The Very Picture of Shock

Dear readers,

Hereby, I would like to thank you for each and every of your comments, reviews, follows and kudos. I am so happy to see that people are loving this story. That is like really awesome, you know? Thank you so much!

As for the following chapter, it's going to be all about context, context, context. Let's set some last things straight, shall we? And, by last things, I mean Ichigo's complicated predicament in regards to everyone else except for Masaya. We already know what kind of relationship she shares with her boyfriend, but how does she feel about the others, hm?

The songs I used for this chapter are Rihanna's 'SOS' and Jonas Brothers 'S.O.S.'

Lulyy Elizabeth Vaca - Thank you for your comments! I am so happy to see that you like Libidinous so much! And, yes. I do intend to post again every Thursday, just like I did with The Road to Perfection. As for my previous fic, there WILL be a sequel of sorts; I was already thinking of two isolated one-shots, wherein Elton and Yuri will visit Earth, and one where Ichigo will go to Cyclonia, respectively. They are in the process of making thus far, so I will keep you updated about them. I don't think I will make a full 30-chapter-something continuation of the story though, unless I get inspired by some really good idea!

DrDark7 - Thank you for your comment! I am so excited to hear that you liked the previous chapter. And, you are absolutely right, we are still at the beginning of the story, but the unconscious reactions that Ichigo is having are all already there!

2Sonic1808 - Thank you for your comment! I am so happy to see that you are enjoying this story so much. If you like dark Kishigo, stay tuned for the next upcoming chapters as well! It's gonna be a hell of a ride, I promise!

AnimeRoxx - Thank you for your comment! I am delighted to hear that you enjoy my writing. Sometimes, I feel like I am using wayyy too much thinking in my works, but, I guess, I really like all the stream-of-consciousness-thing a little too much to just omit it. As for the smut, sex will play one of the central themes of this story; however, as I said earlier, the explicitness of the respective scenes will vary. P.S. I don't like Masaya either ;-)

Kishlover985 - Thank you for your comment! I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed the last segment. And, I couldn't agree more, Kisshu appearing at the end is the best part of that chapter haha! That is for sure!

As always, please enjoy and review!

I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew

The following morning, Ichigo found herself hesitating in front of the red robust front door of the Café Mew Mew with a little more uncertainty than usual.

For one, the persistent, throbbing pain that continued to pound in her head since she had woken up was unbearable.

Two, there were far too many contradicting thoughts viciously plugging her mind, making her bewildered, as well as dizzy.

And three, it was Sunday, and she had to work.

Ichigo was, of course, quite aware that all of this newly acquired tension in her muscles could be simply ascribed to the sudden change of weather, since the forecast had warned the Japanese residents against the upcoming decline in temperature that had seemed to be the result of the storm coming from the north east; yet, the Mew Mew was far too astute to know that although she did not particularly like autumn, as it was the time of the year, which prepared everyone for the icy claws of winter, the season Ichigo absolutely abhorred, she could not blame her current state of trepidation merely on the seasonal fluctuations.

Something told her that it was far more than that; in fact, she was fairly certain of it. However, one quick glimpse at her wrist watch immediately notified her that she had no time to dwell on such little trifles any longer.

Ryou Shirogane was, after all, rather infamous for his notorious hairsplitting, as much as for his merciless, almost inhuman work conditions and zero tolerance for excuses, all of which had made Ichigo cry and wail in anger on more than one occasion. There were literally days when she had been praying for a miracle to happen wherein her slave driver of a boss would, all of a sudden, discard his obnoxious persona and become nice, for a change. So far, her wishes had been largely unanswered, but a girl could always dream.

All the more, when dreaming constituted the last thing that had kept Ichigo effectively in place, when everything else around her appeared to have been in tatters.

With her grades rather abominable and her time divided between fighting the aliens and working her ass off under Ryou's strict supervision, Ichigo found her spirits somewhat down as of lately, since her free time had rapidly come from reduced to practically non-existent. She did not remember the last time she had had a normal dinner with her family, and her strained relationship with Masaya did not help her personal crisis in the slightest. Ryou must have sensed this somehow, since he, during one of his brighter moments, conceded to this strange consensus between them which had basically forced him to provide Ichigo with a Tuesday and Thursday afternoon off and, once in a blue moon, she could get away with a whole free Saturday too; in exchange for working continuously and till her last breath all the rest of the week, Sunday included. This deal, naturally, lost all of its validity whatsoever, whenever an enemy attack was due. But, in the meantime, when she did not have to work, fight or study, Ichigo could fantasize about real joy, normalcy, and alien-free future, for which all of these dreams of hers provided a perfect opportunity of a temporary mental escape.

She glanced up, still somewhat at awe with the elegant contours of the tall building that was filling most of her line of vision, and sighed.

No matter how distressed the Mew Mew was, the sight of their headquarters never failed to produce the same kind of effect on her; a blend of amazement and veneration entrenched in some sort of close familiarity, which this place intrinsically held. And when Ryou was not constantly barking orders her way, breathing down her neck and bugging her relentlessly, the Café Mew Mew did make Ichigo think of it as of her second home too. It must have been something about the manner with which the red-tiled roof was towering above the crowns of the trees in all of its sheer glory that had struck her to the core every time, reminding her instantly of her Mew Mew duties and obligations, of the many secrets she had sworn to keep; of the mission she was assigned to fulfill or else the whole world as they knew it would collapse.

There was so much more to unpack; to understand, and process.

And she could very well start with the fact that it was 10:35 am and the sign hanging on the red door in front of her still read CLOSED.

Ichigo inhaled a deep breath through her nose and pushed the robust front door wide open at last.

"H-hello! Is anyone here?" she called out, half breathless and still slightly anxious, when she finally walked in the seemingly empty Café foyer, the door behind her closing with a soft, almost indistinguishable click.

It took her only a second to note that something was amiss.

Am I early?! No way!

The confused Mew Mew immediately retrieved her phone from her pocket to check for any missed calls or messages, as she quickly strolled around the area, eyeing the tables cautiously, while Masha continued to hover close to her left shoulder, but she found nothing.

Weird.

And weird, it truly appeared.

Upon a closer look, Ichigo began to ascertain that the chairs still hung upside down, giving the impression that they had not been touched since yesterday evening, which seemed even more odd, considering Ryou never let anyone finish early, or start late.

Could there be an alien attack? But her pendant did not relay any message. Knowing her boss, a Saturday off or not, she would have been contacted either way, causing her to think that aliens had nothing to do with it.

Aliens, hm?

Ichigo bit her lip, refusing to let her inner apprehension get the best of her.

She looked up at the ceiling, noting the many irregularities in the white walls, as she went through her options of what to do.

"Well, it's not like this place is going to set up by itself, heh?"

Not willing to give her boss the time of the day and another chance to make one of his trademark snarky remarks, Ichigo grabbed the broomstick and started sweeping the floor. But the moment she wanted to bend over and pick up the dustpan, she let out a high-pitched shriek when a sudden low hiss sounded from behind her, making her whirl around to spot a very tired and very annoyed Ryou scowling at her hard.

Speak of the devil.

"You're late," he gritted between his teeth, obviously displeased with her tardiness.

"What the hell?! You almost gave me a heart attack," Ichigo glared, as she smoothed down her skirt, her body still somewhat trembling with shock and her cheeks blushing profusely.

"Did I? Then you must have guilty conscience," he smirked momentarily before his expression screwed back into a prominent frown.

"Huh?" Ichigo's eyes popped wide open but she immediately relaxed when she noticed Ryou's general disinterest to press the topic any further.

During times like these, Ichigo thanked her lucky stars that her boss was too much of a self-absorbed jerk that did not care about anything else but himself and his work, respectively. Again, it had also made her think how someone as sweet and kind as Keiichiro could put up, not to mention coexist, with someone as annoying and rude as the blonde, but it was not her place to argue. Ichigo was, in reality, convinced at one point that the scientist duo must have been some kind of lovers of sorts, because she could not comprehend their dynamics otherwise, apart from them being gay, that is. But that idea was quickly dismissed when the notion that Keiichiro actually had a girlfriend came out. And although Ichigo was not entirely buying the story, there was so far nothing that had proved her wrong, or diminished the veracity of the statement in any respect. All she could say was that living under the same roof with Ryou deserved some type of a medal. She knew she wouldn't be able to.

Swallowing her embarrassment, Ichigo hid herself behind a mask of fake bravado and then exclaimed.

"Well no shit! Look around. Where's everybody?!" the auburn-haired girl gestured to the empty air around herself wildly, urging her boss to take in their surrounding as well.

His blue eyes scanned the area for several seconds until they flicked back to Ichigo.

"Yea, about that. Seems like it's gonna be just you today," the blonde said nonchalantly, folding his hands behind his back before he slowly added, "For now at least."

Ichigo just kept on staring.

"You're joking, right?"

"Not at all, actually. Lettuce called in earlier," he answered, as he moved towards the door and opened it, letting the warm sun rays briefly splay into the room, "She came down with food poisoning or something and with Zakuro abroad, Keiichiro at the expo, Mint having the rehearsal and Pudding's shift not starting until late afternoon today," he flipped the sign so that it now read OPEN and trailed off before his lips quirked upwards, forming a wicked grin, "I hope you're good at multitasking."

"This is not fair and you know it, Ryou!" Ichigo screeched, her hands clamping around the broom in her palms tighter, "I mean how much more are you going to push me?! I am working almost every day and when I am not working, I'm saving the world from the aliens for you, you know!" she lamented, sinking to the ground in exasperation.

The blonde's eyes imperceptibly narrowed.

"Life's not fair. Stop wasting my time and get to work. I am not paying you for making excuses," he replied tersely, his voice brooking no room for argument. He began his way down to the basement, but slowly paused at the doorway, glancing back at her over his shoulder, "Keiichiro prepared all the cakes beforehand. They should be located in the main fridge. Top shelf. You can thank him later."

Hearing this, Ichigo's ears perked up and she quickly sauntered to the kitchen, making sure that what she had just heard was not another instance of Ryou's mockery or, worse, figment of her own imagination. When she, nonetheless, spotted the sweet delicious-looking treats, her heart welled up with a pleasant wave of gratitude and love, as her pulse gradually calmed down to its original pace.

This was doable.

At least Keiichiro wasn't heartless. Not as heartless as the bastard of her boss, apparently, who had left her without saying anything else.

With one last sigh, Ichigo took out the tray with the Strawberry shortcakes and stepped into the new day with a fresh lightness in her gait.

"Oh, stop it, Tanaka. People can see!"

"What? I don't see anybody looking at us," the dark-haired girl let out another giggle, as she tried to push her partner away, but the boy merely grinned, when he leaned back in, and resumed placing his lips onto the soft skin of her neck with all the more fervor, making the girl sigh and blush as a consequence. There was a delightful smile playing over her lips which lasted approximately forty-five seconds before she suddenly seemed to have caught herself and shoved the boy away quickly, only for him to return and lean back in for more.

Ichigo watched the recurrent scene with baiting breath and a certain level of curiosity to it.

It had been the fifth instance of this peculiar display of public affection she had witnessed and the Mew Mew could merely wonder whether that girl in front of her was simply toying with the boy's feelings, or the guy was too much of a carefree real trier who did not take a simple 'no' for an answer.

In some twisted way, it reminded her of Kisshu and the moment that idea crossed Ichigo's mind, she sucked in a breath and squished her current train of thoughts instantly, before it could wander any further.

"Sooo, are you gonna tell the love birds that the kissing booth is over, or should I, na no da?" Pudding appeared close to her left, beaming brightly at Ichigo's red face.

The latter gave her a meek smile, obviously aware that she might have been staring a little too long, if even somebody as uninvolved in gossip and love as Pudding could pick up on her fidgety behavior. But, again, Pudding was still too young and seemingly not very invested in the whole dating scene, which had caused Ichigo to disregard her words with a simple wave of her hand. Besides, there was no way the monkey Mew could understand Ichigo's inner conflict at pulling the couple apart at the present moment. There was no way she could.

"No, it's ok. I'll do it. Would you start cleaning the kitchen, please? I'll join you once I'm done here," Ichigo asked, hinting with a reluctant tone how much she wanted to finish already.

"Sure thing, na no da," Pudding squealed and bolted out of sight through the swinging doors with lightning speed.

Seeing her friend's enthusiasm, the auburn-haired girl turned back to the cashier, ripped the receipt off and with a nervous step started advancing towards the last occupied table.

It was especially moments like these that had made Ichigo rather uncomfortable. She, herself, was very timid when it came to affection, much less sex, and she could never imagine being ravished in the public eye like this. Not now. Not ever. Not that with Masaya it was even possible. But some people just did not care. Like those two, for instance. Anyone in their right mind would have probably already left by this point, knowing fully well that it was way past the closing time and completely beyond appropriate given the scene, but Ichigo knew that love could be blind, deaf and unbelievably selfish, especially to the outer world. Not that long time ago, she had felt the same; which had only strengthened her belief to delay the inevitable for as long as possible.

But, the closer Ichigo had found herself coming to the duo, the more she had been feeling strangely entranced by the unrestricted exchange of passion, which had made her former fascination soon turn into a distinct feeling of quiet jealousy.

Such a jarring comparison.

She briefly wondered what had gone wrong in her own line of love life.

"I-I'm sorry. But we are about to close," Ichigo's voice cracked a little under the weight of her nerves and there was a quiver in her hand, as she hovered above the couple lamely, hoping this would not take longer than necessary. However, that scarcely appeared to be the case.

Neither the boy, nor the girl, did seem to notice her at first, making the Mew Mew even somewhat more awkward about how exactly she should handle the current situation. But when they finally registered her presence, Ichigo winced inwardly at the sudden flare of instant hatred that had been directed towards her once the lovers separated from each other to regard her intently. They both glanced up at the same time, irritation burning through their eyes, as the look that screamed 'cock blocker' resonated through their features loud and clear. Considering this sudden interruption, Ichigo would not hold it against them, if they had left next to no tip. She felt bad, almost. She really did, since she did not feel like she wanted to impose herself when they clearly desired to be left alone. But she also couldn't wait to finally wrap things up and go home. Pudding had showed up later that day, as Ryou had promised, but, at that point, Ichigo was already spent. So spent, that her legs felt wobbly and her eyes heavy with weariness.

The dark-haired girl openly scoffed but immediately stood up, letting Ichigo know that she was unhappy with her request yet understood completely, but the boy remained sitting in his spot as his eyes kept sweeping up and down Ichigo's form. There was something wild in his gaze. Dangerous even, that Ichigo could not really decipher but which had made her instantly think of another set of vibrant pair of eyes which held similar depth, though they seemed far more alien in terms of their color.

After a beat of tense silence, the boy procured a bank note from his pocket and fiercely slammed it against the table, causing Ichigo to flinch but say nothing.

"Keep the change," he muttered and, not sparing her another glance, followed his date out.

Ichigo hardly thought that he had even realized what kind of effect his theatrics had had on her, but that was because he didn't know.

Because nobody knew.

And if they had known, what would they say? What did all of this even mean?

It was somewhat remarkable how, in comparison her Mew Mew self, Ichigo was not overtly confident or decisive by any stretch of the imagination. Furthermore, owing to her relentless issues with Masaya, she had also quite recently found out that she had a tendency of withdrawing into herself and becoming distanced from the people around her. This frequently translated into her daily life events as 'momentary deafness,' during which her mind would, for a short period of time, travel elsewhere, until someone would repeat everything twice to make sure Ichigo had actually heard them, and thus snap her out of her half-conscious state. More often than not, such a phenomenon usually occurred once Ichigo threw herself into her work with a little extra eagerness, irrevocably losing all concepts of time and space in the process. Just like now, for example, when everything seemed, yet again, like million miles away from her; although she had a feeling that, this time, it had far more to do with her very strange discovery from yesterday, if anything.

Ichigo was so out of it that she had noticed Pudding's frantically flailing her hand in the air only when it almost practically smacked her.

"And that's that! Finally, na no da!" the younger Mew Mew hopped up and down while screaming in joy.

"Mm?" Ichigo feigned interest before looking around curiously to note that they, indeed, were done. Her lips curled in a small smile.

Was she spacing out that long?

"I'll go downstairs and inform Ryou that we're done here. Will you wait for me?" she then said, untying the knot on her apron slowly.

"Ah-ah-ah, I promised that I'll be making dinner for my siblings tonight, so I gotta go now to catch the last train but," the monkey Mew winked mischievously, "Say hi to our boss from me! And cheer his spirits a little. He's been a real sour puss lately! I won't tattle on you to Masaya, pinkie promise!"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Ichigo raised a quizzical brow at Pudding's suggestive comment, but the blonde girl only gave out a soft laugh.

"No-thing, you guys have fun!" Pudding chirped, before she waved with her hand one last time and disappeared through the main red door, "See you tomorrow, big sis Ichigo."

Ichigo continued to look after her fellow Mew Mew with a weird expression on her face that reflected bewilderment more than anything else. But, knowing Pudding, Ichigo didn't need to make much of it.

And, it wasn't like there was anything going on between her and her boss anyway; except maybe for the constant war wherein they were both actively trying very hard to refrain from killing each other. For, even if hatred could go hand in hand with love, Ichigo was sure she harbored no romantic feelings towards the blonde, and she severely doubted that Ryou could view anybody that way either. Her boss was an enigma wrapped in mystery and topped off with a crunchy shell of eccentricity that basically banished any sort of entertainment, much less love interest, in the blink of an eye.

'Fun? And with Ryou? As if fun and him could even go in the same category,' Ichigo inwardly chuckled when she began to descend the stairs.

But the moment her feet reached the last step of the staircase, the fleeting image of the young couple making out from earlier had made her stop dead in her tracks, as her mind suddenly froze and her head started to feel heavy all anew.

And before she could stop it, the events from the previous day, which she had until now managed to keep somehow at bay, came flooding her mind from all different directions. She was no longer seeing the dark-haired girl's satisfied smile, as the boy's lips had been devouring her though. No. Now, she was visualizing herself; her own gasps, the sweat, the moaning, while the completely unfamiliar prickling feeling shook her body so furiously that her skin was reeling with warm and fuzzy emotions until this present moment. In all honesty, Ichigo still only half-way processed that it was true. That it had happened. That after such a long time she could experience orgasm during sex. That she had had orgasm with her boyfriend at last. But once she had allowed her hazy memories to resurface, she couldn't help but think back likewise to what had led to it. And it did not take long until the wide shimmering golden gaze presented itself in front of her eyes in an endless loop.

What factor did Kisshu play in her pleasure? Or did Masaya for the first time in his life do something different? And why did that guy from earlier triggered her into thinking about that in the very first place? Was it the persistence?

And why, the hell, was she thinking about all of this when she was about to speak to Ryou?!

Ichigo shook her head resolutely.

Relax, you don't want to make a complete idiot out of yourself! Especially when you did such a great job today!

That's right, the more erratic she acted, the more likely it was for her boss to make fun of her and deprive her of all the well-deserved credit. That wouldn't do.

'Why am I even working for such a monster?' Ichigo thought sullenly.

But no sooner could she elaborate on it any further, than her hand automatically knocked on the door and, after a few more hesitant seconds, pushed it open.

Quite unsurprisingly, she found him sitting in front of his monitor, hunched over and with his fingers clicking, giving her the least of his attention. His eyes were predominantly focused on the graphs and tables ahead of him in a room that was completely dark, minus the light of his computer screen. In a way, Ichigo was not even sure if he knew that she was standing there, but, then again, Ryou was a genius so she would not put it past him not to notice.

Still, a part of her was disappointed that he really had been working this whole time, instead of watching porn or jacking off or doing anything even remotely similar to what guys of his age normally did.

'News flash. He is not normal. And neither are you!'

That's right.

Nobody involved in the Mew project could be considered normal anymore; and whoever thought otherwise was a fool; or an incurable romantic.

"I came down to tell you that we're done for today. Everything's cleaned and ready to be closed."

She saw his right hand temporarily rise from his keyboard in a quick thumbs-up sign; a gesture which had made Ichigo clench her teeth, but she did not let his crude behavior faze her.

He was simply showing her a cold shoulder again; a rather customary display of sheer indifference and deliberate ignorance on his part. It was always either that or some nasty remarks with Ryou. Nothing new. But when she turned around to exit, leaving the annoying blonde and his lack of manners behind, the mental image of the two wide shimmering golden eyes flashed in front of her once again, messing with her subconsciousness and adding to her general feeling of restlessness some more.

Ichigo wanted to go home. She did not want to try and rationalize anything. Not now and, possibly, not ever. But it was all so deeply perplexing that she concluded that she simply had to know, no matter how much her inner voice warned her against it.

'Let it go, Ichigo. You are asking for trouble. Ever heard of that saying? Curiosity killed the cat?' her conscience chided, but with each of her following breaths Ichigo felt her hesitation faltering.

She knew that now was the time to simply turn around and go on her merry way out, like she usually did.

Only, this time, she didn't.

"Hey, Ryou, can I ask you something?"

Truthfully, she was still furious with her boss but the anger slowly faded, once she realized the blonde might as well be the only person who could answer her questions earnestly and without girlish naivety or any kind of pretensions. Plus, Ryou was angry with her nonstop anyway, regardless of what she did or said; so it was not like this would change anything between them, really.

And a girl could have only as much on her mind for the time being.

When he registered her words, his nimble fingers did not pause at their frantic typing, but an oral reply came almost instantly, making Ichigo all the more certain that the silence he had been exhibiting not a full a minute ago was highly intentional.

"No," he shook his head, his tone impassive.

Fully ignoring his curt answer, Ichigo went on.

"Well, the thing is. I've been lately wondering if...like….I-I mean I did not know who else to ask since-"

"Don't you have anything else to do? Like mop or something?" he cut her off briskly, without looking away from his work.

"As I was saying...it has been on my mind for…for quite a while now and….well, I would immensely appreciate if you could, you know-"

Ryou sighed and turned away from his computer, his face set in a deep frown that was cutting into the smooth skin of his forehead.

Ichigo momentarily contemplated if this was the facial expression her boss was practically born with, or if he simply chose to wear it willingly every day.

He was definitely not ecstatic about this interruption, that much Ichigo could tell. Come to think of it, when did she ever see Ryou happy when someone was brave enough to strike a random conversation with him? Her boss was an emotionally reclusive stomp, and, as such, he enjoyed solitude and avoided crowds and social gatherings at any cost, preferring his abandoned laboratory in the basement instead. Could he suffer from some kind of phobia? Was it even possible for him to have sex in such a state? Or maybe he was a sexually deprived pervert? That was possible too, although Ichigo had always thought of Ryou much more as of asexual than a sexual deviant or a perverted freak.

Man, I wonder which one of us has it worse. I can't get off, but Ryou? What if he really can't even get it up?!

As though he could read her thoughts, her boss suddenly cleared his throat before he opened his mouth and started talking at last, causing Ichigo to abandon her previous trait of thinking instantly.

"Fine. You have 90 seconds of my undivided attention. I will time it. Go."

Ichigo gulped and shied away from his impatient stare, not really certain of how to begin.

There were so many ways how she could possibly pose the question, but now, when she was put on a spot like this, Ichigo truly did not know how to start. And the longer she had been stalling, the more irritation she could feel emitting from him, making her all the more nervous and jittery.

"70 seconds now," Ryou informed her dryly, as he folded his arms over his chest and leaned further back in his chair.

She clenched and unclenched her fists, readying her words with an extra layer of deliberation.

Until any kind of deliberation ultimately left her and, squeezing her eyes shut, she just blurted it out.

"I-I…Is it like…normal not to always reach orgasm during sex?"

There was a long drawn-out pause, as an unexpected silence befell upon them.

Ichigo cracked one of her eye lids open to assess the damage she had done but when she finally dared to meet his gaze, she almost jerked once she saw Ryou's jaw hanging open. His whole face was, in fact, the very picture of shock.

"What?" he echoed in disbelief.

"I-I am sorry to ask you this. But with Zakuro away on the shoot overseas and Keiichiro at the cake expo you were kinda next in line to ask. I-well- I have this trouble you see-" Ichigo stuttered, rubbing the back of her neck in sheer embarrassment.

"Ichigo," he interrupted her, turning his hard, cold eyes on her, before she could explain herself to him any further.

"Yes?" she asked, hopeful.

Maybe, just maybe, Ryou had it in himself to give her a piece of advice, or some sort of constructive criticism that she could utilize. Maybe, he would understand and tell her something that would make all her fears and self-doubts go away and, maybe, for the first time in his life, he would show some mercy and treat her far more as a friend than just an annoying employee.

When she heard his next words, nevertheless, her initial enthusiasm shortly died out.

"Get out of my office."

The cool, crisp night air seemed refreshing and soothing against Ichigo's mind.

It was getting rather late, but hardly did it matter to the auburn-haired girl as she continued to hum to herself happily on her way through the park, while the light breeze around her had freed her out of her convoluted thoughts at last.

After such a long day, the tired Mew Mew initially wanted nothing more than to fall on her bed and sleep, but the slow walk after dark had somehow managed to lift her spirits quite a bit, and made her body content and lighten up at long last. When she looked up at the velvet sky littered with sparkling stars, she felt warm and full of life. And there was nothing and no one that could take that precious feeling away from her.

Except for that one gnawing thought that had kept torturing her endlessly, and which she, regardless of what she did, couldn't entirely discard.

Why?

Was it because her boss had failed to provide her with any solid answer?

She stopped abruptly to look into the window shop that showed her reflection to observe herself for a moment.

Her breasts seemed to be decent-sized, at least in comparison to the other girls her age; her legs lean, her waist narrow and, for a second, she wondered, really briefly, whether or not her physical appearance could be anyhow tied to her problems.

Would Ryou have answered her, if her boobs were bigger?

'No shot,' a small voice in her head shouted, which was a claim Ichigo did not choose to dispute.

Still, it would not hurt to be a little prettier. In her eyes, Ichigo had always thought that, apart from her cute clumsiness, there might not really be much else to her. Other than being a Mew Mew, of course. Ichigo remembered how totally overwhelmed she had been having to adjust to her new superhero life; how dispassionate and skittish she had felt about it all at first; and how much that had changed over time when she had finally come to terms with the understanding that she had been the chosen one to fight and protect, giving her otherwise fairly mundane existence a certain merit; a sense of accomplishment that had always made her chest swell in pride whenever she had really thought about it.

With merely a few cars passing by, the Mew Mew hence carried on with her walk home next to the main road in utter silence, as her head kept buzzing with all kind of ideas. The glaring light from the nearby street lamps was pouring onto her figure at irregular intervals, keeping her an occasional company and casting ghastly shadows here and there with every of her subsequent movements. To anyone else, such a scene could be considered daunting, but Ichigo wasn't scared, for she knew very well that the streets of Tokyo were safe.

She, herself, was making sure of it every day.

Notwithstanding, when a strange feeling suddenly washed over her, even the superhero girl in her body came to a halt and looked around the place in slight alarm.

There was nothing in front of her, nor behind her, save it for the ever pressing darkness that was disrupted only through the small flicker of the fluorescent lamp light. But when Ichigo tilted her head a little to the left, facing the murky street opposite to her, and searched the dimly-lit area with her bright eyes, it was then that she noticed it.

And once her assumption was confirmed, she gasped, as her pupils dilated at the unwonted sight, shortly before the pink fluffy fur ball of Masha appeared in a puff above her shoulder, calling out the two words Ichigo currently dreaded the most in her life.

"Alien Alert! Alien Alert!"