A/N: I am aware of how long it took for me to post this chapter and I'm sooo sorry. Not gonna lie, it's not one of my best chapters, and it's a bit short, but oh well. I'll try to post the next chapter faster, but bear with me. Just know that I will definitely continue posting!

Amaya dully heard voices ringing through her ears, but they were distant and she could not put faces to them. She felt like she was getting ripped apart from the inside. A searing pain roared through her veins all the way down to her toes. She felt like she was going to die.

Then, sporadically, the pain stopped. She found herself coming into contact with the pavement and opened her bleary eyes. Slowly, her vision swam into focus.

A boy just a few inches taller than Amaya with dark hair and bright yellow eyes and pale, porcelain skin stood before her. His ears were long and elfish, his clothes somewhat ratted and old looking. His gaze was piercing, but he was not looking at Amaya anymore. He was looking at something behind her.

She got a hand out from underneath her and held it against the ground, stabilized herself and forced her body up. She looked over her shoulder. As her vision cleared completely, she saw them: the Mews.

They ran to her and knelt to her level. "Amaya!"

The boy began laughing loudly. It rang through her ears, and for a moment, Amaya saw herself when she was younger, carried through the fiery halls of the Shirogane mansion as the Chimera Anima screeched its triumphant laughter.

"Looks like I was too late, huh? That's okay, I'll kill you all right now – together!"

"Amaya, transform!"

Amaya reached into her pocket and pulled out the pendant. It rested comfortably in her palm, shining as it caught the sunlight. She held it tight. She wasn't sure what to do, but she hoped, prayed that it would come to her. Taking a breath, she brought the pendant to her lips and kissed it.

"Mew Mew Blackberry! Metamorphosis!"

There was a flash of bright light, and Amaya shut her eyes against the flare. When it was over and she slowly opened them again, she looked down at herself.

She was dressed in a short orange dress, with a heavy black belt around her upper waist. Her gloves were black and ripped, her boots black leather, hair orange. She looked like a completely different person. The ears that had popped out earlier in her fight with Ryou were there again, coupled with a fluffy long tail protruding from under her skirt.

"Well aren't you full of surprises. What are you supposed to be, another kind of cat?" the boy snickered.

Amaya glared up at him. "I'm a fox!" she retorted.

The boy smirked and lifted a hand over his head. "Mm, I think I'm more of a cat person. Oh well, time to die!" A white light began to form at the palm of his hand. He shouted a word that Amaya couldn't hear over the strong gust of wind.

There was a loud screech. Amaya looked up, eyes wide. There was a monster – no, a Chimera Anima – standing in the boy's place. It was not the same as the one that had attacked Amaya all those times, but that did not make it any less terrifying to her. The blood in her veins froze as her body seized up. How was she going to fight this thing? Could she really handle it?

It was shaped like a dog, but its fur was green, with purple and yellow tiger-like stripes all over its huge body. Its belly was scaly. Its tail curled up above its body into a scorpion's claw. It was like a hundred animals rolled into one big beast.

The lion Chimera let out a piercing wail and began charging toward Amaya's group. "Look out!" Ichigo cried.

Amaya looked around her in a panic. The others had made their moves and jumped out of the way, but Amaya was too frozen to act. Her actions were delayed, and it wasn't until the Chimera was inches away that she realized it was too late. It collided into her, sending her flying back. Her back skidded against the hard pavement as she landed on the sidewalk a few feet away. She could vaguely hear someone calling out her name, but it was too distant for her.

She opened her eyes and pushed herself up on her hands and knees. The action itself sent a stinging pain down her shoulders and back. The landing must have made her back start bleeding.

Something touched her hand, and Amaya yelped and looked down in surprise. She expected something like another Chimera, but instead she saw the little fox that she'd rescued just moments ago. It gently licked her fingers and mewed as if concerned.

Amaya smiled and ruffled its fur behind its ears. "Silly girl, you should have run away. Now you're in danger." She carefully picked the little fox cub up and held her in her arms, forcing herself to stand. "It's okay," she murmured. "I'll protect you."

Would you protect your mother and sister, and everyone else if you could?

Her father's words echoed through her ears like it had so many times before. Perhaps, she thought, when he had said it, this was what he'd meant all along.

"Amaya, are you okay?" Lettuce asked as the others ran to her. They circled Amaya in a protective shell and immediately took up guard.

Amaya nodded, distracted momentarily from her thoughts. "I'm okay," she said weakly. The fox cub mewed and climbed up the girl's shoulder, perching itself there.

The Chimera screeched again and began to wind its body, as if readying to charge again. Amaya tensed. If she wanted to protect the fox, and eventually everyone else, she couldn't have a repeat of what had happened last time. She had to act. "What do we do?" she asked, looking to the others around her.

"Split up," Zakuro said. "Pudding and I will go left, Lettuce and Mint go right, Ichigo and Amaya go forward. Whoever he follows will be the distraction while everyone else attacks."

They nodded. The Chimera began charging. They each began running in their respective directions.

Amaya began running. Ichigo followed close behind. "Ahh, why do they always follow me?!" Ichigo wailed. "Sorry Amaya!"

Amaya had the urge to look back over her shoulder but she fought against it. She simply ran forward. She glanced to the side to see Ichigo running alongside her. The fox on her shoulder clung to her skin, claws digging into her. She ignored the pain and tried to focus only on escaping.

"Ribbon Mint Echo!"

"Ribbon Lettuce Rush!"

"Ribbon PuddingRing Inferno!"

"Ribbon ZaCross Pure!"

There was another loud screech. The pounding footsteps that had been creeping up behind them ceased. Ichigo turned. "Amaya, let's go!" she shouted.

Amaya skidded to a stop and pivoted around to face the Chimera writhing in pain.

"Ribbon Strawberry Surprise!"

The fox on Amaya's shoulder mewed. She scratched its little ears and smiled. I'll protect you, she thought to it. She knew that it couldn't understand, but she sent the thought to the fox cub anyway. She reached to something inside herself and stepped up to the Chimera, screeching its last dying breaths.

"Ribbon Blackberry Trench!"

She landed on her feet in the middle of the sidewalk, fox mewing happily. The Chimera let out its last cry, and then disappeared into a burst of light. Masha came floating into the scene and swallowed the jellyfish-like parasite that was left in its place. "Retrieved! Retrieved!" he chanted.

Amaya looked down at herself. She was holding a long baton with an orange heart on top and fox ears protruding from atop. It had golden chains swirling around the handle and a pair of wings at the hilt. She lifted it to get a better look, but when she did it dissolved and disappeared.

"We did it!" Pudding cheered.

The boy laughed, and Amaya lifted her head in surprise. She'd forgotten the boy's presence completely. "Looks like I'm going to have a lot of fun with you, foxy. Oh well, we'll play again some other time," he smirked. With that, he disappeared.

Amaya felt her knees go weak, but she refused to fall. The fox on her shoulder nudged her cheek, making her smile. She scratched its ears. "You're pretty friendly, aren't you?"

The fox mewed and licked her chin.

Amaya giggled. "I'm going to call you Aja. You can live with me if you want. You won't have to be alone anymore. There's lots of other kids there just like you; just like us," she said, petting her gently on the head.

Tears stung her eyes but she forced them back. The fox nudged her again and mewed. She smiled. Today was a victory for Amaya – not a very big one, but a victory nonetheless. If she could conquer the Chimera today, maybe there was a chance that she could face the beast that had stolen her life from her too.

"You did great," Zakuro said gently, putting a hand on Amaya's unoccupied shoulder.

Amaya smiled and nodded.

"Are you girls okay?!"

They turned and looked toward the café doors. Ryou and Akasaka were making their way down the sidewalk toward them. They'd most likely heard the commotion and come out to check on what was going on.

Ichigo huffed. "Geez Shirogane, way to come right when all the fuss is over," she muttered.

He ignored her and looked at Amaya, making her swallow the lump in her throat. "You okay?" he asked. He glanced at the fox on her shoulder and made a questioning face, but said nothing about it.

She nodded.

He frowned and tilted his head curiously. "You sure? Can you speak or something?"

She huffed, temper flaring. She wasn't sure why she was feeling so short tempered all of a sudden, but Ryou's attitude sure was not helping the situation. "I'm fine, okay?" she muttered.

He recoiled as if burnt and for a moment, Amaya wished she could take back the venom in her voice.

"I don't know about the rest of you, but I told my teacher that I had to go to the bathroom and I don't want my class thinking weird things," Ichigo said. "So I'm off to salvage my dignity and try to come up with a reasonable excuse as to why a girl would be in the bathroom for so long." She transformed back to her usual self and waved goodbye as she began running down the sidewalk.

The others waved goodbye to her as she left and then turned to Shirogane and Akasaka. "We should get back to class, too," Lettuce said. "I have a lot of studying to catch up on."

Akasaka nodded. "Of course. Happy studying, girls."

They dispersed and went their separate ways, Pudding complaining about having to return to class as she went.

Amaya stood restlessly in the middle of the sidewalk. She bent to the broom she'd dropped onto the ground a few moments before the attack and picked it up, resuming her sweeping of the sidewalk. She could see Ryou staring at her from the corner of her eye, and for a moment she thought he would ask her again if she was okay. Part of her wanted him to so that she could attempt to reconcile for her rude behavior before. But he simply shared glances with Akasaka and began retreating toward the door. "Keep up the good work," he said, walking back into the café.

Amaya stopped sweeping and finally looked up when she heard the door clank shut behind them. She leaned against the broom and sighed. She wished he would come back so she could apologize. So far, all she'd been was rude to him. There was no need for her to have been like that. The Shiroganes had been nothing but kind to her and Mamaya in the past. This was no way to repay them.

She sighed. "I messed up, didn't I?" she murmured.

Aja mewed beside her ear.

She slowly began sweeping again and decided she would apologize next time she got the chance.

A warm summer breeze danced through the trees across the grassy school playground. Flowers decorated the green terrain with splashes of yellows and purples, leaning to and fro with the wind. Amaya sat under a low hanging maple tree, playing with flowers and attempting to create a flower crown. Her uniform sleeves were rolled up and scuffed with grass stains but she didn't mind. She was focused on getting her flowers together. She wanted to bring them home to Mamaya.

Approaching footsteps made her look up. It was a group of young boys, all her age, their sleeves rolled up just like her, hair a mess from the playing they'd probably been doing. "Whatcha doing all alone in the grass, Amaya?" the boy in front, Akihiro, sneered.

Amaya frowned. These were the boys that were picking on Ryou. She had thought they would have left him alone after she had picked a fight with them. "What do you want?" she muttered, already suspicious.

The boys looked at each other and laughed. "You only won last time because it was one against one. Let's go again, and this time you have to fight all of us," Akihiro said.

Amaya stood, fists bared as if already prepared, but then she heard Mrs Shirogane's words in her head. She'd told her she would not fight with the kids at school anymore. She lowered her fists and bit her lip. "I can't," she said quietly.

Akihiro leaned in, one hand cupping his ear. "What? Did you just say that you forfeit? Akihiro is the strongest kid on the playground? I think you'll have to speak up, Amaya!"

Amaya's eyes twitched, torn between her itching need to show the little punk who he thought he was talking to and obeying her guardian's command. She gulped. "I told Mrs Shirogane-"

Akihiro's laugh interrupted her. "Oh yea, that's right! You only stuck up for Ryou 'cause his Mommy is taking care of you. 'Cause your real Mommy left you behind. I bet she's happy she got rid of you!"

Amaya felt tears in her eyes. She hadn't expected that. She'd never told any of the kids at school what her family situation was, but apparently there were rumors going around. They must have wondered why Ryou and Amaya were always going home together and eventually figured it out. She felt the warring sides of her mind begin to agree with each other, fists twitching.

"Amaya is an orphan loser!" Akihiro shouted, and the other kids began to chant and agree with him. "Amaya's an orphan loser! Amaya's an orphan loser!"

A tear rolled down Amaya's cheek. She knew Mrs Shirogane would be mad at her. She knew that her own mother would be mad at her. Right now, all she heard was the voice in her head: "Kick their asses."

She ran to Akihiro and threw a punch at his face. He returned the favor with a punch to her eye, and then another to her shoulder. She fell and he landed on top of her, getting ready to hit her again, but she flailed her arms and landed a lucky blow to the side of his head. He stumbled and lost his balance, letting her push him off of her and onto the ground. She slapped him and pulled his hair.

"Take it back!" she shouted, tears staining her cheeks.

Akihiro was torn between crying in pain and angrily fighting back. "Get off of me, you freak!"

Amaya pulled his head up and then slammed it into the grassy ground. "Take it back!" she screamed.

"No way! Don't blame me for being a loser!" he retorted, pushing her away at arm's length.

Amaya had so many confused emotions, but it was easier for her just to convert it all into rage. She was blinded by it, and at the time, she swore she might have done anything. She'd pulled back her fist and wound her muscles as if getting ready to punch the final blow, but suddenly there was a hand hooking around her arm from behind.

Furious mis-matched eyes glared over her shoulder to see Ryou. His face was calm and maybe even a little bit sad. Infuriating anger still sang through her veins, determined not to die out. "Let me go!" she shouted.

He shook his head and began to tug her away. She shouted angrily, thrashing against his pull, but she was inevitably losing her will. The rage was soon replaced by deafening defeat. Her tears came one after the other, until finally she was quietly sobbing. Ryou simply continued tugging her away from the melee, toward the side of the school's main building between a flurry of winding trees.

They sat in the shadows, not saying anything. Amaya pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her face into her lap, shoulders shaking as she sobbed.

"Amaya? Are you okay?"

The girl blinked. She was sitting at one of the café tables, staring out the heart shaped window at the scenery outside. She'd zoned out so much it appeared she hadn't realized it when Akasaka walked in. She sat up and shook the cobwebs from her mind, smiling weakly. "Yea, I'm sorry. I guess I zoned out a bit there," she said meekly.

The brunet boy smiled gently. "You look tired. You're welcome to take a rest upstairs if you need to. Today must have been tiring for you, fighting your first Chimera Anima."

She shook her head. "I'm fine."

The fox mewed at her feet, and for a moment Amaya stared down at her. She'd forgotten all about the little fox cub, expecting her to have run off to find her mother. She smiled and reached down to pick her up, pulling her into her lap. "Hmm, I wonder if she's hungry or thirsty . . . What do foxes eat, anyway?"

Akasaka smiled. "They eat small game, like squirrels and rabbits, and sometimes chickens. But they also eat things like berries and bugs when they're desperate enough. Unfortunately I don't have any meat to give her, but I have some raspberries and blueberries if you'd like to give her those," he offered.

Amaya nodded. "Yes please."

He nodded in return and went off toward the kitchen to retrieve some food for the tiny fox.

Amaya held the fox in her lap and stared down into her warm brown eyes. She smiled. "Aja. Do you like that name? Well, I guess you wouldn't even be able to tell me if you didn't. I hope you do," she thought aloud.

'Like that name! Like that name!'

Amaya blinked. Had she been hearing voices? She looked around, wondering if Masha had stuck around after Ichigo left. It sounded like his signature chanting. Yet when she scanned the tables and counters, she saw no furry pink ball. She stared back down at the fox cub and frowned. "I think I'm going crazy," she murmured.

'Crazy! Crazy!'

Again, she whipped her head around to see whose voice she could be hearing. She saw no one.

'I'm down here!'

She looked down at the fox in her lap. "I'm really going crazy, aren't I? A fox, talking to me? How is that even possible?"

Aja barked. Amaya blinked. Had she imagined it perhaps? There was no way a fox could be speaking to her. After all, this was reality. Though, when she thought about it, having the power to transform into a half-fox superhero was also quite farfetched. Maybe she was in a dream, or she accidentally fell down a rabbit hole.

"Something wrong?" Akasaka asked when he returned to the table, a bowl in hand. He set it down on the floor at the foot of Amaya's chair.

Amaya looked up at him. "I guess I'm more tired than I thought I was. I thought I heard her talking to me for a second," she said jokingly, setting her down onto the floor in front of the bowl. The fox mewed and sniffed the bowl curiously.

Akasaka stood and smiled. "You might not be wrong. Ichigo's DNA allows her to speak to cats. Mint has also shown signs of an ability to understand birds. I don't know about the other girls, but it's very possible that you really can understand Aja's words."

She pouted, immediately deflated. "I really have turned into a freak . . ." she muttered. "What if someone at school finds out? Or what if Mamaya or Ms Rosbe find out?"

Akakasa blinked. "Ms who? She sounds familiar . . ."

Amaya clamped a hand over her mouth, wide-eyed. She hadn't even noticed she'd allowed herself to slip like that until Akasaka mentioned it.

Akasaka smiled gently. "You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to, Amaya. But you should probably know that every one of the Mews has their own problems, and you certainly don't have to worry about appearing perfect. Take Ryou; he lives upstairs," he joked.

The mention of Ryou made her lashes heavy. She looked down at the fox in her lap as it curled into a ball and buried its nose into her paws.

Akasaka seemed to have notice her random change in mood. "He's worried about you. He wants to ask you what happened that day but he doesn't want to scare you away, that's all. You've been through a lot."

Amaya felt a familiar tightness in her throat. "No, I haven't. I mean, I've got people who provide for me and keep a roof over my head. I haven't really lost anything compared to him. Yet here I am being selfish and complaining and rude. I'm awful."

Akasaka said nothing. For a moment, Amaya wondered if he was annoyed that she was being so dark and depressing. She certainly wouldn't blame him. But after a few moments, he spoke again. "You're both very similar, it's eerily clear you were raised together."

She looked up and frowned. "Huh?"

When their eyes met he was smiling. "Ryou gave me a speech almost exactly like yours. I think you both have more in common than you think."

She blinked, stunned silent. Ryou had said the same things? But that couldn't be true. How could he think that she had lost more than he had?

"Take things at your own pace. I'm rooting for you, Amaya," he said gently. He patted her shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile, then stood and began walking for the familiar doorway to the back. Amaya watched him go. Now she was even more confused than she had been before.

Mother, why can't you be here to give me motherly advice? I have no idea how this whole thing is supposed to work, let alone with Ryou Shirogane.

She sighed. Only a complete idiot would expect an answer of course, but she dreamed. She looked back down at Aja, who was sleeping soundly in her lap. She groaned quietly. Now she couldn't even move. She looked so darn cute like that!

"Amaya," Ryou called out to her.

She looked up to the back room door. "Yes?" she asked. She wondered if he was going to pull her aside and start talking about her past again. The thought made her fidgety. She wasn't sure if she was ready to have that conversation yet.

"You've been working all day. You must be tired after fighting that Chimera. Go home and get some rest. We'll be fine with just the other girls in today," he said.

She nodded. "I'll go soon." She gestured toward Aja and smiled softly. "I don't really want to wake her."

He nodded. "See you tomorrow," he said. He gave a short little wave and disappeared again behind the door.

She looked at the clock. It wasn't quite late enough for her to return home at a time that would be after-school appropriate for Ms Rosbe. She figured she might as well stay until Aja woke.

Then she groaned.

How would Ms Rosbe react to finding a fox in the shelter?