A/N: I am back! Let's start with some frequently asked questions.
Question 1: The other Mew Mews don't show physical traits of their animal DNA. Why is it that Amaya has sharper teeth, heightened senses, etc?
In some episodes of Tokyo Mew Mew, there were certain scenes in which Ichigo's face looked feline. A screencap ( image/33998707712) from episode 12 shows Ichigo's face with distinguished cat features (sharper teeth, dilated eyes). I believe that the anime never went into much detail about the other girls, because it was mostly focused on Ichigo. In early episodes, just after Ichigo was changed into a Mew Mew, she developed better balance, a taste for fish and her sleeping habits changed. It was never shown, but it is likely that the other girls experienced similar changes when they noticed they had become Mew Mews as well.
Similarly, I believe that handling these changes and animal-like behavior is a lot like puberty, in the sense that the girls' age determines how well they adapt to their DNA. Ichigo is 13, Mint is 12 and Lettuce is 14. Pudding is 9 or 10 (prepubescent) and Zakuro is 16. Mint, Ichigo and Lettuce all had times in which adapting and managing their Mew side was difficult for them (Ichigo changing into a cat, Mint talking to birds, Lettuce changing into a mermaid). Amaya is 15, which would make her experiences quite similar (talking to foxes, change of appetite, heightened senses).
Also, Amaya was injected directly due to her father's experimentation. The other girls were chosen by "fate", or however Ryou explains it.
Question 2: Similarly, can Amaya change into a fox like Ichigo can change into a cat?
No. Ichigo only changes into a cat due to her overuse of the Mew Aqua in episode 26. It causes her Mew DNA to become stronger. In this sense, Ichigo's transformation into a cat can almost be seen as a glitch in the Mew Project. Most likely the other Mews are capable of being affected by this glitch if they were put in the same situation, but Amaya has never come into contact with Mew Aqua, and therefore is not affected. For argument's sake, were she to come into contact with Mew Aqua and overuse it like Ichigo had, it is possible she could also gain the ability to change into a fox. She can only speak to foxes in the same way that Ichigo can talk to cats and Mint to birds.
Question 3: Where is this story meant to be set in the canon Tokyo Mew Mew story?
The part in which Amaya meets the Mew Mews is meant to be set directly after episode 35 and thus far, has not gone further. It will hint at moments from episode 36, but it will not go on to the end of the anime as that is not what this story is about. The Mew Aqua, Deep Blue and the Blue Knight are irrelevant to this story, as I would like to refrain from making the storyline too chaotic.
Question 4: Are island foxes really endangered?
Yes and no. They can be found on the official IUCN Red Data list, and are near threatened. Their survival rate must usually be monitored due to low population. They are native to six of the California Channel Islands, and four of their subspecies were almost wiped out in the early 1990s. Their status on the Red Data list is constantly changing from threatened to near threatened, however according to their website, if criteria for a threatened species is unmet for five or more years, the species status is no longer threatened. In 2004, their status was critically endangered, and then in 2012, steps were taken based on population risk and threats to help recover their species. It's a long and lengthy article, but if you'd like to take a look you can read about it
here - details/22781/0
Question 5: Why does it take so long for you to post chapters? Will the story go on hiatus before you finish?
It will NEVER be on hiatus. I know that I take a while to finish these chapters, but this story is nearly complete and I do not intend on leaving it unfinished. I have a very busy work schedule, which is why I need more time to complete these chapters so please bear with me!
Thank you for your questions, and thank you for your feedback! I will keep all of your points in mind (:
Anymore questions, please feel free to ask!
And now, onto the story!
Amaya was back.
Well, not back. She found herself surrounded in the familiar blackness she'd been stuck in before. Last time she'd been here her body was in great pain, but this time it was different. The sweet, soft feeling from the grassy fields where her mother, father and Mr and Mrs Shirogane had been lingered throughout the vast inky darkness.
She placed a hand over her heart and smiled. Maybe it was her mother's way of looking out for her, even in the next world.
She knew what she had to do. Her father had told her. What was waiting on the other side of this darkness? Would she be in unbearable pain? Would she wake up and with her friends all dead around her? Or would everything be okay? She wouldn't know until she escaped this place. The thought of her friends all hurt because of her made her fists clench guiltily. If she'd done anything to them she would never be able to live with herself.
"Stay focused, Amaya," she murmured to herself. "You don't know that you've done anything yet."
She had to find the pulsing red globe that she'd seen before. She floated around the sea of nothingness, searching for its familiar crimson glow. She had no idea how large this place was. For all she knew it would take a long time until she could find it, but she had to try. She had to hope that she would see it. She searched back and forth, up and down, praying.
Then she saw it.
From afar it hardly looked like anything except a tiny little dot. When she focused on it harder, she saw the familiar up and down bobbing as it balanced in the air.
She ran to it. As the glowing redness became clearer and closer, her heart began to pound. She was nervous. This was it; her key to returning to the other side. She approached it slowly and swallowed the lump in her throat. "You don't belong here," she said quietly. She saw the strange redness ripple like water for a moment, then it returned to its original, solid state. When she spoke again, it was stronger. "You're not a part of my soul. You're not a part of me. You're evil. You don't belong here!"
The rippling continued, and for a moment, Amaya saw something bright and white shining through. "Get out! Leave me alone!" she cried. "Just go back to where you came from!"
Slowly, red liquid-like glow began to retract inward itself. It rippled, wavering as if fighting against her will, desperate to cling to her soul.
Amaya felt the wavering feeling like a storm inside her heart. It threatened to pull her in and take her down. She remembered her father's words. She had to be strong. She had to return to Mamaya. "I am not evil. I'm a Mew Mew. I'm good. I'm meant to protect Mamaya and Ryou and everyone else that I love. Just leave me alone!" she screamed
Then everything glowed white.
Amaya covered her eyes, stepping away from the blinding light. As she did, she tripped and fell backward. The flare was blinding for a few seconds, and Amaya thought that maybe she'd screwed up. Her heart pounded. Her mind raced. What else could she do? What had she done wrong?
But then she noticed the piercing white light had begun to dimmer. She peaked through her fingers to see the glowing bulb of light remained, but this time the redness entrapping it was gone. She sat up and stared in awe. This was her soul she was staring at. Her father's description had told her that soul's came in many colors and that the strongest ones were always of the purest colors. She had no idea hers would be one of them.
"Well done, Amaya," a soft, sweet voice like the wind danced across her head like a memory. She searched for the voice but found nothing but the emptiness around her. She sighed. This really was goodbye.
She looked up and saw that the blackness was beginning to split. Light was flooding through and spreading through the darkness. She smiled and closed her eyes, waiting for the light to envelop her so that she could return to the ones she loved.
Mamaya couldn't help but cry. They had been sitting there for a long time and still, Amaya had not moved. She was breathing, but what if that was it? What if Amaya would be like this for the rest of her life? Mamaya had seen people like this before. They couldn't even leave the hospital and sometimes they needed life support machines just to survive. This was even worse than Amaya dying. Now she was just a shell of a sister and nothing more.
The girls had returned and now the taller with green hair rested a hand on Mamaya's shaking shoulder. "Give it time," her kind voice murmured. "Stranger things have happened. She'll wake up any minute now."
Mamaya squeezed her sister's hand and sniffed. "Please Amaya. Please. Don't leave me all alone," she begged. She leaned her forehead against the knee she'd brought up to her chest and held her hand tightly between her own. Please wake up. Please wake up. Please wake up.
There was a twitch in her hand, and for a moment Mamaya thought it was her own fingers. Then, she lifted her head. Had it been her imagination? Was her sister's hand twitching or had it been her own?
The girl's body began to glow. Gasps filled the air as everyone collectively held their breath, waiting in shock for something to happen. Then the glowing began to rise from Amaya's body and form a strange blob of light above her. "What's that?" Pudding muttered.
Masha floated around behind them and entered their circle. Mamaya watched as the pink, fluffy creature opened its mouth wide and swallowed the strange light all in one big gulp. "Retrieved! Retrieved!" he chanted. "Chimera parasite retrieved!"
As it stopped glowing, Amaya's body returned to its original form. She no longer looked like a monster. Now she just looked like a broken little girl. Mamaya leaned over her sister and held her body tightly. It was cold and hardly moved but it was all she could do. Mamaya used to do this for her, when they were trying to get themselves together, piece by piece in the hospital after their first incident. She'd been scared and she couldn't understand much back then, but she knew that when she was next to her sister, she was helping. At the time, that had been enough for her.
Amaya shivered.
Mamaya gasped. "Amaya!"
She shivered again. Mamaya looked up frantically at Ryou. "She's freezing. We need to get her somewhere warm or she'll get pneumonia!"
Ryou moved in toward the unconscious girl and began to lift her just as she began to open her eyes. Her mis-matched irises looked around, unfocused, then shut again for a few seconds. When she opened them again, she blinked. She looked around her, as if trying to get a sense of her surroundings. Ryou's heart pounded, but he couldn't help but sigh in relief. He grinned. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" he quipped.
She glowered at him. "Last time you said that you got a punch in the face. Do you really want to test me again?" she growled. Her voice was croaky and cracked but it was hers and it was real.
"Amaya!" they cried. They ran to the girl in Ryou's hold and threw their arms around her as best as they could at the same time. Amaya felt fourteen arms around her all at once and for a moment, she wondered what was going on. Then she remembered: they probably thought that she'd died.
"I'm so glad you're okay!" Ichigo cried.
"We thought we might have lost you!" Mint added.
"Man were you hard to fight!" Pudding joked.
Amaya smiled around the circle. Her heart felt like it was flying. She'd never felt this loved in her life. She had no idea she was so lucky as to have such great friends like the Mew Mews. She would keep fighting for this forever. "Thanks for sticking with me, everyone. I'm sorry I caused so much trouble. And I'm sorry if I ended up hurting anybody."
They shook their heads and smiled back at her. "You couldn't hurt a fly," they promised.
Amaya looked over to her sister, who was staring down at the ground with tears in her eyes. She sighed. "I'm sorry, Mamaya. I never meant for you to get dragged into this and I never wanted you to find out like this, either. I wanted to tell you about it all, but I was scared..."
Mamaya smiled up at her and a tear rolled down her cheek. "Idiot," she sniffed. "You don't have to explain it to me. I understand. I'm just glad that you're safe."
Amaya smiled back at her, and for a moment she thought she heard her mother's voice. She looked around her but saw nothing. Maybe she'd imagined it.
"But Amaya, why didn't you call us if something was wrong? We could have helped you!" Ichigo cried.
Amaya felt her face flush. She'd caused Ichigo and the others a great deal of trouble and she was sure she'd hurt them more than they would admit. The thought of asking for her help hadn't even crossed her mind. All this time she'd been trying to surpass Ichigo, to become a great leader like her. She'd never thought of working together with her instead.
She ducked her head and hid her face behind her hair. "Sorry," she mumbled.
Lettuce smiled and put a hand on Amaya's shoulder. "Don't worry Amaya. The good thing is that you're all right."
"You should get somewhere warm soon, though," Zakuro said, looking out toward the Tokyo skyline. "The sun will be setting soon and you'll freeze to death if you stay out here. I'm sure the cafe will be warm enough. Returning home in this state would probably be unsafe."
Amaya froze, and for a moment, she was sure she forgot how to breathe. Her eyes met Mamaya's. "Ms Rosbe!" they shouted in unison.
Mamaya fidgeted nervously and paced back and forth, heart pounding. She hadn't thought of what Ms Rosbe could have been thinking. She probably was under the assumption they'd run off and would never return again. And even if they did, they would be in huge trouble. Amaya and Mamaya would never be allowed to see the sun again! "What do we do?!" she wailed.
Amaya buried her face in her hands. When she left it, the shelter was in ruins. The glass windows had been shattered and all the furniture had come toppling down. Walls had collapsed and people had probably been hurt. Ms Rosbe was going to be absolutely furious with them, most of all her. "She's going to kill me."
She lifted her face from her palms and looked around to see Aja standing a few feet away, outside the circle of Mew Mews. The fox cub stared at Amaya sadly, as if unsure of what to do. Amaya sighed, but she couldn't help but smile. She opened her arms and said, "Come on, Aja. Let's go explain this all to Ms Rosbe and hope she won't kick us out forever."
Aja barked and ran to her, leaping into her arms with a gleeful wag of her bushy tail.
Ryou's hands at her shoulders tightened. "Are you sure you should be going home right now, Amaya? You can always return to the cafe and go home when you're feeling better," he suggested.
Amaya shook her head and smiled up at him. "It's tempting, but no. I should go home. I've been putting something off for a long time and I think it's time I finally did it."
He looked unsure, as if he didn't want to let her go, but he nodded all the same. He squeezed her shoulder reassuringly and smiled. "Good luck then."
She nodded and turned to her sister. They both shared similar looks; they knew they were about to get the lecture of their lifetimes. All they could do now was hope that Ms Rosbe had the kind enough heart to still take them in after all the trouble they had caused. "Let's go home," Amaya said.
Mamaya nodded.
Amaya turned to the other Mew Mews and bowed her head politely. "Thank you again for all of your help, and I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused. I'll see you all at work tomorrow!" she chirped, smiling as she stood up again. She wished there was something else she could do for them, but this was all she knew at the time. What was the normal thing to do when your life was just saved?
"No need to thank us," Mint said lightly.
"You're our friend!" Pudding cheered.
Lettuce nodded in agreement. "You're one of us, Amaya."
Amaya smiled at them. She was truly grateful for everything they'd done for her, and they hardly even knew her. She'd have to think of something to thank them properly. She turned and began to walk away, when suddenly there was a hand on her shoulder, making her pause.
"Wait, Amaya!"
She looked over her shoulder to see Ichigo staring at her, wide pink eyes gazing into hers. Her frown was deep and worried, like she was afraid but of what? Her cotton candy hair was messy and dirty and her face was grimy. She looked like she'd suffered the most of them all. Amaya felt a pang of guilt pierce her chest.
"Are you sure you're okay? One of us can help you get home and make sure you're okay at least," the girl offered.
Amaya was grateful for the offer, but she had to refuse. She shook her head and smiled politely. She couldn't cause anymore trouble for the girl. She was sure the other Mew Mews would want to return home and take a nice hot bath. "Thanks, but it's okay. I've done enough for one day. Don't worry about me."
Ichigo's frown deepened but before she had a chance to say anything else, Amaya had begun walking away toward the tower's exit. She watched the sisters go until they disappeared behind the heavy metal door with an eerie creak.
Mamaya walked side by side next to her sister as they exited the tower building and returned to the damp air outside. They'd said nothing to each other since they left, but Mamaya knew something was on Amaya's mind. She'd been looking off into the distance, but she knew it wasn't the busy Tokyo streets that had caught her attention; she was staring at something further, not even paying attention to her surroundings.
Aja was curled up against her shoulder, perched there like a watchful owl guarding her post. Her claws were probably digging into Amaya's shoulders, but the girl looked as if she hadn't even noticed it. Maybe she hadn't.
"You worry too much," Mamaya finally said, breaking the silence between them.
Amaya blinked as if her words had awoken her from a trance. She looked down at her sister for a moment, eyebrows furrowed. "What?" she muttered.
The younger girl looked up at her, making Amaya turn her head. "You're worrying about so many things you hardly even know what's going on around you. What is it? Ms Rosbe? Shirogane? Those girls? Or whatever happened today?"
Amaya shrugged. It was clear she was uncomfortable with speaking out about these things with Mamaya. Usually she would never hesitate to open up to her sister, but this was different. Amaya had caused a lot of trouble today and because of it, she'd let a lot of people down. How was she supposed to come to terms with that? She wished she could return to the easier life with her parents and the Shirogane's. Things there seemed much happier.
But that was impossible. Now that she'd recovered from the initial damage of the situation it was time to do ground control. Somehow she had to make it up to Ms Rosbe, her sister, Ryou and the Mew Mews all at once. Not to mention keeping up with school and attempting to become a somewhat normal teenager. How was she supposed to do all of that? The pressure of it all was enough to send her mind into a dizzying spiral.
Mamaya said nothing as a solemn silence ensued. She was sure her sister was worried, yet for the first time she kept quiet about her thoughts. The idea made Mamaya tear up. What if things were never the same between the sisters after this? Mamaya couldn't stand that.
She hadn't noticed she was crying until Amaya wiped a tear away from her cheek with a cold finger. "Don't cry, Mamaya! What's wrong?!" Amaya wailed.
Mamaya wiped the tears from her eyes furiously. She hadn't cried in a long time and she wondered what had caused such strange behavior from her now. "It's just, you never hide things from me... All this time you were hiding that you were one of those superheroes and you never even told me. How long has it been like this? Did you not trust me to keep your secret? And now all of a sudden you won't even tell me what you feel. It seems like now that you're meeting so many new people and you have Ryou, you don't need me anymore..."
Amaya opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Her face was twisted in a sad frown, looking down at her sister in guilt. She had no idea she'd been hurting her so much just by not telling her this one secret. Then again, it was a huge secret.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not upset that you didn't tell me about the actual superhero thing. But if there were things bothering you or hurting you about it, you would have usually told me... You always tell me what's on your mind. I can always tell you what's on my mind. I can't lose that... You're all I have," Mamaya murmured.
Amaya smiled down at her younger sister. "Sorry, Mamaya. Sometimes all of this is hard for me, you know? You're my best friend but you're also my sister and I've decided to protect you... That won't ever change. There are some things that I'm going to keep from you because I need you to stay safe. That doesn't mean that I still won't open up to you about everything else."
Mamaya sighed and looked down at the wet pavement beneath her. It wasn't an answer that satisfied her and Amaya knew it, but what else could she do? How could she tell her sister about all the things she'd learned? That their father had made her like this, and that the Chimera Anima was after her because of it? That things like this would be happening to them for a long, long time from now on? That she'd seen their mother and father and the Shirogane's and wished that she could return to them every moment of every day?
She couldn't. She just couldn't.
"Do you really think she's okay?" Lettuce murmured after Amaya and her sister departed the scene. She stared at the door as the metal slam reverberated across the threshold.
"She's tough," Mint reassured her. "She'll be all right."
Ichigo looked up at Shirogane from the corner of her eye. His face was unsure and his eyes looked uneasy. Sure, Amaya came off like a strong girl, but there was something else going on here and Ichigo knew Shirogane could tell too. She couldn't sit back and watch while this continued. They were the leaders; it was their duty to do something when their team was hurt.
"For now, everyone go home and rest. You did good work today," Shirogane announced. "Spend the rest of the day with your loved ones."
They nodded. As they began to make their departures, Ichigo turned to Shirogane, eyes focused on his. He looked down at her and met her gaze. For a moment, his eyes were hard and cold, but when he saw the look in hers, they softened. "You're worried about her."
"Of course I am!" she exploded. "You can't tell me you're not?!"
He frowned down at her, offended. "Of course I am! But what am I supposed to do? She's pushing everyone away so much she'll hardly even open up to Mamaya. If Mamaya can't get her to open up, I sure as hell can't!"
Ichigo thought of her own family and their closeness. Of course, she always felt like she could open up to her mother, but there were things that she couldn't tell her, too, like her being a Mew Mew. "You're the one she turns to when she can't talk to her sister! You're supposed to fight for her, not just let her push you away! Aoyama is always there for me when I can't depend on anyone else. You should be there for Amaya, too."
Shirogane thought about it. As hard to admit as it was, Ichigo was right, but how could she get Amaya to open up to her? What could he say?
"All I'm saying is that you told her you loved her," Ichigo said sternly. Her tone tugged at his consciousness, making him look up to meet her determined gaze. "You don't just watch as the person you love destroys herself."
He opened his mouth to ask her advice, but she had already begun to turn and leave. She opened the heavy metal door that led to the stairwell exit and looked over her shoulder at him. "She's just a scared girl, Shirogane. We all are," she said. She turned and left, the heavy door swinging shut behind her.
He was left alone.
Being alone had never bothered Shirogane. He was used to it. He had begun to grow to enjoy the solidarity but it was because of this loneliness that he wasn't very adept at the art of people. He never had been, even as a child. Amaya had remained a mystery to him even when he was young. It was strange, he had become so accustomed to being alone that now it was beginning to backfire on him.
And Amaya...Well, perhaps she'd been more alone than he thought.
All in all, the shelter had ended up in a much less crucial state than she'd originally imagined. Furniture had been slightly damaged and walls had been dented and scratched, but the only real repair needed was the glass window where Kisshu had entered. It seemed like the chaos had mellowed down, because the lights were on and the sounds were low. Amaya heard a television and a radio. Kids laughing. Adults murmuring. She wondered if they were talking about her.
They stood on the doorstep, staring at the wooden sign that read "Welcome!" in colorful letters. Amaya's heart was pounding. She knew this would be difficult but she didn't think it would be this terrifying to return. Part of her wanted to run and never return, but where could she go? She'd be roaming the streets of Tokyo the same way she'd done years ago.
Mamaya stood silent at her side, looking up at her sister from the corner of her eye. She wanted to help her but what could she do? What could she say that would help?
She looked up at the sky. The sun was almost completely set and the stars were beginning to peak through the clouds. The sky to the east was inky black while the west was still a pale blue. The shades of blue and yellow in between looked like a painting. The air was cool; a light breeze brushed their red hair over their shoulders. As it danced across the threshold, Mamaya caught wind of a nostalgic smell.
She looked back down from the sky and up to her sister, smiling. "Come on, let's go," she said, grabbing her hand.
Amaya frowned as her sister began to drag her away from the door. "Wh-what? Mamaya, where are we going? Hey!" she cried, tripping over herself.
Mamaya continued walking with her sister's hand entwined in hers. The older sister followed, face red. They hadn't held hands like this in years. She looked around to see if there was anyone staring at them. It probably looked like she was crazy and her little sister had to take care of her mental older sister. "Do you really have to drag me? I'll follow you wherever you're taking me," she muttered.
Mamaya squeezed. "Yes. Now shut up."
Amaya huffed. "How do you know your way around here anyway? You don't get out any more than I do."
"Guess work," Mamaya replied.
Amaya frowned. She didn't understand what Mamaya was talking about but she figured she might as well do as she said. Once Mamaya had a goal in mind it was hard to distract her, and besides, her grip on Amaya's hand made escape unlikely.
They continued weaving through the city streets. Amaya looked around at all the brightly lit signs and flashing lights around them as they passed little shops on the sides of the streets. She watched as couples and families passed by windows and stopped to look inside them, gushing at the things they saw. Amaya wondered where it was that Mamaya was taking her.
Then a smell caught her attention. It smelled warm and salty and comforting...and somehow familiar. She frowned. Where had she smelled this before?
"Hello! Would you like some miso ramen? It's world famous!"
The words rang through her ears like a bell in her mind. Amaya turned to see a small ramen stand with a short old man and a shorter old woman standing behind it. There were three tall stools and a TV propped atop a counter. Steam rose into the dark sky as the smell of miso overcame them.
It was the same ramen stand they'd ran to as kids.
"Yes please!" Mamaya chirped. She finally let go of Amaya's hand and climbed up onto the stool. She turned to Amaya and smiled. "Come on! You telling me you're not hungry?"
Amaya's stomach gurgled in response before she had a chance to. Slowly, she climbed up onto the stool beside her sister and sat as the man and woman each placed a large bowl in front of them. "There you go! Enjoy!"
"Thanks!"
Amaya stared down at the bowl and picked up her chopsticks. "How did you remember? You were so young."
Mamaya smiled mid-slurp. "I always remember the days that you saved my life," she said simply. She swallowed the noodles in her mouth and pointed in the direction they came from. "Over there was the alleyway we ran to where we almost got kidnapped by those thugs. You guarded me with your body even though you were too small to actually fight them. Not that you're much bigger now."
Amaya sent her a sidelong glare. "I'm still bigger than you," she muttered.
Mamaya giggled as she shoved more noodles into her mouth. She slurped, then swallowed. "The point is, you've saved my life tons of times and I'll never forget them. So I want you to remember today as the day that I started saving you. I'm young, but I'm not your baby sister anymore. I can fight, too. You don't need to throw your own life away for me. We can protect each other."
Amaya looked at her sister as she continued slurping noodles. "But I'm a Mew Mew..."
Mamaya shrugged. "So what? You're my sister. That's all that matters."
"That monster is still out there," Amaya urged. "And it'll come back for me."
"And I'll make sure it doesn't get you." She looked up at her with determined eyes. "Just because I'm a normal human doesn't mean I can't help."
Amaya sighed and slumped. The idea of Mamaya being in so much danger? It worried her to no end. "I guess..."
"Maybe I should become a Mew Mew, too."
Amaya jerked her eyes up and looked at her sister, frowning. "What? No!"
Mamaya frowned. "Why not?"
She sighed and shook her head. "It's not something you just choose. You have to have certain compatible DNA. You weren't meant to be a Mew Mew. Mom and Dad never would have wanted that for you and I don't either," she murmured.
"Well why? How come I have to stand here and watch you throw it all away for me? How come you were meant to be a Mew Mew and not me?" Mamaya argued.
Amaya shrugged. "I don't know," she muttered. "But it's not as cool as it looks. All of a sudden I get weird eating patterns and I chase mice and birds around and I can understand foxes like Aja. Trying to be normal is difficult when you're half animal."
Mamaya looked at the fox still silently perched on Amaya's shoulders. "Can you understand her now?"
Amaya looked up at her and shook her head. "She's still young so sometimes she's just making weird sounds and not actually saying anything."
Aja barked. "She's hungry," Amaya translated.
Amaya picked at the soup in front of her and sighed. "The point is that being a Mew Mew is more than me talking to animals and stuff. It's the fact that I'll never be normal again. No matter what I do it doesn't matter because I have to be able to throw it all away to save the earth and I need to make sure that you're a part of what I'm saving. If you were a Mew Mew I wouldn't be trying to protect the earth, I'd be protecting you."
Mamaya slumped. "Oh," she murmured. "I guess that makes sense. But I can still help! Like covering you from Ms Rosbe and taking care of you when you're hurt and making sure that you're okay and giving you someone to vent to. You'll let me do that, right?"
Amaya grinned. "Well Ms Rosbe's seen me transform now so that secret's out. But yeah, all the rest, I suppose I'll let you get away with."
Mamaya smiled. "Promise?" she asked, holding out her pinky finger.
Amaya smiled back and twined her pinky finger around hers. "Promise."
They let go of each other's hands and turned back to their food. "You'd better eat that quick before Aja decides it's hers," Mamaya said, gesturing toward Amaya's untouched ramen. "Or before I decide it's mine."
Amaya grinned. "It's mine, both of you back off," she growled. She picked up her spoon and dug in, feeling happy and relieved for the first time in a while.
"You can do it. Want me to go first? I'll break the ice and then you come in right after when she's shocked silent."
"I don't think that'll work. She'll eventually run me down with the lecture she originally had in store for me, plus thirty more minutes of bonus material," Amaya replied.
"Right, right. Ok, what if you just ran right to your room and pretend nothing happened?"
"I think that's even worse. She'll scream at me for not telling her when I came home and most likely tell me to get out."
Mamaya sighed. "I think either way, you're in for a beat down."
Amaya slumped. "I know. The other kids will probably be talking about me for the next millennium."
Mamaya snorted. "You've never cared what any of them had to say before now, why start today?" she muttered. "I think the best and easiest thing to do is just to walk in, go right up to her and apologize for everything. Offer to help fix the window and pay for any damages, even if you can't afford it. Maybe Ryou will give you a temporary raise or let you take more hours at the cafe?"
Amaya thought of Ryou and wondered if she hadn't made him sick of her yet. She remembered the offer he'd made her for dinner. That's probably off the table now. "I don't know... I don't think he'd want to do that."
Mamaya looked at her from the corner of her eye. From the way her face was twisted, she could tell her sister had missed Ryou's confession. She hadn't brought it up, either. Perhaps Ryou would have to try again. "You know, he cares about you a lot."
Amaya shrugged. "He probably just sees me like an annoying little sister."
Mamaya kept her remark to herself. Her sister had other things to worry about before Ryou Shirogane, that was for sure. "So, you gonna do it? It's getting a bit cold."
Amaya took a deep breath and nodded. "You first."
Mamaya nodded, reached for the doorknob and looked up at her sister, waiting. "Ready?"
Amaya gulped, heart pounding in her ears, and nodded.
The door swung open before Mamaya even twisted the knob. The younger sister wailed and went toppling forward. Amaya reached for her sister's arm to catch her before she hit the ground, but two slender arms held her up and stabilized her instead. Amaya looked up. Ms Rosbe's eyes met hers.
She scrambled for words and hastily bowed her head down low. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry I damaged your window and your walls and your furniture and I'm sorry I put so many people in danger and I'll pay for it! I don't know how but if you give me a couple of months or something I'll do it! And I'm sorry I hid Aja from you and I'm sorry I lied to you and I completely understand if you want me to leave and never come back but please at least let Mamaya stay! She...has nowhere else to go!"
Mamaya frowned. "Idiot! Neither do you!" She looked up at Ms Rosbe and stood closer to Amaya, hands held out on either sides of her sister like a wall of protection. "If she goes I do too! You're a children's shelter, aren't you? You can't just kick us out!"
"Mamaya don't be rude!" Amaya wailed, clamping a hand over her younger sister's mouth. "She didn't mean that! She meant, thank you for your hospitality up until now and thank you for everything you've done for us!"
Mamaya shouted muffled incoherent sounds at them.
The woman stood silently at the doorstep, looking down at the sisters with a face so unreadable, Amaya shivered in fear. She took a step toward them and Amaya clamped her eyes shut, waiting for the blow. When she felt arms around her, pulling her closer, she frowned, eyes wide. "Huh?" she muttered.
Ms Rosbe knelt to them and pulled them closer. "Don't you two ever run off like that again. I was worried sick. I thought you'd been picked up by thugs or killed. Don't do that again. Never again," she murmured, voice shaking against their ears.
Mamaya looked over to Amaya over their shoulders and smiled. "Sorry," she whispered.
Amaya felt tears burning in her eyes. "Yeah," she murmured. "Sorry."
They stood like that for a long time, the cold air no longer affecting them as they held each other in a warm embrace.
Mamaya lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. It had been three hours since they'd returned to the shelter and Amaya and Ms Rosbe had been in the kitchen talking ever since. Mamaya had gotten her own, much shorter lecture before. She looked down at the fox cub sleeping on the foot of her bed and sighed. "You think she's okay in there, Aja?" she wondered aloud.
The fox cub made a low whining sound in response.
"I mean, things are going better than I thought," Mamaya mused. There hadn't been any yelling, slamming or crying yet, but who knew what would come? "But three hours? That's one long as eff' conversation."
Aja barked.
Mamaya frowned. "Your remarks don't mean anything when I can't understand them. You know Amaya's the only one who can actually understand what you're saying right? Can't you give me some kind of hint? I don't speak fox."
Aja barked again.
Mamaya slumped. "I guess not. I can kinda understand how Amaya feels. I'm sitting here talking to a fox."
The doorknob twisted from the other side, making Mamaya sit up attentively. Aja raised her head from her paws and looked up. When it opened, Amaya walked in. Her face looked exhausted. Her eyes were puffy and dark, revealing that she'd been crying. Her cheeks were red. Her hair stuck out in some places. "What happened?!" Mamaya wailed.
Amaya closed the door behind her and trudged to the bed, slumping down against it face-first. She lay like that for a couple seconds before moving her face to the side to breathe. "She said I can stay."
Mamaya lit up. "That's great!"
Her weary eyes shut slowly. "But I have to stop going to the cafe and I can't be a Mew Mew anymore."
Mamaya's face sobered. "What? But you can't just stop, can you?"
Amaya shrugged. "This is what I wanted, right? To be a normal girl... If I stop going to the cafe and I don't see the others or Ryou anymore I can have that. I'll never have to use my powers anymore and I can pretend that I'm not a Mew Mew at all."
Mamaya frowned. "But that doesn't seem right... You're just going to leave them? I thought they were your friends."
Amaya buried her face into her sheets. "I've done enough damage to them. All I've ever done was cause trouble for them. It's better this way."
"But!"
"I'm going to sleep. Goodnight, Mamaya."
Mamaya sighed, staring at her sister's form. She knew that she wasn't really asleep, but she wasn't going to speak to her right now either. The idea of Amaya pretending none of this had ever happened seemed like the easy way out. Amaya wanted it, but at the same time she didn't. She wanted to be able to fix things but this was her excuse not to try. Mamaya couldn't let her take the easy way. She had to do something, but what?
She stood and walked to the door to switch the light off, then climbed back into bed and stared up at the ceiling, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the blackness around her. Perhaps Ryou would be able to do something, or the other girls at the cafe. She would have to go there tomorrow, she decided. She couldn't let Amaya destroy herself like this.
She had to protect her.