xuri:

Program Lovely

chapter one;Startup

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It had been five years.

Five years since the Mew Project. Five years since he'd met Ichigo and the others. Five years since Cafe Mew Mew had boomed with business, five years since the aliens left the Earth in peace, and five years since he had last seen any of them.

As far as Shirogane Ryou was concerned, it had been five years since the life he knew came to a grinding halt.

Now instead of spending time searching for chimera anima, or forming plans with the group, or even washing dishes in the kitchen of Cafe Mew Mew, he would close his door, lay on his bed,and stare at the ceiling. He had to eat, of course. And drink. Every now and then, he might allow himself out of the dormant pink building to run in the dark as if he were running from the very thing he feared most - himself. Just himself. Not the infamous Shirogane Ryou, creator of the Mew Project; or Ryou, co-owner of Cafe Mew Mew; even Shirogane, the blonde who enjoyed little more than to torment a certain strawberry-haired girl on a daily basis. Without any of them here with him, he was just himself, and he hated it. If he ran fast enough, sometimes, it felt as if he were escaping that, able to live a few more days in blissful ignorance.

Ironic that the very person he tried to escape was the only one he ever saw anymore.

Wallowing in his own misery - or lack thereof, since he was sure he was numb to pretty much everything nowadays - seemed to eliminate his sense of time, and he could barely tell whether it was September or March anymore. But he knew. He knew it had been five years, he didn't even have to think about it. Five years since his world came and went, all in a flash. Simple as that.

Now Cafe Mew Mew, a place that had once been thriving with life, with customers, with people, was empty, as if no one had ever been there. Or no one still was. Ryou wasn't sure whether or not he counted anymore. When the 'leak' had occured and everyone had to leave, Keiichiro had stuck around - for a while. But with them seemed to leave the flare and spark that was the Cafe, and without that, there were no customers to serve anymore. The older man moved on to bigger and better things, popping in every now and then to say 'hi'.

But Ryou just stayed right where he was.

He had been asleep, at the time. He slept a lot, since it became an easy way to pass the time that seemed to drag by like a cat with broken legs. So, in his drowsy state, he hadn't heard the knock... at first. When the blonde was roused by a second knock at the door, he faintly suspected it was Keiichiro coming by to offer false smiles and support that he didn't want, and he didn't bother moving. Before the boy could fall back asleep, though, there was some loud clatter outside; what sounded like heaving and carefully placing some heavy object, only to have it accidentally knock against the walls and create more of a racket.

And, before he had the chance to close his eyes, he wondered what it was.

A delivery?

It had been five years since anyone had delivered anything. What could it have possibly been? Sure, electric and water bills were dropped off every so often, but those were slips of paper. This sounded like something solid. Something big. Regardless of his curiousity, Ryou did nothing for a long, long time. When it fell silent, he wondered if he'd made the whole thing up in his head. But after about ten minutes, he finally dragged himself upright and stiffly walked to the front, prepared to see nothing on the porch at all.

But there had been something.

And now, he sat at one of the dusty cafe tables, door still open, a letter in his hands. The once tightly sealed envelope was scattered on the floor, touching the large and unusually shaped box he had dragged inside with much difficulty. Leaning back in the chair, Ryou got hold of his bearings and began to read:

To Mr. Shirogane Ryou;

It is not by protocol that we contact a person such as yourself. Under the circumstances, however, officials have deemed it necessary to take action against recent occuring events, and after much deliberation, it has been decided that few are as suited for the job as the founder of what has been referred to as the 'Mew Project'.

Top secret government activity has been disclosed in this letter; we ask that these words are read only by eyes you can verify as trustworthy.

3 years ago, a project was put underway by top-ranking government workers to create a machine following the principles of the 'Mew Project'. After many months a program was successfully created and adapted for military usage - the resulting tool was labelled Machine Intellect equipped w/ Zeta program Utility and Kinetic Intelligence, henceforth referred to as 'MIZUKI'.

MIZUKI was intended for use as a military weapon; however, even with all the work put into the program, officials were unable to find adequet security for its state-of-the-art technological programming, and were concerned of this information being breached in case of invasion and capture. As a result, the programming has not yet been accessed, though it had been decided MIZUKI as a whole was of too much value to dispose of.

This is where we put forth a request. As the founder and creator of the 'Mew Project', there is no doubt you are more familiar with the capabilities of such a machine than we, and would be more suited to protecting and understanding the value of such a project. Until further notice, we are placing MIZUKI in your care and under your surveillance. There is next to no set-up or mantainence required, so there is little for you to do other than ensure the program's utmost safety.

We are entrusting this to you.

Best Regards,

Misohino Takako

Head of Lab-57 Security

His blue eyes lingered on the last few words, neatly printed in ink, justified importantly on a crisp piece of paper, before Ryou lifted his gaze to the package sitting infront of him.

It had to be five or six feet in length. The box raised only two up off the floor, and the cardboard was very strictly labelled with arrows and warnings, instructing the carrier to keep this side up, alert them of fragile contents, warn to keep the thing level at all times. After a moment of thought, he realized it was about the size of a person laying down... but what kind of thing took on that shape? A coffin?

"So..." Setting the letter tentatively aside, Ryou's eyes fixed on the box as he slid off the chair and knelt down, running his fingers carefully along the packaging.

"...what's supposed to be in this thing?"

It's been five years, huh?...

There had to have been more interesting things she could've come up with. Some of the interesting souveneir shops she'd seen while waiting in the airport, maybe; or the kind of bread that had been used for a delicious sandwich she'd ordered for her lunch. Anything but this. Ichigo was almost disgusted with herself, having the opportunity to stare out an airborne window at the gorgeous Italian scenery and only be able to think of Japan.

Deep down, though, she knew she had missed it. More than just that - she missed the people. Masaya had been with her for the first year, of course, as well as her own parents. But Lettuce, Mint, Pudding and Zakuro... even Keiichiro and Ryou. Every now and then, even when she was sightseeing or shopping or struggling with the language, the girl would stop to reflect, wonder how they were all doing, where their lives had lead them...

Sighing, Ichigo leaned back in her seat, staring at the dull roof of the airplane and the various compartments scattered there. Vaguely, she could remember the event five years ago, the very day... it had just been weeks after Kishu and the others had left, and they were cleaning up any remaining Chimera Anima, preforming a more relaxing version of their usual work. But someone had, without their knowledge, witnessed the transformations... and before any of the girls caught whiff of it, it had flared across the media like wildfire. Three straight days of panic ensued... Ichigo remembered, there had been reporters everywhere, cameras everywhere, questions everywhere. It was dizzying. Almost terrifying.

By the third day, Ryou had recognized his efforts to restrain the media as useless. "You're leaving," he'd announced once he had them alone, doors barred against various reporters, "All of you. For you and your family's protection. We'll cover any expense for you to do so, but staying here is not an option. This rush of paparazzi is only the beginning; your everyday routine is at risk as much as your lives."

And that was that. She'd gone with Masaya and their families to Italy; Mint, to France; Lettuce, to Canada; Pudding to China, and Zakuro to New York. They'd promised to send letters, but it had been... difficult. As a result, Ichigo hadn't been able to keep in touch with a single one of them, and had no idea how anyone was faring.

Not to say she had been lonely. Ichigo was surrounded by people she cared about, all the time. It was just... well, she'd never gotten used to it. Japan had been her home. And even though she'd met new friends, learned new things, and built a new life for herself, she was, to an extent, glad to be going back.

But was it safe?

Lights and faces flashed in her mind's eye and she groaned, closing her eyes to clear her head before she looked back down at the letter in her lap. Neatly opened, already read several times, nothing sentimental or important about it.

Well. Too important.

'Come immediately,' the plain piece of paper had read, scrawled in Shirogane Ryou's sloppy writing, 'I can't enclose anything else. A plane ticket to Tokyo has been cleared in your name; please arrive as soon as possible.' And that was it. The tone was urgent, but Ichigo was puzzled. Immediately? What was this about? It hadn't mentioned a thing about the other girls, or anything really, so she didn't know whether or not she was the only one coming...

Had something involving the aliens happened?

Or was Ryou just bored and looking for some way to throw his money around?

Grimacing at the thought, Ichigo made sure to think nasty messages to the boy she hadn't seen in five long years, pretending she'd rather not see him at all. But that had been her life, and he was a part of it. Even if he hadn't been her favourite person in the world... well, he had been there. And that counted for a lot more than she realized.

She turned her head to look out the window again, seeing only clouds and greyness out the pane. It was almost a hypnotic sight, and she could barely stay focused without her eyelids slowly drooping. Must be more tired than I thought, she mused drowsily, yawning cattishly.

"Shirogane had better..." Ichigo murmured quietly, to no one but herself as her forehead pressed against the cool window, "...pay for my return flight."

And with that, she drifted off and fell asleep to the sounds of clattering food carts and the monotone chatter of other passengers.

Beyond being poked to consciousness by a flight attendant, and shuffled along by impatient customers, and practically forced to take her luggage from the pick-up, Ichigo was still on sleepy-sleepy mode. She faintly suspected she'd been drugged, though with further thought, realized she hadn't exactly eaten or drank anything on the plane. Gassed, maybe?

While contemplating that confusing thought, Ichigo yawned cattishly, dragging her three heavy suitcases behind her. Crowds streamed out of the way, as if they themselves realized how much of a hazard the redhead could be to them if they didn't move, pronto. Ichigo didn't really notice. Once the whole issue of drugged-or-gassed escaped her attention, it focused on something much more important.

"Who's meeting me here, anyways?"

Stuck almost in mid-sentence, she froze, and felt the heat rise to her cheeks. Well, who else? Ryou was coming to pick her up, wasn't he? That was to be expected. He'd sent the letter, after all.

So... why was she blushing?

"I'm not!" She cried loudly, much to the surprise and discomfort of strangers. Ichigo shook her head vigorously and clenched a fist in determination. "It's just stuffy in here, that's all! Or maybe I have a fever. Yeah, that's it, that would explain why I fell asleep!"

"You fell asleep because you have the attention span of a flea."

"Ehh? I do--" Whirling around to confront the insult, Ichigo was abruptly struck dumb, and nearly speechless. "--not." Her voice died down and her eyes widened, and the girl honestly had to blink a few times to make sure she wasn't seeing things. To make sure she wasn't imagining.

Mint sighed, hands on her hips, shaking her head lightly in frustration. "Then why did you drop one of your bags over there?" She lifted a dainty finger to point.

The message was lost on Ichigo. "Y-you..." Finding words had never been her strong suit, but she was having much more trouble than usual, "...you guys! You're all here!"

And, just as the catgirl had said, there they all were. Lettuce, Zakuro, Pudding, and Mint, all in one group, looking at her with smiles and warm eyes. The expressions she recognized from all those years ago. Those four simple figures she so cherished and held dear to her, memories that could never quite replace the real thing. They had changed, of course. So had she. But they were them.

And they were all here.

Lettuce smiled timidly, strands of neatly-layered green hair falling over her eyes. "It's nice to see you again, Ichigo-san."

That was it. She couldn't hold back any longer. Ichigo could stutter and gape and stare all she wanted, but that wasn't getting her anywhere. The only real way to show how happy she was was to --

"Uwahh!" Ichigo sprung forward and threw her arms around the group, pulling them into an awkward yet binding group hug, 'nyaa'ing with joy. "You're all here! You're all here! I have so much to tell you! I've missed you sooo much!"

"Pudding's glad to see Ichigo-oneechan too, na no da!" Pudding squealed, fighting her way to the top so she could latch two arms around the ecstatic catgirl's neck. She'd gotten a bit taller, Ichigo noticed. Not much, though. She was still the same old Pudding, through and through.

"Ichigo," Mint, though unable to conceal the smile on her face, allowed her eye to twitch in aggrivation, "Honestly, go pick up your bag before some unforunate child trips over --"

"We're all happy to see you, but will you let go now? We should make our way to the entrance," Zakuro spoke in her usual cool and comfortable tone, attempting to gently ease herself from the glomp. Ichigo relinquished her hold, though reluctantly, and took a few steps back to look at them again, grinning sheepishly.

"You really are all..." A curious expression suddenly dawned on her face, and, frowning, Ichigo tilted her head to the side. "Wait, why are you guys here? You're supposed to be in Canada," She pointed at Lettuce, "You're supposed to be in New York," At Zakuro, then at Mint, "And you're supposed to - "

"Just like you're supposed to be in Italy, Ichigo." Calmly, the violet-haired model held up a piece of paper, "But as of today at 5:30, we're all supposed to be here."

Amber eyes fell over the slip and the writing that tainted it. Ichigo recognized the messy style instantly - the words were different, but the message was the same. Ryou's letter.

"He didn't tell me you were all gonna be here, too..." Ichigo mumbled, feeling as if she'd been left in the dark on purpose. No doubt for a certain blonde's cruel amusement. Ooh, he was so going to get it --

"Us either," Lettuce was quick to jump in to his defence, bravely stepping forward with her hands clasped together before her. She was more confident, Ichigo realized right away. There was no shame in her eyes, or blush of embarassment marring her cheeks. "He... I mean, we didn't know, either, Ichigo-san."

"The letters are all pretty vague, themselves," Sighing in faint exasperation, Zakuro turned the letter she'd been holding up toward her so she could read the instructions again, though the usual look of disappoinment crossed her eyes when she wasn't able to figure anything out. "At first, I suspected that maybe this was Ryou's way of getting back in touch... but the tone seems urgent, and he's made it clear matters are confidential."

Pudding's eyes went wide as saucers. "Zakuro-oneechan doesn't think the chimera anima are back, does she, na no da?" There was a hint of childish worry in her tone, causing the big-sister-factor in the rest of the girls to swiftly kick in.

"D-don't worry Pudding," Ichigo said quickly, a smile on her face, "Kishu and the others made peace with us, remember? I'm sure whatever it is, it's not that serious. It's probably just some big joke, knowing Shirogane..." Her cheeks puffed up slightly at the thought, but any negative feelings immediately drifted away. After all, they were all here with her again - it was impossible to be angry or sad. "I can't believe it... I mean, I never expected to see you guys again - or, at least for a long time. I'm so happy you're all here, coming back to Japan without you wouldn't have been the same..."

"What she really means," Mint's haughty voice kicked in as she placed two hands neatly on her hips, lazily narrowing two skeptical eyes in the Strawberry girl's direction, "is that she's disappointed we're all here, because she really wanted to spend some alone time with Mister Shirogane Ryou. Right, Ichigo?"

Ichigo's hand gave a twitch and she could feel angry blood rushing to her face, and suddenly she remembered how easily it was to become annoyed at Mint's antics. Yes, she was teasing, and yes, she didn't mean a thing by it, but did she really have to start off a happy-friend-reunion with that attitude? "Please, Mint-san," Lettuce quickly stepped in with a soothing tone, breaking the tension between the two. The redhead's shoulders relaxed again, and she recognized that Mint wouldn't have quite been Mint if she didn't jump at Ichigo whenever the chance so arrived. It was what made the spoiled-little-rich-brat herself.

Just as she was glad to see Mint, she really was glad to see everyone else. For all the standing reasons of friendship, and, well... 'alone time with Mister Shirogane Ryou', as Mint had put it, didn't sound particularily appealing to her. Of course she wanted to see him again too, but not alone. God knows that boy had made enough things awkward between the two of them. She didn't know if she'd be able to stay sane being in the same room with him alone - he had driven her up the wall time and time again all those years ago, and she really didn't want to get into that freakout-stage she'd been in again.

While the other girls talked amongst themselves - catching up, making theories about the letter, commenting on airplane food - Ichigo just stood there in silence, a little smile on her face. They were all the same, and yet they were different. They'd each grown up, but they were still those four awkward girls from Tokyo Mew Mew, all the way. That made her wonder; have I changed at all? And she honestly couldn't answer that question. It was so much harder to track those things when it came to yourself.

Her thoughts drifted back to the earlier topic of Ryou, and she grimaced. But I bet he hasn't changed one bit.

"When is he coming, anyways?" In an impatiently demanding voice, Mint squinted off at one of the nearby clocks, clearly displeased. "It's already been ten minutes. Honestly, leaving five young ladies alone in an airport..." The dark-haired damsel ignored the quick protest of Lettuce, who insisted to no listening ear that 'they weren't really alone', "... it's dangerous. Not to mention rude. That boy hasn't learned any manners at all!"

"Mint-san..."

Ichigo smiled again, and, hearing the airport doors slide quietly open, she turned with absent eyes in that direction. I bet he'll just leave us here for an hour or two... Her thoughts floated about randomly, hazily, and she realized she was still tired from the airplane ride. She'd catch up on her sleep tonight, when no one could kick her out of her seat. ...and then when he finally comes, he'll say we read the letter wrong...

"Jerk," she mumbled, prepared to ramble on more about him, maybe form some kind of rebellion against the snooty blonde while they were waiting. But her voice died down as she realized why her eyes had been fixed on those particular doors - through them walked an all-too-familiar figure, with hair she remembered all-too-well, and an expression that no one else could quite carry around with them so comfortably.

He saw her, and, tilting his head, he smiled.

Ichigo's eyes widened.

"Akasaka-san!"

At the name, everyone else turned to the door, surprised to see the brunette man standing just a few feet away from them, a pleasant smile on his face as always. Before they could so much as exclaim his name is shock as Ichigo had, Keiichiro tipped his head forward, closed his eyes, swept an elegant arm to the side, and bent down into a gentlemanly bow.

"Forgive me for being late," he spoke in his usual soft, velvety tone, making each girl in a 20-foot-radius stand stiff with fluttering hearts. Opening his dark but warm eyes again, he gazed fondly to all of them, "Super Ladies."

"Keiichiro-oniichan!" In a blur of gold, Pudding sprung forth, tackling the ponytailed man in a nearly-violent hug, laughing with delight. The only reason the man wasn't knocked over by the small, but now strong, girl, was due to his high level of composure, and he steadied himself, managing to smile at her before gently placing sturdy hands on her shoulders and setting her down so he could stand once again.

And then, he was swamped.

"Akasaka-san, it's been so long!"

"How's the Cafe been? Did they hire new waitresses after we left?"

"You cut your hair, na no da!"

"You came to pick us up? Hmph, that is so like Shirogane..."

"Why weren't you here earlier?"

Though Keiichiro had suddenly been bombarded with questions, he managed to keep calm, turning only to Zakuro to answer he bluntly-stated question. "I apologize; Ryou intended to come instead, but there were some complications. I would have arrived sooner, had traffic not been so difficult."

Ichigo blinked wide amber eyes. "Complications?"

He only shook his head lightly in response, smile soft as always, "We should not delay your arrival any further. The car is parked just out the door; there should be enough room in the back for each of your bags." The man paused as he turned to open the door for them, glancing back at the 'Super Ladies' meaningfully. "Let's not keep Ryou waiting."

"H-hai!" Lettuce chimed in response, bending down to swiftly retrieve her luggage just as the others were doing. Ichigo's hand closed tightly around the handle of her suitcase as she stared absently in their escort's direction. There was still something strange about the whole situation. And why are we here, exactly...? she wanted to ask, but she couldn't seem to do it. If they needed to know, Keiichiro would have told them already. Still...

The group rushed hurriedly past the man, who had an arm pointed where the vehicle was parked. Ichigo followed, though with a dazed expression as she was, once again, lost in her own thought. Mint followed, watching her from the corner of her eye before sighing, and eye twitching in aggrivated frustration. "Ichigo, aren't you forgetting --"

"Huh?" Stopping, she looked down at her free hand, eyes fixed as she created a flashing visual of what should have been in that hand, but wasn't. She jumped suddenly, and whirled around.

"Wah! Where's my bag?"

Lights, sounds, scenes and shapes all whirled past the windows, streaming together into what could only be described as a... blob. All Ichigo could think was, at least isn't driving as fast as he normally does.

But it was still an insanely erratic ride. Even Zakuro sat rigid in the passenger's seat, dark eyes flickering around to find something to cling on to if the car suddenly swerved into a ditch.

Even the radio itself seemed to buzz into the silence awkwardly, fading in and out incoherently. "...reports of several government break-ins...nothing stolen... minimal damage to property and surrounding area... underway, and investigations will continue on until... perpetrators..."

After a few minutes, though, the girls were used to it, and had their safety devices optimized in case of emergency. Keiichiro sat calmly up in the front, kind brown eyes gazing out at the tar road, hands relaxed on the wheel, foot pressed a little too much on the gas pedal. But at least he wasn't turning into wrong lanes and narrowly escaping deathly collisions like he normally seemed to do - for that, the girls could at least be thankful.

Although, this did prove their suspicions that Ryou's letter signalled an urgent matter.

"I hope you're all comfortable back there," The brunette said in a chipper tone, "Sorry I don't have more room. I suppose if I'll be handling this passenger number more often now, I'll have to upgrade to a roomier model."

Mint uncomfortably shifted beneath Pudding, who was sitting on her lap to compromise the fact four girls had only three seats to fill. "Keiichiro," she voiced for the first time since leaving the airport and becoming used to enduring Keiichiro's shaky driving habits, "You know why we've been called here, don't you? Can you fill in what Ryou didn't?"

Which, all the girls knew, was pretty much everything. They all looked with expecting expressions to the calm but violent driver.

He only smiled. "Ryou will explain it all when you arrive," The man didn't even so much as turn to face them, "He sent the letters, after all. It would only be fair to leave all explanations to the one who knows them best."

The air in the car suddenly became one filled with frustration and confusion - contributed to by all but Keiichiro, of course. Lettuce turned dazed blue eyes out the window again, too polite to inquire further, though her expression clearly wanted more. Mint actually let out a sigh of exasperation, while Pudding just sat contently where she was, head bobbing up and down as if she were tired from an exhausting ride.

On the other hand, all Ichigo could do was stare at the vehicle's floor and her shoes, wondering. Everyone seemed to have a theory to what this was about - in their heads, at least - but Ichigo didn't have a clue. The aliens wouldn't have come back. Ichigo had always followed news stories in Japan via the internet, and there was nothing unusual or supernatural going on there... so why were they back? There was still the odd chance that this was all a trick Ryou was playing, a desperate plea for attention. And as much as she would like to blame her puzzlement on him, she knew that probably wasn't the case. After all, he'd been the ones to send them away in the first place.

He'd been the one concerned for their safety, far more than anyone else...

"He wanted us here," Zakuro spoke in her usual cool tone, elbow propped against the door and headed cocked into her palm, face towards the window, glazed eyes in the driver's direction, "even though five years ago he sent us to opposite ends of the world because it was dangerous. Whatever he intends to have us do, it will be important, won't it?"

Keiichiro just smiled. "Nothing you can't handle, Super Ladies."

"Urrgh... We're here?"

"Thank god."

Coming out of that car was nothing short of a relief. And the girls had thought the way Keiichiro started driving was scary - after their short conversation, his cellphone had rang, and after a few mumblings of "Hello?", "Yes, we're on our way", and "I'm very sorry", the gas pedal had been slammed the instant the phone bleeped off. Pudding had almost flown into the windshield, Lettuce bumped her head on the car roof, and Ichigo could have sworn she almost heard Zakuro scream a curse. In any case, after that bumpy ride, Ichigo was beyond glad to touch solid ground again.

After a bit of stumbling, she was caught by an aggrivated Mint, who was wise enough to keep her at arm's length, just in case the redhead decided to hurl. "Not so fast, there, Ichigo," she said sternly, patting her on the back. Ichigo's eye twitched, but she turned her gaze upward to look at the towering cafe before her. She blinked.

"Oh, wow... it hasn't changed one bit, huh?"

"I don't think," Both of them turned as Lettuce stepped up, with Zakuro speaking beside her, each staring at Cafe Mew Mew as well, "that they've done anything to it in five years. It looks like it needs a bit of a paint job."

"Ah, I hope we won't be interrupting any customers..." Lettuce said, eyes shimmering with concern. Staring at her for a moment, something dawned on Ichigo and a deep, irritated frown found its way to her face.

"That little rat! He's going to make us wait tables again, isn't he?" In order to earn some money for college admissions, Ichigo had gotten a part time job at an Ice Cream Parlour back in Italy - and, regardless of her previous experience in the food industry, she found it to be quite enjoyable. And now that she knew how unfair the girls' working conditions and wages had been, Ichigo was not going to put up with such a snide and demanding boss again. Nuh uh. There was no way.

"Ichigo-san..." Lettuce chipped in uneasily, followed by a tired sigh from Mint's end. Before anything else could happen, however, they heard the car door slam shut and turned to see Keiichiro emerge, guiding a shaken Pudding by the arm to the sidewalk where the rest were.

The monkey-girl seemed to get right back up on her feet instantly, however, and with a bright grin dashed over to Lettuce and grabbed her by the hand. "Come onnn, Lettuce-oneechan!" The blond girl chimed enthusiatically as ever, attempting to drag her companion down the cobblestone path where everyone else was headed. "I wanna see the Cafe! Hurry up, na no da!"

The man's brown hair swayed in the gentle autumn breeze, and he smiled, following behind the five girls as if he were a sheep herder. "I think you'll notice everything is exactly as you left it," He pointed out gently, nodding toward the bright building, "At least, as far as I know. Ryou hasn't alerted me of any changes."

"Alerted you?" Ichigo turned to stare at the tall man, face scrunched in bewilderment, "But don't you work here with --"

She was abruptly cut off as a certain lorkeet-fused elbow found its way into her rib cage. Oomphing, Ichigo turned to glare at Mint, who put a finger to her lips and motioned toward the unusually still building.

"It's quiet," said Mint simply, in a low whisper.

Ichigo noticed it right away. She seemed to remember, whenever she came back for a night shift all those years ago, the sound of customers, of people - of the Cafe. But now as they stood there in almost complete silence, they were greeted with the same. No gently ting of teacups, no excitable girl squeals at the sight of a bishounen waiter, no friendly chatter or 'What can get for you ladies?'. Just silence.

"They wouldn't be closed on a Wednesday," mused Zakuro, wary eyes observing the castle-like emporium.

"M-maybe it's just a special occasion," Ichigo quickly threw in with a lop-sided grin, not wanting to think of what might cause such silence. Was the Cafe going under? Had Ryou finally driven away every last fangirl that flocked the decorative porch? Or was there just a new rule, like libraries had, where talking was forbidden? Ichigo couldn't exactly see where that would do any good, but it was still possible. And not the worst thing in the world, either.

But before anyone else could throw in a suggestion, they were up on the porch and Keiichiro had taken his place in front again, lifting his fist to gently rap against the faded door. Then, having made his presence known, he twisted the doorknob and creaked it open, standing there facing the inside with a smile on his face.

"Sorry for the delay, Ryou." His apology was sincere and direct, laced with the genteman's tone that Keiichiro always managed to flawlessly pull off. Holding the door open with one hand, he averted his smile to the gaggle of girls behind him. "But they're here now. All of them."

Ichigo, faintly but surely, remembered the first time she'd been here, at Cafe Mew Mew. Her first thought had been, wow, it's cute. And then, this is the secret laboratory? Are they kidding me? and just weeks later, stupid cafe, stupid customers, stupid Shirogane. I have no life! Only now did she really realize some of her fondest memories had occured here, in this very building. It had seemed silly for the center of a world-saving mission, but during the formation of Tokyo Mew Mew, this place had been the center of her life. And she remembered every inch of it, from the first gorgeous step to the gold-laced top, inside and out.

Zakuro was right. It hadn't changed one bit.

But as if Keiichiro had been opening the door for the very first time, Ichigo felt like light was streaming through the doorway into her eyes, filling her soul with a dazzling sort of anticipation and interest, making the hairs on her neck stand on end and her heart stop with wonder. After all these years, it was like she was seeing this place for the very first time.

But when the light faded, all Ichigo saw was same old, same old. All the bedazzling emotion fell away quickly and she frowned in disappointment, as if she'd expected something particularily amazing to be there, waiting for her.

Nope. Just Ryou.

"Yo," The blonde lifted bored eyes to face the group, one leg crossed over the other as he slouched a bit forward, acknowledging them with a nod. Ichigo felt her fist clench, suddenly remembering the many grudges she'd held against the man and why they'd been there.

"So you finally arrived."

"Ah! Sh-Shirogane-san," Even though no red stained her face, there was an awkward shine in Lettuce's eye as she bowed politely, light lime hair falling over her face. "It's so good to see you again... when we recieved your letter, we --"

"You make it sound like," Oooh, his attitude ticked her right off. He hadn't said more than five words, but already Ichigo could detect that snide attitude he held so haughtily at his side. He was just waiting to annoy her, she knew it. And here Ichigo had thought he'd grown up. "it was our fault."

"Oh boy." Mint could only roll her eyes.

In response, Ryou simply sighed. "I didn't say that. But I can see you'reas edgy as always, Strawberry."

Lettuce and Zakuro sighed in unison.

"Will you drop that stupid nickname?" Ignoring the few comments Keiichiro made in an attempt to calm her down, Ichigo lifted an accusing finger in Ryou's direction, "I am not some child, and you do not have permission to give me pet names!"

"Last time I checked, you're not in charge of what I can't and can't do."

"Arrgghhh!" Grinding her teeth together, Ichigo felt as if steam were coming from her ears as she stomped forward, hands clenched at her sides. "And you haven't changed one bit! You're just a --"

She froze. Instantly. Not because she'd run out of insults so quickly - oh no, she had plenty ready to burst at him - but something caused her to be shaken and surprised to a state of speechlessness. Ichigo's hand instantly fell limp to her side, eyes fixed on the thing that she hadn't seen from the angle she'd been standing at previously. How could she have missed...?

Taking no notice to her bewilderment, he raised an eyebrow. "I don't think anyone really changes that much after just five years. But the new look you have going for your isn't that bad. You seem just a little more mature without the pigtails."

By this point, Ichigo wasn't sure why she was gaping - because Shirogane Ryou had just implied a compliment, or because there was a woman seated on the chair beside him.

Apparently, everyone else (aside from Keiichiro, of course, who just stood aside with a knowing smile) only just made the connection as well. And they, too, were stunned,. staring quite rudely as they tried to piece it together. Here she was, a girl that couldn't be older than 20, with smooth lilac coloured hair pulled into neat braids that fell along her shoulders, and iced blue eyes staring back at all of them. Her clothing was not a waitress' uniform, either; it had the same look, but it was less frilly and more professional in appearence. Pale hands were folded in her lap, lips unmoving and creating no sound what-so-ever.

"Who..." Mint's words died swiftly as she recognized the 'back off' look the woman's eyes so clearly signalled. Only then did Ryou seem to take notice that the girls hadn't, and let out a gentle breath of exasperation.

"There's no avoiding the formalities, I guess," Shrugging, he turned to glance at the woman, "Would you like to introduce yourself?"

"..." She was completely silent, staring almost unblinkingly at the girls. It had a paralyzing affect on them. They shivered, as if ice had suddenly crept down their spines. Only Ichigo - being Ichigo, of course - remained looking straightforwardly dumbfounded, as if she weren't affected at all, trying to figure out just what this girl was doing here. Then, came the only conclusion she could possibly make at this point.

The redhead looked at Ryou, at the girl, and then at Ryou again. "She's your girlfriend, isn't she?"

There went the tension. The girls nearly all fell over, the only thing keeping them composed was the frigid stare they still recieved from the alleged 'girlfriend'. Ichigo didn't even blink. Putting his hand to his head, Ryou sighed, a closed eye giving a slight twitch.

"Strawberry, she's not my --"

"She's not wearing a cafe uniform, na no da," Pudding jumped in, eyes gleaming with the past days of playing Detective. She stood right over the sitting woman, who apparently couldn't care less, "Which means she's not a waitress! And since she is sitting here at a very important meeting, she's not a customer either. Detective Pudding concludes Ichigo-oneechan is right, and that the only reason Girlfriend-oneechan and Shirogane-oniichan aren't holding hands is because they're embarassed, na no da!"

Lettuce, snapped out of her gaze, sweatdropped and attempted to pull the yellow-haired girl from the spotlight, "Pudding-san, I'm not sure Shirogane-san wants you to --'

But she stopped, seeing the grin that had faintly appeared on their previous employer's face. His expression showed frustration, but his crystalline eyes were brimming with amusement. He'd missed it. They were supposed to be grown-up, but they were still the same group of girls that dropped things and played games and did tricks and all sorts of stupid things. Ryou was glad.

"Honestly, you guys..."

"Well, that's just rude if you ask me," Ichigo said with a huff, hands on her hips, an annoyed pair of eyes looking off at the wall, "I mean, inviting us all the way over here just to meet your girlfriend. And you made it sound so important, too! I can't believe I was ever even worried about you..."

Zakuro, in the background, could only seem to simply shake her head. Nope. Nothing had changed.

"Maybe if you would listen for five seconds --" Before Ryou could even finish what he was saying, there was a rustle of fabric as the braided woman stood easily to her feet, posture perfect and straight

Her gaze was no less cold than it had been when she was seated. But her lips were moving.

"I am Machine Intellect equipped with Zeta-program Utilities and Kinetic Intelligence," She recited without so much as blinking. Then, folding her hands infront of her, she bent forward in a low and stiff bow, "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

The girls just stared. Ichigo's mouth was half open, unable to decide whether she should laugh or nod or just shut up or what.

Ryou shook his head at how messily the situation was unfolding. "You can call her Mizuki, girls. It's less of a mouthful."

Still nothing. Ryou briefly wondered if they'd been abducted by aliens recently and lost half of their brains or something, since all the five of them seemed able to do was stare stupidly.

And, as usual, Pudding was the one to break the silence. "Mizuki-oneechan?" She said quite loudly, tilting her head and blinking with big, almond eyes. Then she grinned wildly and lurched forward, latching onto the woman. Mizuki just stood there rather uncomfortably as the monkey girl engaged her in a hug around the waist, "So Shirogane-oniichan's girlfriend is Mizuki-oneechan, na no da!"

"I give up," Ryou grumbled.

"You are so inconsiderate!" Broken out of her dumbfounded state, Ichigo started barking at him again, "You could have at least mentioned her in the letter! Do you know how rude that is? Do you even know how disrespectful it is to do something like that to your girlfriend? Treat her like she's nothing?" With that, she turned to Mizuki, who really couldn't be less interested. "You really should dump him. If you haven't figured it out by now, he's a jerk."

Clearly irritated (once again), he raised a glare at the Strawberry-haired girl, muscles tensed, though his expression showed rehearsed lack of interest. "Speaking of relationships, where is precious Aoyama-kun?" He said dryly. Ichigo reacted. He'd struck a nerve. "Didn't you bring him with you? You're not so much of a cheapskate to leave the guy you're in love with behind in Italy, are you?"

Ichigo was silent. She seemed to open her mouth, but no words would come, and instead her amber eyes darkened and turned away from the blonde completely. He raised an eyebrow - Ryou had not been prepared for that one question to upset her so much. If anything, he'd just thought she would take it as teasing and explain her lovely was busy with school or something. Nothing. He sat up straight and was set to inquire further, when Keiichiro stepped in, clearing his throat politely.

"Ladies," He said, indicating in Mizuki's direction with a slight gesture, "She is the reason you've been summoned here. I'm a bit sketchy on the details, so, Ryou..." Smiling, the man nodded in the blonde's direction. The younger boy let out an obligatory sigh before climbing to his feet, folding his arms across his chest, obviously ready to preform a lengthy speech.

Pudding, in anticipation, sat on the floor. Ichigo stayed right where she was, eyes to the ground, frowning and slightly red-faced.

"'Machine Intellect equipped with...' Well, you heard her the first time. Mizuki was designed for government use, but a few months back they figured out they couldn't protect her well enough. And since programmers had spent a good three years on her system, they didn't --"

"Hold on," Mint interupted, ignoring the irritated glance she recieved. Her once confused brown eyes narrowed in puzzled suspicion, "So you're saying she's not human?"

Quick to snap out of her gapingness, Lettuce hurriedly tried to amend the insult, glasses sliding down her nose as she became slightly frantic over dulling the blow of Mint's words. A look of intrigue overcame Zakuro's face, and while hushed apologies spilled from a girl's mouth, Ryou looked suddenly at a loss. He cleared his throat, attempting to find words to blatantly say something he'd hoped would be implied, when Mizuki stepped forward and spoke once more.

"I am a program embedded within a human-based structure, designed to carry out orders and accomplish various tasks." The girls were quick to notice how monotone her voice was. The remarkable thing, though, wasn't the fact that it simply lacked emotion, like a machine would be expected to - instead, her voice simply sounded careless, as if she were capable of conveying feeling... only she chose not to. "I was deemed useless by my previous guardians, but to dispose of such an expensively invested project would be foolish, so they placed me under the care of Shirogane Ryou instead."

"So Shirogane-oniichan isn't your boyfriend..." With wide brown eyes, Pudding tried to piece the situation together. Her lips grew into a huge smile, "He's your dad, na no da!"

Leaning forward slightly, Zakuro's blue eyes flashed in interest, though her expression kept its usual cool appearence. "Remarkable," she said blandly, a strand of dark hair slipping over her shoulder, "You seem so... human-like. I had no idea our technology had progressed so far."

The look Mizuki gave her was one an adult would give a child who just said something idiotic. "The capabilities of human efforts are endless. I was merely a concieved idea of Artificial Intelligence that was materialized through successful research and experimentation."

"Ano, Mizuki-san," Smiling her warm smile, Lettuce bowed politely, moving half a pace toward her, "It's very nice to meet you... I am Midorikawa Lettuce, and I know Shirogane-san will take good care of you."

"Of course," Mizuki responded dryly, as if tired of the ordeal.

Mint didn't look particularily satisfied at the moment. Tilting her head to the side, she tried to catch Ryou's straying attention. "This is great and all, but what do we have to do with all this? I think you're quite capable of handling her yourself, Ryou."

"So did I," Exasperated, he turned his eyes away from Ichigo, who had quietly retreated to a wall, away from the others, "Mizuki's AI is incredible, and I'm sure she'd be quite capable of taking care of herself, as well. But there's... something else."

"Something else?"

Ryou nodded and stood up as well, stretching his stiff arms above his head, "Apparently, the government and myself are not the only ones that know of Mizuki's existance. I didn't know about this at first - there wasn't any mention in the letter I recieved - but she told me about a week ago about a group."

"A band of anti-government rebels formed approximately the same time my programming began," Mizuki continued on Ryou's explanation, eyes glazed, "They were opposed mostly to the ideals of creating a human-fused-animal project, and by form of protest destroyed property. There have been three deaths on account of them to date. It is unclear what weapons or technology is available to them, but the group has attempted several times to break in to the lab I was created in."

"That's one of the unmentioned reasons she was sent to me, I'm guessing," Ryou shrugged, "They assume the band was trying to get ahold of her programming. It was a top-secret military project at the time, so leaking information could prove to be lethal."

Lettuce suddenly went wide-eyed. "S-so what you're saying..."

"...is that we're in charge of protecting her from these rebels?" Finished Zakuro as she stepped up with the others. No one seemed to notice, but Ichigo snapped silently out of her moping, and suddenly held an expression of anger.

Shirogane Ryou gave a firm nod. "Exactly. This is a matter of national security, and it's our duty - your duty - to make sure no one gets ahold of her programming until the government is able to finance a proper defense system."

The four of them seemed eagerly fascinated by this; a task that sounded so easy, and yet so vital. There must have been something special, incredible even, about her that made her of such high value that it took a genius, a chef and five girls to protect... But she looked to have been designed to be a normal human. Just a normal girl.

Of course, that's what they looked like, too. Outward appearence meant next to nothing.

"What can Mizuki-oneechan do, na no da? Is she fused with Red Data animals too?" Pudding squealed, obviously excited, as she jumped nimbly over to the formally-dressed robot's side. Her blue eyes simply flicked to her direction, showing no more interest or emotion than before.

"I have been programmed to take on features of the most efficent and powerful animals on earth, not just those of endangered status."

"Show us," Zakuro voiced curtly.

"I cannot in this state. A mechanism must be properly activated."

"How does that work, Mizuki-san?"

"When my abilities are in need, I can do it myself. Then, and only then. They are not playthings."

"Did you fight at all before you arrived here?"

"In training rooms, yes. I have not been tested on live specimens, but my capabilities in battle are guaranteed to be vast, if the situation should ever arise."

After a moment of buzzing chatter, Ryou stopped listening - he'd already gotten all this information from Mizuki, himself. She seemed to so openly share things, like it didn't matter who heard - but of course robots couldn't keep secrets. She was a machine, and her information was the business of anyone but the enemy. Glancing off to the side in boredom, he quickly noticed Ichigo, standing in the corner, a deep frown etched on her face, fists clenched. She wasn't looking at any of them, but he could tell she'd been listening. Quietly abandoning the curious chatter, he walked over to the red head.

This only seemed to irritate her more.

"What's up, Strawberry?" He asked, resisting to urge to flick her in the forehead or make any remark too snide, "You don't look very happy."

Her eyes scowled. He was taken aback - it wasn't like her to seem so genuinely furious. Annoyed, yes, but never furious. "Of course I'm not happy," She whispered in a harsh, growling manner, refusing to make eye contact, "Here I thought something bad had happened, or that you were in trouble, or that aliens had come back... You have no idea how worried I was! And now I find out this is all about her... some miracle machine that's more important than us or our lives..."

She was nearly menacing. 5 years had made her so much less harmless - how much had Ichigo changed? "You think this is some game to me, Ichigo? Were you listening at all just now? Inside this girl is the information needed to become superhuman -- having that ability in the wrong or untrained hands could create an earthwide crisis!"

"So, you'll be staying with Shirogane-san?" Lettuce inquired softly, as oblivious as the others to the argument a few feet away. Mizuki nodded grimly. The green-haired girl smiled in return. "Ah, that's so nice of him..."

"Lettuce-oneechan wishes Shirogane-oniichan would let her stay with him, na no da!" Pudding piped up happily, jumping up to cling affectionately to Lettuce's side. The taller of the two lost all composure and suddenly went beat-red, puffs of smoke appearing from the rush of heat.

She began to flail. "N-no, it's really not like that! I was just - "

"Of course he is." The girls stopped and faced the machine-model, whose perfectly engineered lips curved into a subtle smile. Her eyes had strangely clouded. "He's been ordered to keep me from harm. I'm a treasured posession."

Ichigo's body stiffened, and Ryou flinched. Especially as she finally looked up at him and he realized there were tears in her big amber eyes. "H-hey, Strawberry, I didn't mean --"

"I never said I wanted," Ichigo's voice shook as she clutched trembling fists at her sides, glaring daggers up at the blonde before her, "to save the world!" Before he could even react, the redhead shoved the stunned Ryou away and bolted.

While Lettuce took a moment to herself to calm down, Zakuro tried to pry Pudding from her and Mint looked as if she'd suddenly remembered something. "Mizuki," She said, resting her hands on her hips out of habit, "That reminds me... If it's our job to be protecting you, we should know what we're up against. Do you know anything about this 'enemy' group?"

Her daze broke, and the robot girl's smile fell away completely. "I have never encountered them, though I am equipped with whatever knowledge my prior owner had of the band. Even that is lacking, and the only 100 accurate piece of data is their group name."

"Which is?" Zakuro raised an eyebrow as she hoisted a certain monkey-girl onto the ground. Even Pudding seemed curious about this information. In response, Mizuki's eyes seemed to glaze again as she lifted her head, gaze tilted more toward the ceiling than toward any of them.

"SQUAD," she replied, before they all looked over their shoulders as the door slammed shut.

saving data... closing applications... system shut down.