Author's Note: Finally I updated. I decided that this would be a short story. Four chapters max, maybe three. (Italics still in Ichigo's point of view)
Revelation
Chapter 2: Me, Myself, and I
"Don't be afraid..." echoed a familiar voice inside the pink mewmew's head.
"Come to the place...the place where there is great calamity...come with me...and leave this trenched world behind..." said the feminine voice again.
"Leave this world..." Ichigo's eyes started going blank. "behind..." her legs started going wobbly.
"No...more..." those were the last words Ichigo spoke, before dropping unconscious. As Mint's comrade and friend fell in defeat, she screamed.
"ICHIGO!"
The sugar pink girl flickered her raspberry eyes open to find herself at the ocean, wearing the same white dress garment as she does in her dreams. Glancing down to find her feet buried in warm sand. The sound of the ocean's waves soothed her soul. It calmed her so much...she forgot all the battle with the Kirema Anima and Kish. Until that little light bulb in her head lit up.
"Hey! Where are the others?" she asked a little franticly as she examined the area more.
"Does it really matter...?" asked the mysterious voice.
"What do you mean?" Ichigo tilted her head and cocked an eyebrow.
"You don't need them..." the voice replied.
Then, another figure appeared, barely in focus behind Ichigo and embraced her tightly, uniting the two bodies. "Eh?" Ichigo reacted as she tried to turn around but was frozen in place yet again. The figure's image slowly went into focus, revealing what looked like another Ichigo who was wearing the same thing but instead her dress was black and not white and her bangs seemed to cover her eyes so the only expression that could be visible was her grin. "Leave this world behind..." the look alike whispered in her doppelganger's ear. "Leave this...world...?" Ichigo seemed to go into a hypnotic spell again.
"ICHIGO!" called what seemed to be Mint. Her call woke her leader out of her trance. "No! They need me!" exclaimed Ichigo. The other's grip loosened and she frowned, backing away. "Very well...You're still attached to the reality you've grown accustomed to..." and she faded away.
Ichigo Momomiya stared at the bright sky. "But... I like my reality..." and before she knew it, she was engulfed in light.
"Hey! She seems to be waking up."
"Oh Ichigo!"
Ichigo Momomiya fluttered her eyes opened to see everyone crowded around her. She was back at the café and sitting on one of the cute chairs. "Everyone...?" She looked around checking off everyone in her head. All was accounted for except for Mint. "Mint! Where is she...? What happened!" Ichigo tried to stand up, only to be pushed back down by Ryou.
"Calm down. Mint will be fine...I just want to know if you will be." said Ryou, propping his hand on his waist. "Neh?" Ichigo raised an eyebrow in bewilderment. Ryou leaned towards the pink cat girl to where they were inches apart. "You passed out in the middle of battle! Mint saved your butt and took the damage! Lucky for us Lettuce, Pudding, and Zakuro came back just in time to chase Kisshu and the animas away."
He pulled himself away and sighed. Ichigo stared at her feet. "I'm sorry..." she mumbled. "I don't understand what happened..." Zakuro placed a hand on her leader's shoulder. Ichigo glanced up at the lone wolf to see her smiling down at her encouragingly as if saying everything will be alright.
Ryou stared at the girl, and then sighed. He wanted to scold the catgirl more but she looked like she learned her lesson. A little while later the group left to do work, leaving Ichigo alone. Ichigo stood up and went to find the room Mint was resting at. It took a little while for her to find it though, since surprisingly there are a lot of rooms upstairs. "Geez, this place might as well be a hotel since there is so many rooms!" Ichigo said to herself, getting tired of checking many little bedrooms.
Finally, after observing many rooms and complaining to herself many times she finally found Mint. Once Ichigo cracked the door open she saw Mint, sitting up in her bed, gazing out of a window. "Mint?" Ichigo called softly, hoping Mint wouldn't really hear. But just her luck...she did. The dark haired mew mew faced the door, catching a glimpse of Ichigo. "I can see you, you know. So you might as well come in..." said Mint. The pink haired girl slid through the doorway and into the room. She kept her head down, fearing eye contact. "Are you ok?" Ichigo asked softly.
Mint sighed. "Yeah, the hit wasn't that hard. But what the heck happened to you?" Ichigo didn't say anything. Mint continued her share of scolding. "You know you've could've been killed if I didn't come back in time!" Ichigo bit her lower lip. "I know..." she clenched her fist and trying to hold back her tears. "I'm so sorry Mint..." Mint stared at Ichigo, watching the catgirl try desperately to hold her tears. Once the dark haired mewmew had enough of her leader's sadness she let out a deep sigh, turning her head away. "Just don't do it again...ok?" she asked softly. Ichigo sniffled and then nodded. "Alright..."
Later...
Once the day ended at Café MewMew the girls went their separate ways on their way home. Mint and Zakuro had limos to take them back to their homes while Lettuce, Pudding, and Ichigo had to walk. The pink girl mostly slumped the whole way and was deep in thought.
'What really happened when I passed out? I remember something about a beach...the sound of soft ocean wave and the warmth of the sand beneath was so calm. And the other person...she sounded...like me! Does this mean I have a second personality? Oh my god am I INSANE!'
Ichigo was drowned in negative thoughts as she continued down the busy streets of Tokyo at sunset; she didn't pay any attention to where she was going even though she knew she was heading home. Like her body was on autopilot while the mind was off somewhere else.
'What if I start causing harm to others and I don't even know it! And I become some psycho maniac! Waaaiiiii!'
Her mind kept on rolling on and on. She didn't even hear the voice of her beloved calling out to her. "Icihgo! Hello?" the dark haired boy called out. When she didn't answer him he placed his hand on her shoulder; making his loved one literally leaps up in shock. Ichigo hesitantly turned her head and faced the confused boy. "M-Masaya! You... scared me!" the girl cried.
Masaya Aoyama smiled innocently. "Hehe...sorry." Ichigo smiled back as a sign of relief. Masaya had caught the relief in Ichigo's sigh. "Is something wrong?" he asked. The Iriomote girl straightened her raspberry hair and quickly tossed a fake smile at him. "Nope! I'm fine!" Lucky for her that Masaya was still pretty dense and bought the fake smile. "So! Shall we walk home together?" Masaya asked; smiling brightly. His smile always calmed Ichigo somehow. "Yes!" Ichigo chirped.
The two walked along the sidewalk. Ichigo blushed in delight and had a real happy face.
'Ohh! I'm walking home with Masaya! This is so exciting!'
And before she knew it...her tail popped out.
'Eep! No! Must go...away!'
Ichigo squeezed her eyes closed and concentrated. And her tail vanished.
'Whew!'
She now had another relieved look on her face. Masaya observed Ichigo's facial expressions change from excited to surprise to when she squeezed her eyes in what looked like disgust and back to happy/relieved. The boy was very curious about Ichigo. He probably just guessed it was teenage female hormones and just left it at that.
When the two approached Ichigo's house and they parted. As Ichigo watched Masaya disappear around the corner she got all bubbly and floaty inside.
'Oh Masaya...What would I do without you'
Hours later...
Ichigo stood in her room, lit by a lamp by her bed and slipped into her pajamas. "Fwweehb!" something chirped. "Neh?" Ichigo examined the room. Suddenly, a floating puffball appeared from the corner. "Fwehb!" it chirped again. "Masha?" the cat girl squinted. "Masha! It is you!" she said happily. Masha flew to her master. "Ichigo! Fwehb!" The big eyed fur ball nuzzled against Ichigo. "Where have you been?" Ichigo asked her companion. "Sleeping! Fwehb!" Masha replied.
"Doh!" The girl slumped. She crawled into her bed. "Now that I'm going to sleep what will you do?" she asked. Masha twirled around. "Play!" it replied. Ichigo giggled. "Ok, just don't cause a ruckus. Good night." and the girl turned off her lamp. "Good night Ichigo. Fwehb!"
The pink cat girl opened her eyes. She glanced down and was wearing her white dress. "Neh? Again?" She twirled around to find herself in an endless meadow of flowers. Their fruity scent nearly suffocated the girl. A breeze blew by, making the flowers bow before her. Ichigo stared at the sky. It was the same as last time; not a single cloud and the color was brighter than it really was.
"So...you came back..." said Ichigo's look alike as she appeared behind her; her raspberry colored bangs covered her eyes. The cat girl spun around to face the girl who had her head. "Who are you!" Ichigo asked in raised tone. The look alike giggled and lifted her head revealing another Ichigo.
"I am...you."
ChibiLaryla: Hahaha! Is Ichigo really insane? Maybe. But I'll tell you, it was painful making Ichigo like Masaya... Grrr... I swear that the next fanfics I make for Tokyo Mew Mew will be Kish x Ichigo x Ryou or something like that. Also, I know Masha really doesn't say "Fwehb" I just thought it would be cute if she did.