Mew Amai

Episode 7 Part 2

The Tokyo Mew Mew excitement at school had not died down the next day, as Amai could clearly see while walking around the quad. It was all anyone could talk about. Sighing, she sat down on a bench and began drawing in her art book. "Tokyo's never going to be the same after we were exposed. And I fear... that our team won't be the same when I tell them about me."

She sighed again, putting a pause on her drawing. "I've got to stop thinking about that so much." But she couldn't help it. The doubt of acceptance and what may follow her reveal nagged at her, covered all her other thoughts. One would think that something you've been waiting for your whole life would be easy, but it was quite the opposite in Amai's case.

Her life was so complicated.

Her phone rang, and she picked up, seeing Ichigo's name on the caller ID. "Ichigo? Slow down, what? What?! I'm on my way!"

Amai quickly got up and ran to where her best friend was. Ichigo had informed her that Chimera Animals were attacking her and Aoyama, and the redhead wasn't able to transform with the boy present. Making sure no one was in sight, Amai transformed.

"MEW MEW SWEET, METAMORPHISIS!"
When she got there, Aoyama was attempting to defend Ichigo from the giant wasps attacking with a long stick, telling her to run away. When he got hit, Ichigo got far enough where he wouldn't see her transform and jumped in front of him, Amai following shortly after. Aoyama looked up at them shocked from behind.

"You're those Mew Mews!" Amai looked at Ichigo from corner of her eye, noticing tears starting to grow. She figured that her friend was worried Aoyama knew her identity. She decided to still play her part and glared at the Chimera Animals.

"Hey, wasps! How dare you attack two innocent students! With grace and gratitude, we'll serve you justice!" The girls jumped, swiping and dodging the wasps flying at them. Amai saw Ichigo's face twist multiple times from fierce to sad, the reason for which was obvious. "Oh, Ichigo. I'm so sorry." She must be in so much pain, having the love of her life possibly know her secret. She knew the pain of a secret more than anyone, after all.

Ichigo spun, lifting up her bell. "Ribbon Strawberry Check!" Her attack took out half of the bugs, Amai's destroying the rest. Even though they won, Amai felt off. This was way too easy, and Kisshu wasn't around. He would normally show up before attacking.

Was this someone else's work? Was there another enemy?"

Amai's insides twisted up. If there was more aliens than Kisshu, the Mew Mews mission would be a lot harder than she thought.

"Ichigo!"

Aoyama's voice calling Ichigo made Amai snap back into what was happing before her. Oh, he knew. He had to, why else would he call her friend by her real name? The look on the redhead's face was heartbreaking as she gazed at Aoyama from over her shoulder. "Goodbye." She began to walk away, Amai next to her.

"Wait!" The girls stopped. "I... I'm sorry about that. You look so much like a girl I know that I called you by her name." Ichigo gasped, Amai too. He didn't know, after all. "Who are you? Both of you. At least tell me that."

A smile appeared on Ichigo's face, tears of joy leaking from her eyes. A light, airy laugh escaped her, Amai joining her. "We're Mew Ichigo and Mew Amai." They turned around, grinning. Amai speaking next. "Just two superheroes that happened to be in the area!" With a cheerful goodbye, they jumped away.

They landed on the other side of the part of the building, transforming as soon as their feet touched the ground. "He doesn't know, Amai-chan. He doesn't know." "No, he doesn't. You're safe a while longer, Ichigo." Sighing happily, Ichigo then slumped and slid down the wall. "Ichigo!"

Amai held her as they both fell to their knees. When she heard Aoyama calling for Ichigo, she took it as a cue to leave, running around the corner before he arrived. She stayed for only a minute, watching Ichigo give him a good luck charm for his next kendo match. With a smile, Amai went home.

Later, after dinner, she approached her father. "Dad?" "Yeah, sweetheart?" Amai breathed deeply. "When do you think is the right time to tell my team everything?"

Keita pondered the question carefully. Of course, he'd recommend she do it sooner rather than later, but he knew Amai wasn't ready. He would never force his child to open up about something to anybody unless she had the full strength for it. Besides, given what Amai had said about the possibility of more than one enemy, it was best to focus on that rather than the secret.

"Amai." He grasped her shoulders. Her crystal-like eyes looked into his sea-green ones. "It's not going to be easy. It may be a long time before you say anything to them. But you are the only person who can make that decision. You alone will know when the time comes."

Amai let his words sink in. "Thanks, Dad." She gave him a tight hug, then went up to bed. The talk with him did help her nerves, but she knew they'd never be truly gone until the truth came out.

Hopefully, she'd be able to find the courage.