Chapter 1

''You missed a spot.''

Hearing that comment was a like a punch right to my stomach, and I actually had to squeeze the mop in my hands and breathe deep a few times, in order not to turn around and beat the snobby little rich girl over the head in frustration. I'm not sure how Mint did it, but she always seemed to get on my nerves easily enough, especially during our mutual shifts in Café Mew. She would always sit around and do nothing, calmly drinking her tea and criticizing the way I mopped the floor or cleaned the windows. Like someone could screw up a job that easy.

I kind of felt like giving her a piece of my mind, but I knew an argument with Mint could escalate quickly on my part, and I didn´t want to come across as a complete freak, so instead of yelling I just forced myself to smile and very calmly said:

''Well…you could consider helping me out, then.''

For a change, I added silently in my head.

Mint glanced at me over her magazine, and she almost seemed to be considering my proposal to start doing something vaguely useful with her life. It would certainly be quite the show watching the spoiled brat get her butt out of the chair she had been sitting for over an hour, and actually get some work done.

But of course, it was Mint I was talking to.

''Nah,'' she said, and elegantly lifted her cup again to her lips. I suspected she made an act of drinking it very slowly in order to avoid doing any work. ''I'm busy now.''

''Busy?!'' I yelled, and in a childish fit (yes, I can admit it only to myself) I threw the mop on the floor. ''You are not doing anything!''

Mint rolled her eyes at me, and granted me her famous superiority look, the one she saved for those special moments when she didn't have any arguments to keep up the fight, but still wanted to prove a point. That stupid and annoying look that makes me shut up and give in, because by now I know just how useless it is to try to talk sense into her. In the end she would still be sitting right there wasting my time while I yelled, and somebody would tell me to just get back to work. It was easier to go straight to the work part already.

Breathe, I told myself; don't let the little princess's comments get in your head.

So I did. I breathed deeply in, turned around and went back to work with my mop, all the way to the other corner of the coffee shop, while probably smoke rose out of my ears. To be honest, though, this development wasn´t anything new and shouldn´t have surprised me. After all, I had known Mint for over four years, ever since we were hired to work at Café Mew at only thirteen years old, while secretly fighting a war against an alien race who had intended to take over the Earth. We hadn´t really clicked at first (because of her snobby personality mostly) but after living through so many near death experiences together it ended up being kind of hard to avoid getting closer to each other. Eventually we became good friends, and I had even learned to love her, flaws and all. Apparently, though, 17 year old me was as naïve as always, because somehow after all these years, my stupid brain still failed to comprehend the fact that Mint would always be a lazy and condescending brat. At least when it came to our day job, which she cleverly avoided doing on a daily basis.

Rich kids get away with anything, I thought as I looked over my shoulder and saw her the same way she always spent her afternoons: sitting in a chair sipping tea like some sort of queen, or a glorified housewife.

It was a relief our duties as Mew warriors had ended about three years ago, otherwise the built up stress would have had me throwing her out of the chair without caring if she landed on her butt or her face. I had learned very quickly that being a teenager with enough time to do homework and have some semblance of a social life can really make someone feel a lot calmer under stressful situations.

We are all much calmer now too, I thought, my mind drifting to my friends.

Even though Mint claimed she had better things to do than ''working her ass off'' in a coffee shop, she still showed up every afternoon in time for her shift and put on the apron like any one of us. We kind of suspected her violin lessons or ballet recitals (or whatever it was rich kids studied on their free time) were activities not nearly as entertaining as hanging out with her friends. Not that she would admit we were friends, though...but we were.

Pudding had turned 15 recently and was still the same energetic and fun little ray of sunshine she had always been, but now instead of using up all her time during the day to take care of her little brothers or fighting for the human race, she was able to take up different activities while she wasn´t working in the Café or studying: like dancing, cooking, arrow shooting or even painting. Most of the activities lasted about a month or so before she found a new ambition to pursue, but she never failed to make a small souvenir for all of us to show just how much she had learned in the meantime. For my last birthday Pudding had given me a mug with a slightly blurry and out of frame picture of our group she had taken during her photography course, and I used it everyday.

Then there was Lettuce, already 18 years old and still one of the clumsiest people I had ever met (other than me, at least), but lately her shy personality seemed to be melting away, as she was making an effort to break out of her shell. She was speaking up more, proposing plans to us, and even laughing at her own disasters instead of blushing madly and hiding away in shame. I could tell she felt more comfortable around all of us, and it was a nice change to see in my friend. I personally had the theory she had met someone she liked, probably in that volunteer group she had joined during the summer, but I wasn´t sure, and even though the curiosity was killing me, I wasn´t going to ask until she was ready to tell (if there was even something to tell).

And lastly, Zakuro: the eldest member of our gang (not counting our bosses Ryuu and Akasaka) who was still the same famous and beautiful girl loved by fans all over Japan. She was already 19 years old, currently on her second year of college and somehow still hanging out with us, for some reason. I had kind of thought she would go back to her life of fame and notoriety once the Earth was saved, but it seemed like she genuinely enjoined our company, and we enjoined the free tickets to shows and movie premiers she was able to get for us from time to time...and yeah, we loved her too.

Truth is: never in the four years we had been working together had I wished for other friends.

My group wasn´t perfect, far from it actually (especially having me as a leader back when the Mews were active), we sometimes fought and yelled and made mistakes like any other (semi) human beings, but we had always had each other´s backs when it mattered, we had always stood together in the face of danger, and that was something special I never wanted to lose. Even now, three years after the aliens had left our planet alone, and our Mews personas had become nothing more than a memory in the back of our minds, our bond was still as tight as ever. I couldn´t even remember one of us ever making the conscious decision of continuing to work at Café Mew, we all just kind of...kept going. The Café was special to us, it was the place where our lives had changed forever, the center of our friendship, and none of us wanted that bond to the physical place or to us to break. We wanted our friendship to last forever.

Ask Mint, though, and she would deny it until the end of time, but her presence everyday said otherwhise.

I like this, I decided, while I cleaned the floor even though there was no filth anymore. This level of calm and happiness was coming from the fact that we didn´t have an Earth to save anymore, so we could just be friends, have fun and deal with our routines like any other person. Saving the world had been adventurous, significant, and surprisingly fun from time to time, but I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy being a normal teenage girl. Fighting off aliens and receiving war wounds was not my ideal plan for a fun afternoon anymore, and having more time for myself, my friends or my boyfriend was a breath of fresh air every day. I knew I couldn't work in Café Mew forever, but I didn't want to worry about the future. I wanted to enjoy the present I had.

''Ichigo, you have a visitor,'' Pudding singsoned from the entrance.

I smiled to myself because I knew who it was without having the need to ask. I dropped the mop to the floor and ran to the door where my perfect, most amazing boyfriend in the whole world was waiting for me. Masaya was smiling, like he always seemed to be doing around me, holding his backpack in one arm and leaving the other one free to hug me when were close enough to touch. I hugged him, not resisting the urge to smell his natural scent mixed with that perfume I liked, the one I had gotten him for his birthday last year and he frequently sprayed on just for me. I looked up to find his warm brown eyes watching me, and I smiled for no reason. He had that effect on me.

I stood up on my tiptoes to kiss him and his lips, as always, were soft against mine. My heart drummed inside my chest in happiness as he responded to my kiss and I felt like I was in my own little island, and nobody else existed in the rest of the world but him and I.

If only that was true...

''Ajj, get a room,'' Mint muttered on her way to wherever she was going.

I was in such a good mood I didn´t even care about Mint´s comments for once. I liked Masaya so much the kisses could last forever if it were up to me, and the whole world could just suck it up and watch my happiness or look away. Still, I wasn´t up to putting on any kind of show, so after a minute or so I stepped back, and fixed my uniform a little bit.

''You are early,'' I said while looking at my watch. ''I wasn't expecting you until six.''

Another advantage to not being a Mew Warrior anymore? I got to actually go on dates with Masaya as often as I wanted (or as my grades allowed it at least), instead of having to cancel or reschedule all the time because humanity was at stake. It gets annoying very quickly.

While dating had been a challenge back in the beginning of our relationship when he hadn´t even known what I was, now was actually fun, easy and not stressful in the least, because how could it be? He was perfect and I had all the time in the world for us! Even with our last year-exams coming up and having to take major decisions such as which college we would attend next year (together, obviously) we still always managed to make time for each other, and that was something I was thankful for everyday.

''My Kendo class was cut short and I came straight here" he explained, "are you free now, or should I wait?''

And be here a minute longer? I could just picture Ryou making up jobs just to piss me off. No thanks.

Ever since the aliens had left in peace with the Mew Aqua, the Mew team had continued working together but as waitresses in Café Mew only, because there were no threats against our planet or our race anymore and no need to stay on guard all the time. Ryou still made us wear our pendants around our necks just in case, but after three silent and peaceful years without battles, training sessions or strategic meetings, I had started to think of my necklace as a corky decoration rather than a magical weapon.

Ryou, being the paranoid freak we all knew and love, had tried to set up a weekly meeting among the Mews, but we quickly dismissed it or rather stopped showing up entirely, because none of us saw the point of wasting our time talking about threats that were no longer here. He was still a little angry at us, but since there was no actual way to force os to cooperate, he had given up quite easily.

''No, I'm done,'' I answered while I took off my apron over my head and let it rest over a chair next to us. ''We can go.''

I started walking towards the door, with a big smile on my face that must have seemed so stupid, but I couldn't help it. Masaya and I had been together for almost three years and we were a solid couple now, but there had been a time in which I wasn't sure he could like me, that he would ever like me at all, because my life had been so completely chaotic back then, and I had kept so many secrets from him. It was hard to believe my days weren't so chaotic anymore, that I didn't have any weird Mew related secrets, and I could be as close as I wanted with my boyfriend without the need to go running out the door if an emergency took place. Right now, my life was exactly the way I wanted it to be, and I was enjoying every minute of it.

Suddenly, I felt a tug at my shirt, and I was pulled back until I was able to see Ryou's indifferent expression.

''Is there something wrong?'' I asked, with the most annoyed glare I could muster. It must not have been very good because he didn't seem that intimidated to me.

''I just wanted to remind you to maybe tell your bosses when you want to take the day off work to go play with your boyfriend.''

I felt myself overcome with rage and I raised my hands in the air as if I wanted to strangle him. Masaya, the most considerate being in the whole world, stopped me from committing murder, and I muttered a ''thank you'' under my breath. Again, I breathed deeply to calm down, although that didn´t seem to be working much today.

''Look, I know you are saying this because for some reason it has become your personal sport to piss me off, but if you think I'm staying here for one more minute after I've spent all day cleaning floors, your are dead wrong. Plus, there's nobody here and the place is spotless.''

For a minute, I felt rather mature and a little cocky because I was sure I had the better argument here. After all, our other, much nicer and sweeter boss, Akasaka, usually let us leave early if there were no costumers. Nonetheless, Ryou didn't feel like seeing my point of view.

''And what about your other job? The one that needs you to be ready 24/7 to save the world?'' he asked stubornly, hands on his hips and an eyebrow raised.

''Oh please, we haven't had a crisis in three years. Get over it, already.''

Being honest here, I never really expected any of my comments to leave Ryou quiet, he was usually so arrogant he always had an answer for every little thing, kind of like Mint but in a blond male version. This time, however, he got really, really quiet, and his glare could have melted ice.

''You never know, Ichigo,'' he answered with a straight face, "we need to be prepared for anything."

I opened my mouth to tell him off again, when suddenly, I heard a sound. A sound I remembered from a chaotic part of my life. A sound I desperately did not want to be hearing, but it was just my luck I hadn't gone crazy and everyone else was hearing it too. Masha, our little pink fur ball with wings who had stayed quiet for three years, had apparently decided to wake up from its slumber and pronounce that dreadful and familiar word:

''ALIEN! ALIEN! ALIEN!''

Nobody moved while we heard Masha squeal with the energy of a toddler hooked on candy, and we all just stared at each other, wondering to ourselves if this was really happening. Part of me kept expecting to wake up in my bed, tangled in my sheets and grateful, just so grateful that it would all be just a dream. Or a malfunction in Masha's system. I was fine believing it could be just a glitch, like an alarm clock that was set at the wrong time. I kept expecting anything really, any possibility that meant I didn't have to go back to my old life and sleep little hours, and not see Masaya, and fail in school. Anything but that.

But I must not have been praying to the right god.

''Mews,'' I heard Ryou's voice over Masha's shrieking, and I almost jumped at that word. He hadn't called us "Mews" in a long, long time. ''You know what to do!''

And then everything and everyone started moving at the same time, and I suddenly realized the universe didn't give a damn if I wanted to go back to my old life or not. If what I wanted mattered in the least, my DNA would never have been crossed with that of a cat. If it were up to me, I would just be your average 17 year old girl, whose worse life or death situation would be to pick which outfit looks the cutest on me, or how to get by on my allowance until the end of the month.

Not this. Not an actual life or death situation and the whole weight of the world over my shoulders. But my life was never going to be just…simple, right? It might as well be time for me to come to terms with it. The three-year recess had been nice, but now the clock had started ticking again, and it was time to get back to work.

I turned towards Masaya again, willing into my eyes all the sadness I felt from having to cancel our plans, and knowing it wasn't going to be the last time I gave him that look. He knew that too.

''It's alright, I know,'' He said, brushing my cheeks softly with his fingers. ''Go save the world, I'll be waiting.''

I knew he would be waiting, probably by the phone to get my call as soon as the situation was dealt with, and with the news on TV just in case the attack was big enough to be shown on national television. He would wait and worry all day, wondering about my fate just as he had done in the past during my missions, and I hated to do that to him again, especially knowing how badly he wanted to be helpful too.

Masaya was the kind of person who didn´t run from danger, he ran towards it because he wanted to protect, to fight and save others. He was good like that: honest, brave and determined...but not strong or powerful. At least, not anymore. There had been a time in which Masaya could turn himself into a real hero: a knight with blue eyes and golden hair, capable of wielding a sword and dropping hits like nobody else I knew. The Blue Knight, one of the most powerful beings I had ever met.

But he isn't here anymore, I reminded myself. He had disappeared after the last battle against the aliens, and despite his efforts to try and bring him back, it seemed that part of Masaya had died that day, leaving him all alone inside his body to live the rest of his days as just another regular human being.

I had never been angry or sad about losing the Blue Knight, and I didn´t mind his humanity at all, but right now, with a new threat over our heads, I knew it pained him to have the need to protect others and simply not have the strength. It pained me too to see him like this, but it wouldn't do any good to remind him of this power loss, so I just smiled in what I hoped it was a kind way, and kissed his cheek.

''I will be back as soon as I can,'' I stated, and ran out the door after my friends.

.

Hey there, I´m really happy you decided to give my fic a try, hope you like it! I just have a couple of things to explain.

1. This is my attempt to re-write a story I wrote a few years ago in spanish. My aim is to practice writing in english, which is something I love to do but Im not always confident in my abilities, so if I have grammar mistakes or anything you believe I should correct, please let me know in the comments or PMs, it helps me to improve and grow!

2. The last time I watched Tokyo Mew Mew was a very long time ago. Since then I tried to research a bit as to not accidentally add wrong information in the fic, but there are some things I couldn´t find so I made them up a little: like the amount of time the Mews fight against the ciniclons during the anime. I couldn´t find that, so I just assumed it was something like a year, which is what I decided to use in this story. Also, about the Blue Knight, I don´t remember what happened in the anime, but in my story he disappeared during the last fight along with Deep Blue.

3. So apparently the Tokyo Mew Mew I watched as a kid is not the same one that aired in Japan or even in the US, and the ages of the characters in the three versions are different for some reason. To avoid confusion about the ages of the girls, I decided to add a small note explaining it here:

- Ichigo and Mint are 13 years old when they first join the Mews, and the events of this fic happens four years later, so now both are 17 years old.

- Pudding was 11 and now she is 15.

- Lettuce was 14 and now she is 18.

- Zakuro was 15 and now she is 19.

Sorry for the long post unrelated to the story, last time this happens, I promise! Hope you like the story, and if you can leave a comment Ill appreciate it so much! See ya!