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Shin AnIn: Animal Instinct II

Summary: Count D flees America and winds up in Neo Chinatown, located not so far from the suburbs of the city where a particular cafe is located. When the aliens had been sent home, the Mew crew expected to go back to normal lives, but that was before the new cat girl showed up, along with new aliens. Now with the help of Count D and another old friend, the Mews will have to save the world and one of their own.

Genre: Drama/Friendship

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I own copies of the mangas in question here, but that's it.

[A/N:] About halfway through writing AnIn before my extensive hiatus, the idea occurred to me that I could do a sequel to it. At the time though I wasn't getting the response I'd hoped for for AnIn, and that depressed me and I shelved the idea of a sequel. But now my muse is back in the PSoH fandom, and while it's here I guess I might as well work. I'm not going to promise no hiatuses, though.

The sky was filled with a swam of angry crows; the girl dressed in dark colors in front of them flapped her arms as though she too was a crow, and sent forward a gust of wind that sent the girl in white falling to the ground.

"I will never allow you to claim the prince's heart!"

"Cut!" The director shouted. "Mint, your portrayal of Kraehe is excellent, I can tell you're really getting into the part. But we've got a problem."

"What's that?" Mint asked.

"Those crows!" The set designer popped out of nowhere. "I didn't realize what those crows looked like to the audience! That has to be fixed!"

"We've been practicing with the set pieces all morning, so let's call it a day." The director said. "Everyone, I'll expect you tomorrow afternoon. And don't forget that we have a costume rehearsal coming up."

"If the costumes are done." Mint muttered.

"I'm sure they will be." Susumu Kaida, who was playing Princess Tutu, said as she got back to her feet. "I'm not looking forward to mine, though. I don't know how I'll dance with those panels hanging down the back of my tutu."

"Very carefully?" Mint grinned.

Kaida gave her a wry look. "Funny."

"If we're done early I'll be able to get to the café on time." Mint said. "I'll get Azumi if she's done and take her with me, too."

"If you see Akasaka-san, tell him I said thank you for the cookies. They were really good."

Neo Chinatown was bustling with activity, from those perusing the shops to the beginning lunch rush for the restaurants.

It was through the bustle of humanity that Count D moved, making his way through the throngs with the long ease of a practiced skill. It was almost time for tea and he had just discovered that he was low on tea leaves.

Of course, there were plenty of stores in Neo Chinatown that sold just that, and so he was out shopping, even as he knew that Taizu was finding out the store was closed and no doubt having a fit over it.

With the place as busy as it was, bumping into people was to be expected, but D knew how to move through the crowds to keep form doing that…

…so it was quite a surprise when someone crashed into him from behind, knocking him forward a step or too but otherwise leaving him unharmed. The same did not sound like it could be said of the other party in the crash; he had heard as he was shoved forward a brief cry and the sound of someone sitting down hard.

He turned around to see a girl in a pink maid costume and roller blades, sitting on the floor behind him, a pastry box a victim on the ground by her, and then he recognized her.

"Miss Berry?"

The blonde girl looked up at him and gasped. "Count D! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bump into you."

"It's alright. What are you doing here."

Berry Shirayuki picked up the fallen pastry box and got back to her feet. "Ryou gave us permission to test a delivery service for the café, so that's what I'm doing. Oh, wait!" She pulled a stop watch from a hidden pocket in her dress and stopped it. "There, now I can talk. I wouldn't want Ryou or Akasaka thinking this was too far from the café to deliver. But what are you doing here, Count?"

"The pet shop is here now. I have a store on the thirteenth floor of this building." D explained.

"Oh. He said you'd left Los Angeles, but no one knew where you'd gone." Berry said contemplatively.

"He?" The Count asked sharply.

"Detective Orcot. He came by the café a while ago to ask about you, but none of us knew you were here." Berry explained.

"How long ago did he come by?" D asked.

"Uh…" The rabbit-girl paused and put a finger to her chin. "It was awhile ago. Let me see…he came by before Ichigo went with Masaya to England for a year as an exchange student, so that would have been at least a year ago. Maybe longer."

"And he hasn't been back since?"

"No." Berry shook her head. "We haven't seen him since then." If she didn't know better, she would have said that D looked relieved at that news.

"Miss Berry, would you like to come by the shop? I'm on my way to get some tea leaves at the moment for tea-time. Or are you still working?"

"Thanks for the offer, Count, but I have to deliver this and get back to the café. But come by the café sometime! I'm sure everyone will be happy to see you again!"

D smiled. "I will do that." Then his smile vanished. "But you're sure the detective has not been by since the one visit?"

"Pretty sure." Berry told him. "He made a splash when he turned up out of the blue like that. If he had come back someone would have noticed him. I mean, at the very least Zakuro would smelled him out, I'm sure."

"Alright. I will come by as soon as I am able."

"Great! I'll let Akasaka and the others know to expect you." Berry pulled the stopwatch out of her pocket and started it again. "I have to get going. See you later, Count! Don't forget to come by the café!" She called as she rolled away.

D watched her go for a moment, then turned to continue his shopping. At that moment, a familiar voice came from behind him. "Aha! There you are! Your shop is supposed to be open!"

XXX

"Are you quite satisfied that I purchased nothing illegal now that you've followed me all over Neo Chinatown?" D asked as he swept back into the pet shop, Taizu and Chin right behind him.

Taizu didn't look happy as he sat down and pulled out a cigarette. "You spent the whole afternoon shopping when the store should have been open."

"I was out of tea." The count noted mildly.

"But you didn't shop just for tea! You did a bunch of extra shopping!" Taizu complained as Chin lit his cigarette for him. "And the store should have been open!"

The knock on the door at that moment stymied any further conversation, and D went to answer it. "Miss Berry. I'm surprised to see you again." He said, and stood out of the way so that she could rollerblade into the shop.

"I came back a little sooner than I expected." The blonde admitted. "When everyone at the café heard you were back in Tokyo, Akasaka sent me back. He asked me to bring you this and to tell you to please come by the café soon." She held out a cake box with the Café Mew Mew name emblazoned on the side.

"A cake!" D exclaimed as he accepted the box. "He shouldn't have! Tell Keiichiro that I'll be by. I don't know when but, sometime soon."

"Will do!" Berry promised.

"Café Mew Mew? The café owned by the billionaire scientist Shirogane Ryou?" Wu-Fei asked.

"Well…he's the only Shirogane I know." Berry said.

"He won the Nobel prize for medicine at the age of seventeen." Chin noted.

"Yes!" Berry said. "But he's expecting me back. I have to go. Bye, Count! Be sure and come by soon."

As soon as she was gone, Wu-fei asked D incredulously, "You know Shirogane Ryou?"

The moon was high over the city that evening when the lizard-like creature reared its head up over the street below and roared.

"Ribbon…Minto Echo!"

"Ribbon…Pudding Ring Inferno!"

The monster was knocked back and trapped by the two attacked, and another girl, dressed in black, stepped out of the shadows.

"Rising Dragon Lighting Bolt!"

With a dying roar the monster was defeated.

"Where are these things coming from?" Mint asked as she landed.

"Pudding doesn't know." The monkey-girl said as she straightened up.

Mint sighed. "I hope Shirogane has figured out a little more about these things." Then she turned to the girl in black. "You did great, Azumi."

The black-clad cat-girl shrugged. "Well I've been fighting them for awhile now, Mint. I just didn't know Tokyo Mew Mew was fighting them, too."

Masaru, a tiny black creature that resembled Masha, flew down a moment later. "Good work ladies. This Baku's done."

"Masaru, do you know why these things are coming here?" Mint asked the creature.

"All I know is the Baku want something from this world." Masaru replied. "Until I figure out what, I don't know what to tell you. I know they're attacking humans, drinking their blood."

"And that's why we have to stop them." Azumi said.

"That's what we're going to do!" Pudding agreed.

[A/N:] I don't know about this. Oh, I don't know about this. There are parts I want to write, parts I don't know how I feel about, and I don't know how much longer my muse will even be in PSoH! People, I am not making any promises here. Life is a bit of a train wreck for me at the moment. I don't know how often or how much time I'll be able to spend working on this. But I do want to start it. (I don't know where I'm going, but full speed ahead for as long as possible.)

I wanted to put in a big ballet in this story, and I'm taking the idea of making a ballet out of Princess Tutu because I really liked the anime. I've renamed Azumi's tag-along because I don't want two Mashas in this story. Um…Yeah. I hope this follows AnIn well. I want my sequel to be just as good as the original! Reviews are always encouraging, so please review and let me know what you thought!