Tokyo Mew Mew Fan Fiction ❯ Lucky Seven ❯ Coming Home to Old Friends -Nya! ( Chapter 1 )

Hey everyone! This is my first Tokyo Mew Mew fic (but by no means my first fanfic in general). This is my first time using Media Miner as well, so this is a post of firsts! This is more like a preliminary post, because I hate fanfiction.net with a flaming, unbridled passion and would like to expand my horizons. I mean, c'mon, fanfiction.net doesn't even have Tokyo Mew Mew as a fanfic topic! Screw them I say!

READ!

~It's Time to Choose!~

Quite possibly the crappiest title I could've picked.

~by: Ros: Ruler of Worlds~

~Disclaimer: I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew.

All characters are called by their Japanese names, or the names I feel most comfortable calling them… So if you like the name `Lettuce' better than the dominant `Retasu,' then screw you as well, I say!

Last thing, everything in this fic is based off the Anime, not the Manga, so Ichigo was thirteen when she defeated Deep Blue, not eleven, and the aliens lived in an alternate dimension, not a lame spaceship. This fic also based on the ending of Tokyo Mew Mew, so if you haven't read the whole story, or don't want to know the end, don't read this. But, like, you know, review it or something to make me feel better.

Okay, I swear, last one: This fic also has nothing to do with Tokyo Mew Mew a la Mode, so don't expect Berii or her cameo to pop up at some time, and nothing about this fic has to do with the a la Mode arc.~

I think that's about it! Read on, soldiers!

CHAPTER ONE

"Yes?" Keiichiro said, answering the telephone, "Café Mew Mew. How can I help you?"

Retasu swept up a pile of cake crumbs quickly.

"We're ready for our order to be taken," a group of impatient schoolgirls called from the opposite side of the room.

"Be right there!" she replied, scooping up the crumbs in a pan and throwing it away. She looked to the side and saw Minto sitting and drinking tea.

"Oh, I haven't heard from you in a while," Keiichiro said.

"Minto-chan, I could really use your help!" Retasu cried.

"In a minute," Minto said dully, turning a page or her newspaper slowly.

"…How've you been?…"

"Purin will help!" Purin shouted, running to the girls while balancing a stack of plates.

"Wait!" Retasu called after her. "I'll take care of it! You'll drop the plates!"

"Look!" Minto gasped, shoving the `Arts and Fashion' section of the newspaper in front of Retasu's face.

*CRASH*

"…Really?…"

"It's the cover story on Zakuro onee-chan's fashion show!"

"They have it out all ready?"

"My cake!"

"Purin's really sorry!"

"The plates!" Retasu shouted.

"…Well, we look forward to seeing you soon…" Keiichiro hung up the phone.

"I'm sorry about this! I'll go get a new cake for you," Retasu commented, sweeping up the broken glass.

"We still haven't gotten our order taken!" one of the schoolgirls yelled.

"Minto, help!"

"In a minute!"

"Attention everyone!"

All the people in the building immediately became silent.

"We will be closing within the hour. Please make your orders as soon as possible," Keiichiro ordered. Instantly, Retasu, Minto, and Purin regained their composure. Minto started taking orders, Retasu cleaned up the broken plates, and Purin started delivering the food. In just fifteen minutes, the café was completely empty.

"What gives, Keiichiro-san?" Minto asked as the three of them stood in line. "We don't close until six."

"Ichigo-chan is coming home."

"What?" the three gasped in unison.

"She's been gone since… since…" Retasu tried to say.

"I know," Keiichiro sighed. "She said that there are too many sad memories where she used to live with Aoyama-san. She'll be catching a train this afternoon and will get here at five."

"That jerk!" Minto cried. "I'll go over and pick Ichigo-chan up myself! I can't believe what a rude, uncaring idiot he is! And after all that they've been through!"

"I know he has taken an uncaring turn since he moved, but I believe Ichigo is ready to move on, and we should welcome her happily."

"I think we should go straight to America and scold him!" Purin shouted. "He even had the nerve to call her at their old home to tell her he found someone new!"

"All the same, I feel like we should do something special for Ichigo-chan when she gets home. I don't really think flying halfway across the world to scold her old boyfriend would do the trick."

"How about a party! With a really big cake and lots of ice cream!" Purin suggested loudly.

"Ichigo loves your cakes, Keiichiro-san. She hasn't had one of yours in a while. It'd be a special treat," Minto commented.

"Thanks for the suggestion," Keiichiro said. "I'll start working now. You girls get the decorations ready. I'll start working on the cake." The girls nodded and went into the basement to look for decorations.

In a few moments, Retasu came back up holding a box of streamers and banners. She noticed Ryou taking some keys off the counter in the kitchen and heading out the door. "Don't you think it's a bit early for Shirogane-kun to be leaving?" she questioned after he left. "She doesn't get here for two more hours." She looked over at the clock and continued, "Doesn't it only take ten minutes to get to the train station?"

"I believe that's what I told Ryou-san, but he seemed pretty dead-set about leaving now." Keiichiro walked into the kitchen and started getting ingredients ready. "Maybe he plans on running some errands before he picks her up." Retasu nodded and started hanging streamers on the walls between windows. Minto soon followed up with table decorations and Purin with pink tablecloths.

"This is going to be great! Ichigo onee-chan comes home tonight, and Zakuro onee-chan comes home tomorrow!" Purin exclaimed. "I bet she'll have a shock when she sees Ichigo-chan here!"

"I'll bet," Retasu played along laughing.

"Okay," Minto said, taking charge. "Retasu, try twisting the streamers, they look prettier that way. Purin, you start putting the tablecloths on. I'll to the back shed and get the ladder so we can hang some of the streamers on the ceiling."

"Is this a Minto-chan planning on doing work?" Retasu joked in spite of herself.

"Ha," Minto laughed sarcastically as she opened the back door. She turned to Retasu and Purin and winked. "This is all for Ichigo-chan."

***

Ryou drove up in the same fiery-hot crimson car used to chaperone the Mew Mews in the early years. The train station clock that loomed over the main entrance ticked 3:15. His overwhelmingly blue eyes slowly moved down to the doors. A large group of people started to walk out at once.

"Right on time," he said to himself. He walked out of his car and leaned against it coolly. He could see poking out of other regular, black/brown headed people was a vibrant red. He smiled inwardly and stood up straighter. When she came into better view, she was seen dabbing her eyes with her handkerchief. His smile slowly turned to a frown when he noticed she was crying. She looked back at the train station, gathered her bearings, and turned to look forward. She stopped when she saw him.

"Shirogane?" she asked, more as a reality check to herself to verify he was there than acknowledging him. He turned his head slightly, but just enough to make his hair bounce wind. "What… What are you doing here?"

"There is no five-o-clock train to Tokyo from Hitachi," he said smartly. "If you wanted some alone time, all you had to do is ask."

Ichigo instantly went to the offensive. "If you knew I wanted some time by myself, why did you come and pick me up in the first place?" she spat.

"Just because," he stated simply, picking up her belongings and placing them neatly in the trunk. He sat in the driver's seat and turned the car on.

"W- Wait a minute! Where are you going?" Ichigo asked, leaning inside the car through the window.

"You wanted some `alone time,'" he said, looking at her innocently. "If you were able to run from your home to school in seven minutes, a simple walk to the park should be easy."

"You're still the same old Ryou," Ichigo huffed.

"See you at the café," he laughed, roaring off. He left little time for Ichigo to get her head out of the window. She stood quite aggravated on the curb while confused passer-bys looked on.

"At least he was kind enough to take my bags," she sighed, slowly making her way to the park. The hot street turned and moved into a cool sidewalk shaded by the trees. Ichigo soon found herself alone.

"I guess not as many people take walks in the park anymore. It's been so long since I've been here." She stopped and looked at the large, dome-like fountain that she discovered when she first met Purin.

"God, it's been so long since I've seen everyone. Shirogane's has grown up so much, and Purin-chan must be a senior by now." She took another turn towards the river walkway. She slid her hand down the railing that was supposed the protect people from falling down into the river. The sakura trees above her were in bloom now, and emerged over her with shade from the sun. She leaned against the rail and looked into the water. Some fish swam in various directions, all going where their five-second memory allowed them to go.

"I've only been walking for a half hour," she sighed, checking her walk. "It seems so much longer than that. I wonder what else I can do to pass the time." While she contemplated, she tried to focus on the water, but the reflection of the sakura trees were so overpowering that she decided to just focus on the blossoms. However, by watching the pink flowers, she noticed that there were two, peculiar stark gold specks. At first she thought they were just distorted colors from the ripples in the water, but when she turned around to check, the branch where the gold was shaking, as if a large amount of weight had just been removed. Ichigo gulped nervously and clutched her purse closer to her. `Maybe this place isn't safe,' she considered inwardly and moved back to the more open area of the park where the fountain was.