya looked up at her upside-down through the gap between her legs and raised an eyebrow. "I hope you're not asking for the sex talk, because I'm not really down for that."

Mamaya shook her head rapidly. "N-n-no!" she yelped. "I was just wondering, what if a boy asks to meet my parents or something? You know, if I get into a serious relationship? I mean, I think that's the normal thing to do, right? To meet the parents when you're getting serious?" she asked.

Amaya stood and pushed her hair back behind her ears. "Ah," she said. She shrugged. "You can introduce him to Ms Rosbe?"

Mamaya shrugged. "I don't think Ms Rosbe would really have anything to say about it," she murmured, eyelids heavy.

Amaya stared at her younger sister for a few moments, silent. Then she shrugged back. "Introduce him to me then, and I'll let you know whether or not my asshole radar is going off. Then maybe we'll have the sex talk," she joked.

Mamaya grinned.

"Amaya! Mamaya! You're going to be late for school! I mean it!" Ms Rosbe shouted down the hall.

"Uh, coming!" they shouted back.

Mamaya scrambled around the room, gathering her things and shoving them into her backpack on the floor. Amaya brought her hand up to her mouth and breathed into it. She grimaced. Perhaps she should brush her teeth extra well today . . .

High school. Amaya wasn't sure what to expect, but from what most people told her, it was apparently supposed to be the best four years of her life. Then again, she supposed that was for more normal kids. Amaya never felt like she belonged. In a room that was full of people, she walked alone.

She went to Hashimoto Takara High School. It was the best school Ms Rosbe and the rest of the adults at the shelter could afford to put her into. It was nowhere near as great as Amaya remembered her elementary school to be, but she supposed in general, school was school. Ms Rosbe had told her that her elementary school had been for enriched students; kids who excelled in their learning and were eligible for advanced programs. Amaya didn't understand at first, until the other kids at the shelter explained that Amaya knew things they did not. That had been news to her - she'd assumed everyone went to school the same.

Hashimoto High School was a school for average students, with advanced programs available for those who were eligible. Amaya was enlisted in all of them.

Her uniform was a green skirt, black blazer and white blouse. She disliked having to wear a tie, but she made no complaints. During her orientation earlier in the year, her principal had informed them that anyone out of uniform conduct would be severely punished. Amaya didn't want to be the one student who got in trouble on her first day.

She walked through the halls with her heart thumping dully in her chest. Part of her wanted to run and never return. Most kids at the shelter were schooled by the supervisors there but Ms Rosbe had decided that since Amaya and Mamaya's education had been so advanced in the past, it would do well to send them to real school. She remembered when she was first told that she was excited. She longed to get out of the shelter and into the world, to see what else was out there in her new city. Since the night she and Mamaya had escaped from the hospital, they hadn't been around the city much. Being in the shelter, their freedom left much to be desired.

But now it was real. It was being thrust upon her and Amaya's past excitement had bloomed into a full-blown case of anxiety.

Other kids in the hall were stopping to talk to each other. They were laughing and chatting, typing idly on their cell phones and leaning on pale blue lockers. She felt the blood drain from her face. Cell phones? Would people find her weird if they knew she didn't have one?

Finally she came to the end of the hall and to her right, she found a door. It was covered in paintings and posters and had a metal sign that read: Administration Office And Student Help Services.

She opened the door. As she stepped across the threshold she saw a line of large, messy desks with different names on them, a few chairs set aside in a waiting area and a hallway leading behind the desks toward more rooms and offices. Two women were sitting at their respective desks, one typing on a computer and the other looking through files. The woman at the computer looked up when Amaya walked in.

She looked just short of middle-aged, with a greying-brown boy cut and tiny brown eyes. She smiled. "Hello dear. Can I help you?"

Amaya took half a step forward, fidgeting nervously with her fingers. "Um, I'm supposed to see Mr Fujioka, I think . . ." she stammered.

The woman looked through a thin file on the other side of her. "Can I have your name?" she asked.

"A-Amaya."

"Nikini?"

She gulped. Ever since that day Ms Rosbe had found her, she feared someone would recognize her. "Yes."

The woman looked up at her and smiled. "Mr Fujioka is finishing up in a meeting but he'll be with you in just a few moments. You can take a seat while you're waiting, if you'd like."

Amaya nodded and quietly sat down. She stared down at her hands in her lap and took a deep breath. Relax, relax. I need to relax. No one will notice you, that was years and years ago.

The door creaked open and the sound of chatting kids made Amaya look up. Three boys walked into the office, stumbling over each other and laughing. One, a boy with brownish blond hair and blue eyes, caught eyes with Amaya and stopped. He smiled. "Hey," he said.

Amaya's breath caught in her throat. She quickly looked back down at her lap, heart pounding.

Footsteps approached her, but she did not look up. Her fidgeting grew frantically. She bit her lip. She wanted to run. She heard them whispering and could not help but wonder if they were making fun of her. Maybe they thought she was a freak for staring at them.

The brunet boy walked up to her. "Hey," he repeated. "You in trouble or something?"

She looked up and frowned. "Huh?"

He leaned in a little closer and raised his eyebrows. Their faces inches apart, Amaya felt her cheeks get hot. The boy was staring right at her. "Hey, cool eyes! Look, she's got multi-color eyes! What happened? Did one of them burst or something and come out a different color?"

Amaya blinked. Was he making fun of her or just asking? She shook her head. "No, I-I was just born like this. It's a condition called heterochromia. It's just a result of uneven levels of melanin in the irises. Blue and brown come from the same chromosome and sometimes genetically, they can get mixed up, although it's really rare."

He nodded, though his face had an expression like he was confused. Amaya cursed herself. Good going, Amaya. You probably freaked him out with your nerd talk. Chromosomes? Really?

"So what are you in here for?" he asked.

She opened her mouth to explain that she was a new student here and that she was not in trouble, but before she could, her name was called by a tall man in a grey suit from behind the desks. Amaya could only assume that that was her principal, Mr Fujioka. She stood. "S-sorry," she stammered.

She darted across the room and toward the man who'd called her. She began to follow him, looking over her shoulder to peer at the boy who'd caught her eye, but before they had the chance to speak again, the door closed between them. Amaya wished she cold have explained but she hadn't the time. Before she knew it, she was being told to sit in a chair in front of a large, looming desk.

She sat obediently.

"So Amaya Nikini," he said, looking at a file full of papers and documents. "I see according to your educational records, this is the first time you've been to school in quite a few years. Nervous?"

She grinned meekly and nodded. Through her middle school years, Ms Rosbe had taught her everything she'd needed to know in accordance to her school lessons. It wasn't until both she and Mamaya were eligible to enter new schools that they finally decided to send them to proper institutions.

"Well, let's hope that you're academic shortcomings aren't reflected in your grades," he said pleasantly.

Amaya frowned. She couldn't even tell if that had been rude or not. Tact.

He outlined the school rules and guidelines with her and spent a few minutes telling her about what special programs were available for her. Then he continued to tell her about the student help services and what they were there for. Amaya listened intently, but she wished he spoke faster and skipped the boring parts. Most of these things had already been told to her at the student orientation she'd gone to.

"This is a copy of the school map," he said, passing it over the desk toward her. "And this is your locker information."

She took them and nodded. The map didn't look too complicated at all. From what she could tell, the main building was just one big circle with three floors. The second building looked even simpler than that. Hopefully she wouldn't have to worry about getting lost.

"Any questions?" the man asked.

Amaya shook her head.

"Excellent," he said. He glanced down at the watch on his wrist. "Then I suggest you get to class. Your home room is Class 1-K: that's room 109. Good luck."

She nodded and stood, then politely excused herself. As she walked through the hall and passed the secretary's desks, her eyes scanned the room. The boys had left, probably to go to class. She sighed. She'd definitely blown it.

Oh well. Time to tackle her first day of school.

Halfway through the day and Amaya felt exhausted. Her school day consisted of six periods and one lunch. Amaya had the late lunch, so she only had two more periods to go after this. Still, it felt like she'd spent half of her life in this building instead of half of one day.

And this was the most stressful part of all. For the most part in her classes she hadn't the need to socialize. She'd simply taken notes and done her work. But lunch was the epitome of school social time. The most she'd spoken to anyone today had been that morning when she'd been rambling about chromosomes. Sitting alone would make her look like a freak, though. She sighed. How stressful it was just to have lunch. She was beginning to lose her appetite.

She walked into the cafeteria with a nervous stride. Her stomach was doing cartwheels. When she walked in, she saw a few pairs of eyes look up to stare at her. She gulped.

Maybe she should just go outside for lunch, or find somewhere quiet where no one could find her. Everyone else was sitting in their already established friend groups. It wasn't like she could sit down with any of them and immediately be accepted.

She sighed. She knew she couldn't belong here. She turned away from the cafeteria and began walking away, wishing it was easier for her to make friends. If only Ms Rosbe had taught her how to initiate conversations without sounding like a weirdo. Heart plummeting through her stomach, she made way for the door so she could make her escape. She fought back tears of frustration. She couldn't let anyone know she was crying, then they would really think badly of her, but the stress and frustration was enough to make her want to sob.

She opened the door that led out into the hall, her legs picking up speed, when suddenly she crashed into a warm body. She stepped back and looked up. "I-I'm sorry!" she stammered.

"Hey, don't worry. I see you made it outta there this morning," the familiar voice chuckled.

Amaya's face went red. Blue eyes met hers. A smile crept up onto his face. It was the boy she had met this morning while she'd been waiting in the office. The two boys who had been with him that morning were on either sides of him, along with three other girls whose pretty faces made Amaya feel outnumbered and very out of place. She swallowed the lump in her throat. "Uhm, yeah," she said, laughing nervously. She stepped aside as if to allow them to pass. "S-sorry again," she said, stepping toward the door their group was slightly blocking.

"Wait a sec!" the boy protested.

She froze, looked over her shoulder and blinked. "Um yeah?"

He grinned. "Why don't you come sit with us? 'Less you're busy with your other friends," he said.

Her heart leapt excitedly. It was the opportunity she'd been desperately wishing for. "No, I'm not busy," she said, maybe a bit too quickly.

He smiled, the freckles on his pale cheeks rising. Amaya practically melted. He jerked his head and began walking again, leading Amaya through the crowds of people. A few stared at him and then at her, their eyes becoming confused when they noticed them together. Amaya tried not to pay any attention. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. It seemed that he wasn't even noticing the way people were looking at them.

"So your name is Amaya?" the boy asked as they walked.

Amaya nodded. "Yeah. I know it's weird . . ."

He shook his head and smiled. "Not at all." He gestured toward an empty table.

His friends sat and immediately began delving into their own conversations. Amaya sat, feeling like she was an intruder on someone else's territory. Nonetheless, the boy sat next to her and continued their conversation. "I'm Max."

She nodded, her mind racing desperately for something to say. "C-cool," she said nervously, immediately regretting it. COOL?!

"So you must be new here. I haven't seen you around before," he said. "What grade are you in?"

She nodded again. She'd slipped up once, there was no room for another. "Yeah, this is my first day. I'm in grade 10," she said shyly.

A boy who had been listening in on the other side of the table smirked. "A freshman, huh? No wonder you look terrified at everything," he laughed.

She laughed nervously. She hadn't known she was being that obvious.

"What elementary school did you come from?" a girl with beautiful long brown hair asked. Amaya felt inferior just looking at her.

She gulped. What to say? She blurted out the first thing that came to her mind. "Um, it's a school outside of town. You probably wouldn't know it. Most people haven't heard of it," she said, laughing meekly. Did that come off bitchy? I hope not.

"So then you recently moved here?" Max asked.

Amaya nodded, smiling.

Max grinned, his blue eyes meeting with Amaya's. She blinked, the nervousness in her stomach threatening to make her sick. She felt like she was drowning. "What are you doing after school today?" he asked.

Amaya's heart exploded. Was he asking her out on a date?! "Um, nothing. Yet?"

He smirked. "Meet me at the front gates after school. I know a place you would love! I'll show you around as your welcome to Tokyo gift!" he said.

She nodded. "S-sure," she said.

And that was how she'd found herself at the end of the day, waiting outside the gates. She leaned on the brick wall that surrounded the school grounds and stared down at the light concrete, heart pounding dully in her chest. Part of her felt like a fool. What if Max had just been trying to pull a prank on her? Maybe she should just go home. If Ms Rosbe noticed she was late, she would probably get scolded. Plus she had a ton of homework to get done tonight. Perhaps this entire thing was a bad idea, she thought. Better to focus on her studies and get good grades then go out with boys and work on her social skills - or lack thereof.

Her mind made up, Amaya sighed and turned to walk down the side walk toward Ms Rosbe's. She took a step forward and, just as she began moving, was stopped by a hand at her wrist. She frowned and looked over her shoulder to see who had grabbed her. When her eyes met blue, she flushed. "M-Max."

He grinned. "I hope you weren't planning on leaving," he said sadly.

She shook her head, and suddenly her resolve had diminished. "N-no! I was just, you know, walking around, passing the time and stuff!" she laughed nervously. "S-so where's this place you were talking about?"

He smiled and jerked his head for her to follow as he began walking in the opposite direction Amaya had been heading. She hurriedly obeyed.

They walked in silence for a few moments, Amaya fidgeting nervously. She knew she had to say something, but what? For some reason her speech capabilities were down to zero whenever she was around him. She'd never been amazing in the social game, but she wasn't usually this embarrassingly bad either. She felt way out of her league. Part of her wished she had just gone home, but another part disagreed. She had to put herself out there and make friends if she ever expected to make it through high school. Might as well get it done sooner rather than later.

She began to work up the nerve to open her mouth. Be smooth. Pretend you do this all the time. You're the queen! Put on your crown and act queenly! Or something. She opened her mouth. She was about to take a chance at a conversation-starter, when suddenly Max stopped. She yelped and crashed into his back. Face red, she groaned inwardly. So much for that.

"You okay?"

Amaya cleared her throat and jumped out from behind him. "Haha! Of course! Sorry!" she stammered.

He smiled. "Well, here we are."

She looked up. Instantly, she lit up. "How cute!" she cried.

It was a tall, two-story building adorned with pink decor and hearts on every door and window possible. Part of Amaya wondered what a boy would be doing at such a girly-looking place, but she pushed that thought toward the back of her mind.

Max snaked an arm around he shoulders and pulled her slightly closer toward him. Her heart fluttered. She looked up at him.

His blue eyes were dancing as he flashed a smile. "Shall we go in?"

She nodded, her mind in a blurry daze.

The last thing she noticed of the building before they walked in was a sign that read "Welcome to Cafe Mew Mew!"