A/N: Still going! I know I say it every time, but just be patient with me guys! I haven't left you yet. Also I would like everyone to keep in mind while reading this chapter, that Amaya is 15 and Shirogane is 17 (in this fic) and the legal age of consent in Japan is 13.
Thank you
Happy Reading!
Ichigo was having a dream.
She was at the cafe waiting on tables when suddenly the ground began to shake. When she looked frantically to her comrades around her they were already transformed and waiting for her. Startled, she reached for her pendant in her cafe skirt pocket, but when she went to close her hand where her pendant usually lay, she instead clasped air. She searched the floor around her, wondering if she dropped it, but all she saw were broken plates and cutlery.
A terrifying scream pierced the air like a dagger. Ichigo looked up toward the scream and saw a huge, dragon-looking Chimera Anima with scaly blue skin and a wild purple mane. Its sharp, silver talons were clasped tightly around a small figure of orange. Ichigo felt her heart drop and her throat huffed for air. "Amaya!" she tried to cry, but all that came out was a strangled whisper.
Amaya struggled but she never called out. Ichigo searched for her pendant, scrambling across the floor like a lost kitten, desperate to do something to help. But when she looked up next, Amaya lay motionless on the ground, surrounded by pools of red. Ichigo ran to her, tears streaming down her cheeks. "Amaya!" she cried out.
Then she woke up. Her throat was tensed and ready to scream, but as she saw the familiar pink curtains and yellow carpets around her in her room, she swallowed it down. She gripped the covers between her shaky, ashen fingers, then sat up and reached for the small table lamp at her bedside.
Masha floated sleepily to her and landed softly in her lap. "Ichigo! Ichigo!" he chanted.
She smiled faintly down at him. "I'm okay, Masha. Just a bad dream." She looked up at the ceiling above her and sighed. Tiredly, she draped her arm across her forehead and swallowed, soothing the stinging tightness in her throat. It had been an awful dream and it had only confirmed her fears. She was worried sick. What could she do to help Amaya?
Mamaya always woke up before Amaya did. Since they were young, Amaya had loved sleeping in while Mamaya was an early riser. When they were younger, it bothered Mamaya, because she would have no one to play with until Amaya woke up and started her day. However, today, her sister's laziness was finally something she could be thankful for.
She woke at seven thirty and immediately showered, got dressed, brushed her teeth and headed out. Before leaving, she decided that she would take Aja with her, just in case she couldn't remember the way. She tiptoed from the room she shared with her sister at the end of the hall, all the way out and around the corner to the front door. She looked around in case Ms Rosbe might have been passing by, then when the coast was clear, she slipped out, Aja tucked under her arms.
When she closed the door behind her, she set the fox down on the ground and looked down at her. "Okay, Aja. I don't know if you can understand me, but I know you can understand Amaya. She might not be saying it out loud, but she needs our help, and to help her, we need to go back to the cafe. Can you lead me there?"
The young fox cub looked up at her, tail wagging, and twitched her ear to the side curiously. Mamaya stared at her, waiting. Aja stared back.
The girl stamped her foot on the ground and let out an exasperated groan. Her brows furrowed in frustration. "Come on, I know you can do it! You did it for me last time!"
As if triggering a reaction, Aja perked up, barked and immediately began running down the sidewalk. Mamaya yelped and chased after her. "Wait! Aja slow down! I didn't mean run like last time, too!" she wailed. She couldn't believe she'd found herself in this predicament all over again. If this continued on, she was going to be thin as a stick!
Ryou had woken early, unable to get sufficient sleep. He had found himself staring at the wall for hours until he finally accepted the fact that the sun was keeping him awake. He sat up in his bed and stretched. The curtain's behind him danced through his fingers as the cool breeze blew through the window. It was going to be a nice, sunny day.
He looked around him. His room was plain and empty; he only kept the bare essentials: a desk, a bed, a closet for his clothes, and a bathroom. The four blue walls were long familiar to him and yet, for the past couple of days, they had looked different. Ever since the incident with Amaya, everything looked different.
He was worried about her. She hadn't said a thing to him since he had asked her out on a date. He wondered if he'd even heard his words to her the day after Kisshu's attack. From her recent behavior, he guessed she hadn't.
Ichigo was worried, too. The entire walk home, she'd been running him on about how he had to do something, they couldn't just sit back and watch while Amaya continued to shut everyone out. She'd been so accustomed to living life alone: her against the world. She had no idea how to behave now that it wasn't just her by herself. Even Mamaya was on the receiving end of Amaya's silence lately.
His thoughts were clouded with Amaya even as he stepped out of bed and hopped into the shower. He wondered what he could do. Ichigo was right; he couldn't just sit back and do nothing, especially when he cared so much about her. He was such an idiot for not seeing it sooner. He'd loved her since they were young, he just hadn't noticed it. She was the only one who had ever brought light into his world. How could he have let that go?
He stepped out of the shower after washing himself and toweled himself dry. As he began pulling his pants on and buttoning them up, a soft knock came from the door. He looked up through his wet blond hair and shook it from his eyes. "Yeah?" he called out. He assumed it had to have been Keiichirou. He was the only one who came upstairs to talk to him.
But instead of Keiichiriou's voice, he heard a familiar high-pitched murmur. "It's me. Can I come in? It's important."
For a moment, Ryou paused. It sounded like Amaya but he knew it wasn't her. He pulled on his shirt and walked to the door, twisted the knob open and pulled to reveal her shorter counterpart: Mamaya. He frowned. "Mamaya," he said, his shock evident in his voice. "What brings you here so early in the morning?"
Mamaya walked in, not even waiting for the invite, and passed him. When she approached the middle of the room, she turned to face him. "It's about Amaya. Ms Rosbe hasn't taken too kindly to all of the things that have been going on and, well... She said she's forbidden from coming back here and she can't be a Mew Mew anymore. And Amaya...she's too scared to defy her so she might actually do it."
Ryou's heart dropped.
"And if you ever want to see Amaya again, we've got to do something. Fast," Mamaya muttered.
Ryou shut the door and began pacing the room. "What can I even do?" he asked.
Mamaya shrugged, watching him pace. "Talk to Ms Rosbe? Show her the facts. Tell her everything. I know Amaya has been worried about telling her the truth about us but maybe she needs to hear it. It's not like you're a stranger to us. You're the closest thing to family that we currently have."
Ryou looked down at the girl in shocked silence. He had never heard the sisters say anything like that before. Was that really how they had felt?
Mamaya's face went red and she scuffed the floor with the toe of her shoe. "What?" she snapped. "It's not like it's untrue...We lived with you for a long time so it's only right that you're my family..."
He grinned. When she blushed like that, it reminded him of Amaya. Clearly she was unaccustomed to revealing such personal emotions and he didn't want to make her feel awkward. "Well look at that, Mamaya's got a heart. I guess that punch the other day was just sisterly love?"
She glared up at him, pouting miserably. "You keep that up and I'll show you even more 'sisterly love'."
He chuckled. Then his face sobered again. "What can I say to her that will convince her to let Amaya continue being a Mew Mew?"
Mamaya shrugged again. "Honestly, I have no clue. But you're the adult here, so you've got to think of something!"
Ryou frowned. He wasn't even legally an adult. The legal age of adulthood in Japan was 20 and he was merely 17. What could he do when Ms Rosbe was their legal guardian? Was there even really anything he could do? The law was not on his side in this situation.
But he had to try.
"Okay. Let's go."
She nodded and began leading him downstairs.
Meanwhile, Ichigo had begun leading a meeting of her own. She had called the Mew Mews to her house early that morning to discuss her worries. They had arrived just on time, as they all still had to be on time for school. They sat around her room, their backpacks and book bags cast around the floor beside them, and immediately began.
Ichigo started. "I'm worried about Amaya. She's been part of the team for over two weeks now and she hasn't been opening up to us at all. Especially after that Chimera attack with Kisshu. I know that I'm not always around to see what's going on but have any of you been able to get her to open up a little bit?" she asked, looking around the group of girls.
They each shook their heads. "Even when we walked her home that day she wouldn't let us walk her all the way back," Pudding noted. "Maybe she doesn't like her home life or something like that."
"She's never mentioned anything about her home life except for her sister," Zakuro noted. "It could be that she's trying to hide something at home."
"Do you think she's being abused or anything?" Mint asked.
Ichigo shook her head. "No I don't think it's anything like that. But there's still something. I think Zakuro and Pudding are right. Maybe there's something about her home life she doesn't like. It would make sense as to why she wouldn't let us walk her all the way home that day."
Lettuce piped in quietly. "Maybe she doesn't want us to know, though... Should we really be prying?"
"We're her friends, Lettuce!" Pudding chided. "If something is wrong she can tell us."
"So what do we do?" Mint asked.
Ichigo shrugged. "I don't know for sure. But everyone try to make her feel welcome and part of the team. Maybe she's not sure that she's been accepted yet or maybe she's uneasy about the new environment. Whatever it is, be mindful and try to make her feel like we're her friends, not just her allies."
They nodded.
"Maybe we could ask Shirogane about it?" Pudding asked. "They said they knew each other when they were younger."
Zakuro put a hand on Pudding's shoulder and shook her head gently. "Making her feel welcome is one thing, but Lettuce is right. We don't want to pry. If something really did happen back then with the two of them, let's wait until they're comfortable bringing it up with us. This isn't just about Amaya, it's also about Shirogane. Give them time. When it all blows over I'm sure they'll tell us eventually."
Ichigo shared glances with the other girls around her and nodded in agreement. "All right everyone. Let's do our best."
They nodded. "Right!"
Amaya woke feeling groggy and lethargic. The sun was shining through her window and hitting her right in the face, making her squint and turn to her side to hide from its rays. She reached for the familiar warmth of Aja's fur, but instead of grasping the fox her hand met air. She opened her eyes and frowned, looking around the bed. "Aja?" she murmured. She looked over to Mamaya's bed to see if she had gone over there, only to see that Mamaya's bed was empty.
She blinked, unsure of what had happened. She looked at the clock on the table between their beds. It was only six thirty so where had Mamaya gone? And had she taken Aja with her? If so, she couldn't have been on her way to school. Where else could she have gone? She thought. Then her heart dropped. She couldn't have...Had she gone to the cafe?
Amaya groaned and pulled herself out of bed, crossing the room to make way for the bathroom. She quickly showered and washed herself. She had little time, so she just threw on a pair of shorts and an old black halter top and pulled her hair up into a ponytail. She couldn't let Mamaya get to the cafe. She opened the door to make her way over immediately, but as soon as she did, she stopped. Ryou and Mamaya were standing in the doorway, Aja waiting at their feet.
Amaya's fiery eyes met Mamaya's timid ones. Her temper was rampant. "You're dead," she snarled through clenched jaws.
Mamaya rose her hands in surrender. Amaya saw the panic in her face as she scrambled for words. Her big brown eyes went wide as she spoke. "Before you kill me, just let me explain! I know what it looks like but he's just here to talk to Ms Rosbe! She has to see that you can't quit being a Mew Mew!"
"That's not your decision to make, Maya!" Amaya snapped. "Maybe I don't want to be a Mew Mew anymore. Maybe I just want to be a normal high school girl. Maybe all I want is a chance at living the life I want. Did you even think about that? I've pissed off Ms Rosbe enough. I don't need you coming in here and screwing things up for me even more. She's going to throw me out if I keep this up. Is that what you want?"
Mamaya's face looked dejected. Her brows furrowed as she looked up at Ryou, hoping for something that would help.
Amaya's eyes moved to his. When she saw the look in his blue irises, she softened a little. "Why did you come?" she moaned.
Ryou frowned, and now it was his turn to get angry. He towered over her, making her take a timid step back. "Why wouldn't I come?! Amaya, I'm worried!"
Mamaya knew her sister. She didn't take kindly to being shouted at. The only people Amaya couldn't talk back to were her sisterand Ms Rosbe but it seemed like Ryou was normally on the receiving end of most of Amaya's lashings out. She watched warily as the flames returned in Amaya's eyes. Her tiny hands balled up into fists as she shouted, leaning toward him to undermine his looming figure.
"Why the hell are you even so concerned with me?! Going out of you way to call Ms Rosbe and tell her I'm okay, and now coming over here with my sister to, what? Talk me into coming back?! Why do you care?! Why don't you mind your freakin' business?!" she snapped.
Ryou looked at her as if he couldn't believe what she was saying. His blue eyes were filled with so much frustration, Mamaya thought it would pour out from them. She took a small step back and wondered if she should even be witnessing this argument. It seemed like something between lovers. Was she trespassing? But leaving would be seen as her retreating and if she pissed off Amaya anymore she might be signing her death certificate. She decided to wait it out a couple of minutes and wait for an opportune moment to leave.
"I care," Ryou snapped back, "because first of all, you are a vital part of the Mew Project. And second, if kissing you wasn't an obvious factor, I am clearly in freaking love with you! And right now you are being stupid! You're lashing out at everyone and you won't let anyone who comes within four feet of you help you out at all! Amaya... What the hell is going on with you?!"
Amaya took a step back in shock.
Mamaya saw her opening and quickly took it before the opportunity escaped her. "Ok have fun with that, bye!" she stammered. Before either of them had any objections, she zipped in between Amaya and the door and disappeared behind it, shutting it behind her.
Amaya couldn't find words.
Ryou sighed. "Can you just listen to me for five minutes?"
She stood in silence. Her eyes were wide as could be.
Ryou took this as a yes. "I know that things haven't been easy for you since your accident, and I know that you're probably terrified literally every single second. You probably feel like it's you against the world, and I'm trying to tell you that it doesn't have to be. The Mew Mews, me, Akasaka... We're trying to be your family, but you keep pushing away everyone who talks to you. You can tell us, or me when something is hurting you."
Amaya stood in the doorway, fingers shaking. She looked down at the ground and sighed. Could she really open up like Ryou was offering her? She wasn't even sure how to begin. What was she supposed to say? Part of her wanted to open up, to release the storm that had been building inside of her for so long. But would Ryou be able to handle all of that? Or would she be left rejected?
He told you he loves you. You owe it to him to try.
She lifted her head and grinned up at him. "Fine," she muttered. "I'll tell you everything, but you'd better remember that you asked for it."
He sat on the porch step and tapped the space next to him, offering her a seat. She took it and sighed. She stared at the street across from them and rested her cheek against her fist. Her elbow was propped against her knee. "I don't even know where to start, so tell me what you want me say."
Shirogane shrugged. "Start at the beginning? Tell me about the accident at your house."
"I was six and Mamaya was four. It was Christmas Eve and only a couple of weeks until my birthday. It just happened. One minute Mamaya was being put to bed and the next the walls were shaking. My father had said that night, 'Do you like the life you live? Would you fight to keep it this way? Would you protect your mother and sister, and everyone else if you could?' At the time I couldn't understand what he was asking, but that was what drove me. Protect Mamaya. Fight to keep her here with you. She was all I had after that day.
I was kept at a hospital for a couple of weeks. My physical health was fine, but my mental health wasn't that great. I was having terrible nightmares and my anxiety was sky-high. The only times I was able to calm down were when Mamaya was sleeping next to me. But I knew that I couldn't keep it up for long or I would be sent to a psyche ward, so I forced myself to just calm down. The nightmares never stopped but they didn't know that. To them, I was beginning to recover.
"Then they found you. You were the closest things to family friends, so the doctors asked your family to take us in. I was terrified. The monster hadn't come after me while I was in the hospital, but once I left it I felt like I wasn't safe anymore. I was right. It felt like my fault that the monster had killed your parents. I thought that if it weren't for me, your parents would still be here with you. That was why I ran. I couldn't put more people in danger. I didn't know where I was going to go, but I knew I had to go somewhere far. So I took Mamaya and I ran."
Ryou looked at her with solemn eyes. "It wasn't your fault that any of this happened-"
She smiled softly at him with weak eyes. "I know," she murmured. "But it felt like it. Anyway, my plans to escape weren't thought out that well. Dark came quickly and I was in a city I'd never been to in my life. Mamaya was so tired, she ended up falling asleep on my back the whole way. We ran from a couple that recognized us from the news and then all of a sudden we were in some dark alleyway with a bunch of teenagers who were talking about kidnapping us for ransom. That was when Ms Rosbe showed up."
Ryou glanced over to the girl sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with him. She was smiling faintly. "At the time, she was like an angel. I was terrified, I thought I might die. She just took us in like it was nothing. Maybe for her, it was nothing, since she's been doing this for so long, but to me it was everything. I'd be dead if it weren't for her. Mamaya, too. Since then, I've done everything she's ever asked of me. I owe her everything.
"This might sound crazy, but while I was unconscious that day with Kisshu, I saw our parents. I really saw them. They were together and they seemed content, but also lonely...I wonder if they're stuck there, with no one else to talk to."
Ryou looked at her, studying her face. This was the first time he'd seen her with her hair up. "I'm sure that wherever they are, they're happy."
She nodded. "Since that day, all I can think of is how much trouble I've caused. I mean, I'm new and I've already screwed up so much. It just doesn't feel like I should be trusted. My whole life I've felt like I was on the outside of everything. I never had a place to belong, really. Even here, at the shelter...I don't really get along with anyone except my sister. I don't know if I'm really welcomed with the other Mew Mews."
Ryou ruffled her hair and grinned. "Give them a chance. They'll surprise you."
"The monster will come back," she said. She looked up at him with terrified eyes. "It will come back, and when it does, it will have every intention to kill me. I've gotten away from it twice now but I highly doubt it will give me a third chance. It will kill me, Ryou. It could kill them in the process. And you."
Ryou shook his head vigorously. "We won't let it! You're not going to die, Amaya! Let us help you!"
She sighed. There was clearly no arguing with him, but she was still worried.
"You look better with your natural eyes," he muttered.
She frowned and looked at him. "What?" she asked.
He pointed at her right eye. "The blue... I like it better with your normal colored eyes."
She'd forgotten to take the colored lens out. "You mean you like my freaky mis-matched eyes?" she joked.
He shrugged. "It makes you different. You're not meant to look like everyone else. You were meant to rise above. Stand out. I know that you keep saying you want an ordinary life, but you weren't made for ordinary. You were made to be great."
She felt her face get hot. She looked down at the ground, her hands clamped together with her arms between her legs. She hadn't even noticed that she'd walked out without shoes, or even a sweater. She was wearing practically nothing and Ryou was sitting right next to her. She suddenly felt very exposed. "I, uh, I think that's the closest to a compliment you've ever given me," she stammered. She was trying to be quick-witted but her voice was so shaky, he could see right through it. She kept thinking about the kiss they'd shared that day. Her heart was pounding nervously.
Please don't let my ears and tail come out...I don't want to ruin a moment like this.
He looked at her and grinned, unaware of her inner turmoil. "No way. I've given you compliments before."
She shook her head. "Not really."
He looked skyward as he thought. "Hm. I guess not. Well, I can change that."
This time, her voice didn't shake. "Yeah right. Ryou Shirogane? Saying nice things? It'll signify the apocalypse."
He snorted. "Yeah? Well get ready for the end then, cuz you'd better believe I'm going to blow your mind with all the nice things I have to say."
She giggled, and a little piece of her nervousness melted away. "You're full of crap."
"You're beautiful."
It took her so much by surprise, she almost lost her balance sitting on the porch. She shook away the shock and looked up at him, eyes wide. She'd never heard those words even uttered in her direction. Was she hearing clearly? "What?" she muttered.
He grinned and rolled his eyes. "Allow me to rephrase it in a way you'll understand: you're very aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Your parents' chromosomes have combined wonderfully. I take great interest in your physical appearance."
She shoved him playfully. "Moron. You always have something smarmy to say."
He grinned.
She sat in silence for a moment, staring at the grass in front of her. Her heart was fluttering so much, she thought it might fly right out of her chest. This was real. Ryou Shirogane had just called her beautiful. She felt like she was floating. She looked up at him, only for his eyes to meet hers. "You really love me?" she asked.
He nodded. "Despite what you've grown to think, you are capable of being loved. Falling for you was easy."
She grinned. "Thank you... I love you too."
He smirked and leaned in. "I know," he said.
The kiss was soft and sweet at first, but Ryou slowly began leaning in further and Amaya quickly reciprocated. His hands pulled her hips in further, then they went up to her shoulders and neck. Her arms laced around his shoulders. Her heart was pounding. Suddenly all she could think of was tearing off his shirt.
He pulled away gently, but even as he did, Amaya leaned in after him, as if wanting to follow his lips. He grinned and put his hands to her hips to steady her. "I know that you're dying to finish this but we're sitting on the porch of a children's shelter and your legal guardian is somewhere on the other side of that door. I doubt it would be good for her to meet me the first time with my hands all over you."
She sighed and shrugged. "I guess," she murmured, disappointed.
He ruffled her hair and stood, offering his hand out to her to do the same. "Let's go. I did come here for another reason if you don't recall."
She nodded and took his hand, pulling herself back up to her feet. She was nervous as they opened the door to walk into the shelter, but nonetheless, she could do nothing to wipe away the smile on her face.
Ms Rosbe was not pleased in the slightest. As the two entered she had immediately turned to smiles and handshakes, asking Amaya if this was a friend from high school. But as she explained that this was her manager at the cafe and the leader of Tokyo Mew Mew, her smile quickly began to decimate. Amaya wondered how Ryou was going to handle this.
He was pleasant and polite, which was a surprise to Amaya. She had never seen him act like such a polite guy before. "If you don't mind," he said, "I would like to ask you a few questions as to why you would like Amaya to be pulled out of the project."
They were seated in the kitchen at the island table in the center of the room. A small teacup rested in front of each of their spots on the cold marble table. Amaya couldn't even think about drinking any of it. She was too nervous. She watched as Ms Rosbe looked at the boy with suspicious eyes. His age was clearly making her wonder. "It's dangerous," she replied. "She needs to be worrying about school, not getting into trouble and getting hurt."
Amaya interjected, "But my grades are good! I've been finishing all my homework before I even get home and I study and I pass every test!"
Ms Rosbe's eyes whirred on her, flaring like a forest fire. "You've also been missing classes. I get phone calls whenever that happens, you know," she snapped.
Amaya recoiled, embarrassed to have been scolded in front of Ryou. He continued on like he hadn't heard the disruption. "I understand that you're worried. I would be too. But Amaya is important to the project. I protect these girls and I haven't failed them yet. I don't plan to in the future, either."
Ms Rosbe put her hands on her slender hips, squinting at him suspiciously as she scrutinized him closely. "How old are you?" she asked.
He paused. Amaya wondered if he would lie. "I'm seventeen, ma'am," he said honestly.
"And how long have you been doing this?" she asked.
"I studied the project as a child. But I've been leading it for about three or four years now," he explained. Amaya pondered how he could be staying so calm. Things weren't looking in his favor so far. She wondered if maybe he had something secret up his sleeve that he wasn't telling her about.
"I don't trust you," Ms Rosbe said bluntly.
Amaya looked up at her, appalled. She scrambled to Ryou's defense. "B-but-!"
"Please don't make her stop, Ms Rosbe."
Amaya whipped around to face the voice coming from behind her. Standing in the kitchen doorway with tears in her eyes and flushed red cheeks was Mamaya, holding Aja tightly in her slender arms. Amaya frowned. What was her sister doing?
"I'm scared of the monster," the girl continued when everyone's attention was to her. Her voice shook as she spoke. Whether she was acting or not, Amaya knew there was real fear in her voice. "If Amaya stops being a Mew Mew she can't stop it."
Ms Rosbe frowned at the younger girl at the mention of a monster. "What monster, Mamaya? Did someone hurt you?"
Amaya shook her head, turning back to the woman in front of her. She was wary about bringing it up with her, but it seemed like now was the time. "Eleven years ago, we were attacked by a monster who knew that I was a Mew Mew. It's been following us ever since. That was before even I knew I was a Mew. I don't know why...but it seems to want to kill me."
She saw Ryou glancing at her from the corners of his eyes. His hand twitched. He wanted to hold her hand.
Ms Rosbe stared at her for a moment in silence. She looked at Mamaya, then Amaya, then Ryou. She sighed, bringing a hand up to her temple. "This is all too much. And you need to get to school. Go, I'll speak with you about this after you get home."
Amaya nodded and darted for her room to get dressed and obey. Mamaya retreated close behind, leaving Ryou alone with Ms Rosbe.
"I really don't mean to cause you so much trouble," the blond explained. "I know I probably look like a rebellious teenager trying to get Amaya into the wrong crowd, but this is truly important. I don't want her in danger any more than you."
Ms Rosbe said nothing in response. Ryou gave a small smile. "Well, it was nice to meet you. And thank you for the tea. It was delicious," he said, though each of their cups remained untouched. He turned to make way for the front door.
"Wait!" the woman said quietly.
Ryou turned.
"Who are you?" she asked. Her face was beginning to look tired, he noticed. Her eyes were red, as if she wanted to cry. She had dark circles underneath them, like she'd suddenly lost days of sleep. Even her voice was beginning to crack. Ryou wondered how much more of this she could take. He could imagine Amaya hadn't been very easy to deal with these past couple days. "How do you know Amaya?"
He smiled. "Ryou Shirogane. My father was a famous scientist. His best friend was Amaya's father. He was also a famed scientist. Her father began this project. I'm just finishing an old friend's work."
She said nothing.
Amaya dashed out from the last room at the end of the hall and grabbed Ryou's hand as she went, tugging him with her. "Hurry up, hurry up! I gotta get to school! You'll give me a ride, right?"
He made a disgruntled noise as she pulled him toward the door. "You don't need to drag me, Amaya!"
She snorted. "Clearly I do if you're being so slow," she retorted. "Come on, come on!"
"Wait for me!" Mamaya wailed as she chased the two of them out the door. "I need a ride to school too!"
Ms Rosbe watched them go, an uneasy feeling twisting in the bottom of her stomach.
Mamaya shut the door behind her and ran to catch up with the other two, who had already begun piling into a bright red two-door car parked outside the shelter. She climbed into the backseat and sighed in relief, glad to have not been left behind in the chaos. Amaya climbed in after her and slammed the door shut.
"That could have been worse," Ryou noted. He reached over his shoulder to pull his seat belt on while simultaneously starting the car.
"I hope the tears helped," Mamaya mused distantly from the backseat.
Amaya rolled her eyes. "I knew that had to be fake. You never cry," she muttered.
Mamaya smirked in response. Of course where most would be embarrassed about the topic, Mamaya was beaming proudly.
Ryou drove fast. Amaya couldn't even remember the last time she had entered a car, so she held onto the door handle for support as he sped down the freeway. Ryou took note of this as he drove and audibly smirked. "Don't like my driving?" he asked innocently.
Amaya shook her head, embarrassed to have been caught feeling uneasy so quickly. "It's not that. I just haven't been in one of these for so long, I think I might be prone to car sickness now or something," she protested.
At that, Ryou began to gradually slow down and his steering became more gentle. The aching nausea Amaya was beginning to feel in the pit of her stomach vanished almost immediately, which she was highly grateful for. "Better?" he asked.
She nodded.
"When you learn how to drive these things, you start out being cautious and careful but you eventually develop bad habits," he explained as he took a left turn. "I'm a bit of a speeder, but I do know how to slow down and take things easy."
"I'm just grateful for the ride at all," Mamaya said. "If it weren't for you giving us a lift, I would have been late!"
He pulled over in front of a school that was a little smaller than Amaya's, with two floors instead of four and a large field of grass surrounding it. Small gardens lined the building's walls, and there was even a statue of the school's founder in the middle of it all. Amaya wondered if it was a more expensive school than hers. Kids were running to the doors to get inside or hanging around the gardens to talk to each other before the bell rang.
"Thanks Ryou!" Mamaya said as she climbed out, slinging her book bag over her shoulder.
"No worries," he replied, waving her off as he watched her walk away. He stayed parked in his spot until he saw her enter the school grounds. Then he pulled out and turned around to make way for Amaya's school in the opposite direction.
"I love you," Amaya said casually.
His lips pulled upward at the corners in a restrained smile. "You're becoming addicted to the phrase," he noted.
"You're good with her," Amaya explained, ignoring his comment. "I know you didn't know her very well back then but I'm glad you two get along so well. I think she looks up to you a lot, like an older brother."
He grinned. "I've always wanted siblings."
Amaya smiled. Then she smirked. "Maybe that means I'm home free for the sex talk."
Ryou frowned down at the girl sitting next to him. "Mamaya is only thirteen," he protested.
Amaya shrugged. "She's been asking me about boys and stuff a lot lately so it's gotta happen eventually. Isn't thirteen supposed to be when all that stuff starts? You should start working on what you're going to say. Get to work on the drugs and alcohol talk, too. You can even rehearse it on me a couple times and I'll give you some constructive criticism. Make sure it's good, cuz she's smart, she'll take advantage of the things you miss."
Ryou rolled his eyes and grinned. "You always have something smarmy to say," he mimicked, glancing at her from the corner of his eye.
She grinned back at him. A warm feeling was beginning to settle in her chest. She liked this. The comfort of their banter made her feel relaxed and at ease. Even as she noticed them pulling up toward her school, she couldn't help but smile. She was beginning to feel a little less like she was alone.
Ryou brought the car to a stop and turned the engine off. He looked to her and sighed, sending her a small smile. He could evidently see the nervousness through the thin veil of her smile. He squeezed her shoulder and nodded. "You'll be fine," he said reassuringly.
She drew in a deep breath and nodded. Then she picked up her school bag, slung it over her shoulder and opened the car door to climb out. She looked down at him through the opened door and took another breath. "Thanks," she said quietly.
He nodded and watched her shut the door and turn around, walking nervously toward the front doors of her school.
The rumors were still flying.
As soon as Amaya entered her classroom, the whispers died down, which could only mean that she had been the topic of their hushed conversations. She sat down in her usual seat and pulled out a notebook and her familiar orange pencil case, then began idly doodling on the margins of her book. Class hadn't started yet.
The whispering continued shortly after things had settled down, quieter this time. Amaya could still hear it. "I saw her get dropped off in this really fancy car by some older boy," a girl from behind her whispered. "Maybe they're brother and sister?"
The girl next to her piped in shortly after. "No way, they didn't look related at all. I heard the boy was blond with blue eyes. She's got red hair and brown eyes."
"Well she does have that one blue eye. Maybe one takes after the father and one after the mother?"
Amaya frowned. It was a mystery to her why so many people were determined to understand her life. She wondered if all public schools were like this. At her old school, things were never like this. Everyone minded their own business and everyone was okay with that. She remembered she'd had tons of friends at her old schools. She wondered if that had just been because of her nice things, and now she had no friends because she had nothing.
She hoped not. Though it wouldn't surprise her in the least. Perhaps in the end, everyone was out for themselves. She continued scribbling in her notebook. Was this really the world she fought to save? A world that could hardly appreciate the things she did for it?
"Hey, Toya! Did you see Tokyo Mew Mew on TV yesterday?!"
Amaya perked up. TV? Her identity hadn't been revealed already, had it?
The boy in question, Toya, looked over his shoulder at the taller boy who'd just walked into the room. He took a seat next to his friend, in front of Amaya, and dropped his backpack there. "Yea, I saw! There's some new girl with them now, and man is she cute! I wonder what she's like? Man, I'd give anything to meet them."
The girl frowned. Were they speaking about her? She blushed. People thought she was cute? She shook her head. No, they weren't fawning over her. They were fawning over Mew Blackberry. That wasn't her, not really anyway. How ironic; the person she couldn't even admit she was was the one everyone loved.
"They're already selling cute little dolls of her at that store in town. I was going to go after school, wanna come?" a girl from across the room chirped.
The girl next to her smiled and nodded. "Sure! I need a new pink Mew Mew, my sister took mine. And I finally had enough for the yellow one!"
Tokyo Mew Mew was surely popular with the kids at her school, Amaya mused. She slumped in her seat. That meant she would have to be extra careful when at school that her ears and tail never came out. If she ever let that happen, the kids at her school would be talking about her for years!
End of third period. It seemed like the day was going by slower than ever before. Amaya had advanced calculus next. She wasn't doing too well in that subject. But first, she had to go to her locker to her text book. It was near her classroom anyway, so she didn't mind too much. As she dialed in her locker code and opened it, she saw a small piece of paper float down to the ground at her feet. She bent over to pick it up and turned it over to see a scratchy scrawl of handwriting.
'I'll be in the library at lunch time if you want help with your homework'.
It had to have been from Max. He'd been so helpful to her lately, she wondered if there was ever something she could do to repay him. Probably not. If it weren't for him, she'd be failing most of her classes by now. All because she had no idea how to work a computer. She set the note back down into her locker and grinned. She would think of something later. For now, she grabbed her textbook and hurried to class.
The lunch bell rang, and Amaya couldn't help but feel tired and hungry. She never ate during her lunch period but she wondered if there was anything she could grab today. She was starving. She wondered if she had any money from her last paycheck left over.
First, she would have to do her homework. She ran to the library to get started and finish whatever she could. As promised, Max was there. But instead of sitting at a computer, he was instead sitting at a round table behind the computers with a textbook in front of him and a notebook beside him. He was scratching his head, staring at the textbook like there was something he couldn't understand. She walked up to him and set her bag down on the chair beside him.
Startled, he looked up. Then he relaxed when he saw it was her. "Hey," he said casually. "I know I said I could help you but I really got my ass kicked by my math teacher today. I'm not doing so great in this class and if I don't bring up my marks before finals I'll most likely fail. Sorry, Amaya."
She leaned over his shoulder to see what he was struggling with. It seemed like he was working on trigonometry. She smiled. "I can help if you want. I'm pretty good at trig."
Max looked up at her and frowned. "But you have other things to work on, don't you?" he asked.
She shrugged and took a seat next to him, pulling up a chair so that she could view his text book. "It's okay. I'll help you with this and then you help me with mine. It won't take long," she offered.
He nodded.
She pointed at the various types of triangles drawn in his textbook. "All you have to do is know which formulas to use and the rest is simple multiplication. So first, the angle of this triangle is 40 degrees. They expect you to use that to determine the other two angles in the triangle. And we know it has to have a total of 180 degrees. They've also given you the length of one side in centimeters. This side is the longest one, so it's the hypotenuse."
He nodded. He watched closely as she took a pencil and began sketching a replica of the triangle in his notebook. "Also, teachers give you full marks if you draw the triangle and show all of your work, even if it means the little marks you use to think to yourself. But make sure you use a ruler otherwise they won't want to look at it," she explained.
She began writing down formulas and crossing out things that made no sense to determine which answer was correct. She was thorough, and by the time she was finished and the answer had presented itself, Max finally understood. "Wow, you're good. You should be a tutor or something," he commented, racing through the next question.
She grinned. "I don't know about that. This is how I was taught trig at my old school, and it made lots of sense to me. Once you get the hang of it, this stuff is actually kind of fun," she said.
He shut the book and grinned. "Now let's start on your stuff," he said, "before class starts."
She nodded and they immediately got to work.
"So, how come you never talk about yourself or anything?"
Amaya looked up at Max and frowned. It was the end of the school day and Amaya was walking home. Max had offered to walk her, but she declined, saying that she was fine. However, he insisted on at least walking her half way. She'd protested at first, but he followed anyway. She figured no matter what he said he would follow her anyway.
She shrugged. "There's not much to say," she said.
Max snorted. "I doubt that. I don't know what it is about you but something tells me you're not at all what people think you are. You seem almost like you have a completely different life outside of this one. I don't know, that's just how I see it."
Amaya shuddered. It was eerie how close to the nail he was. She wondered if she was being too obvious. She shrugged and laughed casually, shaking her head. "I'm really just a normal boring girl," she insisted. "There's nothing special about me. I mean, earlier today I said math was fun, remember?"
He laughed, and she sighed in relief, hoping that that would break some of the tension.
"What about you?" she asked, trying to revert the attentions from herself. "You never talk about yourself, either."
He shrugged. "I guess I'm pretty normal too, to be honest. It's just me and my mom at home, my dad walked out on us when I was eight. I don't really know why, but my mom never mentions him. My guess is that he cheated or something like that. I've got an older brother in university but he's rarely ever home since he lives there with a couple of his friends. My mom had me pretty young, so she had to drop out of college when she became pregnant with me. Since then she's been doing whatever work she can to pay the bills. I try to do my best in school so that I can help her out one day. Even my brother has to help out sometimes while still paying for his school."
Amaya looked up at him. She had no idea things were like that for Max at home. She supposed she wasn't the only one with a not-so-great home life. "Why don't you get a part time job? That way you won't have to ask your mom for money and maybe once in a while she could something nice for herself."
Max shrugged. "I want to. But there's not many places around here that will hire a high school student with no experience."
Amaya considered offering him a place at the cafe but immediately terminated the idea. He would find out about her in seconds if she did that. Besides, it wasn't her place to offer people jobs there when she wasn't even the one in charge of hiring people. "What about take out places? Or dry cleaners? Or fast food restaurants?"
He smiled and shrugged. "Maybe I'll try a couple."
Amaya looked down at the ground as they walked. "I don't have much money where I live either. My sister is too young to work and I work part time but I try to do what I can to make sure she gets some money too. It's not easy living around so many kids who have money when you have nothing. She's getting to that age where all you really want to do is fit in and I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to be able to give her what she needs."
Max looked down at her. "I'm sure your mom will help out too," he offered.
She smiled, but it was weak. If only he knew. "Yeah," she said. "You're right."
She noticed the shelter coming up a couple of buildings up, so she turned and smiled, coming to a stop. "Well, thanks for walking me this far. I really appreciate it. I'll see you at school tomorrow," she said, bowing politely.
He looked around and frowned. "You sure you don't want me to drop you all the way? It's really not a big deal for me."
She shook her head violently from side to side. "N-no! I'm okay. My mom, she scolds me when I bring people home without telling her. She goes on about how I should have told her and how the house is a mess and how it's rude not to invite people in when they do nice things for you. She's crazy like that and I don't want you to have to deal with it, so thank you," she rambled. She was beginning to wonder what she was even saying now. The world felt like it was spinning.
He shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets. "All right, if you say so."
She nodded. "I do!"
He stood there, not saying anything. After a long pause, he finally opened his mouth. "Amaya?"
She looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. "Yes?" she asked.
He looked down at the ground, scuffing the pavement with his shoe. He was avoiding eye contact. Amaya wondered what was wrong. He turned around so that his back was facing her, as if that helped to ease his nerves. "I don't usually listen to rumors, but is it true? The guy who dropped you off this morning...is he your brother?" he asked.
She blinked. Then she sighed. "You mean Ryou? No...He's not my brother," she said quietly.
He sighed, heaving his shoulders up and down. "Yeah, I didn't think so."
She made to reach out for him, but stopped herself. "I-I'm sorry, Max. I really didn't know you even felt that way."
He turned around to face her again and grinned. "It's cool," he said. He lifted his hand out to her. "Friends?"
She smiled and took his hand, shaking it cheerfully. "Friends," she agreed.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Amaya," he said, turning to make his way toward his house.
She nodded and watched him go, waving as he went. "Thanks Max. See you tomorrow!"
She sighed, watching him until he turned the corner and disappeared. It had been such a long day. Now she wondered what Ms Rosbe had in store for her. There was only one way to find out. She turned and began walking toward the shelter, heart murmuring in her chest, anxious as to what was awaiting her on the other side of that door.