[America Mew Mew] Episode Twenty Five

[sunrises]

You know, I was looking back and realized that I never did introduce Panforte (or Briar? I don't really remember ._.) into the fray. Perhaps I'll write that chapter one day, but that might take a while since I've been trying so hard to focus on what's going on right now. XD Yay for plot development and character development?

And yes, this chapter does mean that Ryou and Roy are out of commission for the next chapter.

Title: Episode Twenty Five: Our Leaders Ill? Sorrel and Garner's Almost Break-Up
Fandom: TMM [but it might honestly be original fic at this point]
Summary: Ryou never thought that the aliens were that strong. Sorrel never thought that Garner'd want to break-up with her.
Claimer: If you recognize a character from the original TMM, then it's obviously not mine, okay? Everything else... pretty much is.

His best friend's bedroom had become his prison. Ryou hadn't thought of it as a prison when he was a kid. They spent hours up here, dreaming, writing, drawing... basically doing everything and anything they wanted to do. And now it became their unwanted home for the next twenty four hours.

He stared up at the ceiling as he tried to not think about the other members of the Mew Project. It wasn't their fault that they were trying to keep their abilities a secret, was it?

They didn't want the kids to fall into more trouble. (Then why did they call Fuyuki into their project? He's a little kid. And his second cousin, to boot! If his dad found out, he'd probably kill him.) But that certainly didn't warrant their immense injuries back in the aliens' base.

Thank goodness for Roy's athletic abilities. Ryou had envied his friend's ability to play soccer (and really, any sport he could pick up) effortlessly. And now? It came in handy; it allowed them to escape the base with their lives.

He had severely underestimated the aliens. They may be weak when using chimera, but bare hand-to-hand combat? They were strong. It was true that Briar hadn't fought, but there was no doubt in Ryou's mind that the youngest alien had tricks up his sleeve too. Otherwise, why would he have been chosen to go to Earth?

closing his eyes, Ryou sighed to himself. He could hear the soft violin melody playing on the other side of the room. "Rovin," He muttered, letting the melody sink in.

It kept playing. Ryou had hated the violin a long time ago; it seemed like such a pointless instrument. All it did was screech and make deafening noises. Then he listened to Roy play it. They were only kids then; that was back when toy cars and the next episode of Batman mattered more than the outside world.

That was back when everything was simple. And in a way... wasn't everything still simple? They were still kids. They were still enjoying summer vacation. Roy still plays his violin every single day. Life goes on.

Except that it wasn't really the same. They were resting from injuries; Roy could just barely grip the violin in his arms without wincing in pain every five minutes. Ryou wanted to get up from bed and wrestle the instrument from his friend's hands. Anything would be better than hearing that painful noise! But in the end?

He couldn't get up. He was forced to stare up at the ivory-colored ceiling and wait. Wait until the other mew mews came to Roy's house, and wait until he could give them their next orders.

His wait was only another fifteen minutes, but it felt like it had taken fifteen years. He sighed with great relief when there was a knock on the door. Both boys immediately called, "Come in!" as Roy dove back into bed.

Mimi first opened the door, then held it for the rest of her friends as the eight walked into the (somewhat) messy room.

"Wow," Celsia whistled with a sigh as she sat in a nearby chair. "You really are a teenage boy."

Roy blushed, immediately hiding his face behind a pillow as everyone else laughed.

Amusedly, Ryou asked, "So, did you get anything for us?"

"Yes," Retasu smiled as she walked over to his side. Bringing out a tray, she set a container of soup and a spoon on top. "Shuugo-san said you liked minestrone?"

"I do," Ryou admitted, his face becoming slightly pink. "Thanks."

Blushing, Retasu stepped back and watched as Fuyuki joined Roy with his viola. The brown-haired boy watched Roy for a minute before asking, "Doesn't that hurt?"

Roy's shoulders slumped. "A little, but it takes my mind off things." He again continued the melody. Fuu frowned as he took his viola out of the case. Adjusting it, he began to mimic the exhausted teen's song to the best of his abilities.

"I had no clue Roy could play the violin," Miles remarked. "He's actually pretty good."

"Yeah," Shuu grinned. "He's been taking lessons since he was like eight. Isn't he amazing?"

Again, Roy blushed as he tried to disappear behind his music. Celsia swayed from side to side as she listened. The song was the only sound in the room for a while. It felt like everyone would rather disappear into the world that Roy and Fuu opened for them... and they wouldn't want to come back.

Shuu finally asked during a lull in the music, "Hey, niisan. What're your orders until you return?"

Ryou swallowed a spoonful of soup before he replied, "We just fought with the aliens. They're probably going to keep an eye out for us, so we should lay low for a while. I was actually wondering about something, Miles."

"Huh," Miles blinked.

"By chance... is your father's name Luciano?"

Miles' face turned pale. "Yeah, that's his name. But why does it matter to you?"

"It actually matters quite a bit," Ryou sighed. "I was hoping that your father wasn't the Luciano Alesci mentioned in my dad's notes."

"Wait," Miles paused. "Your dad's notes?"

"I'll explain once I become well again," Ryou pleaded. "But there's a notebook in the back of the flower shop. If you could please give that to your dad and explain that it's from Jishou Shirogane?"

"I can," Miles nodded. "But is there any reason I should say it's from your dad?"

"Our dads worked together on some archeology project when my dad moved to New York," Ryou explained. "To say any more here could possibly endanger Fuu more, so I won't here."

Fuu groaned, "It's not like you've been keeping the Mew Project a big secret, Ryou."

Everyone suddenly turned to face Fuu with looks of disbelief. Fuu shrugged, continuing to play the viola as he said, "Ryou's not really good at keeping secrets from the fam. All the kids know he and Shuu're involved in it. As to what the Project is? I've got absolutely no idea."

A sigh of relief went out through the room; Fuu blinked, but didn't add anything else. Ryou did hear him mutter, "Jeez louise. Teenagers keep getting crazier and crazier."

Mimi stuck her tongue out. "So we're gonna go to the shop and give Miles' dad a notebook. What else, Ryan?"

Ryou twitched. "At the moment, I can't really think of anything else. We still need to figure out what Mew Aqua is, but as long as the aliens don't have it... we're pretty much safe. Rovin and I should be fine in a while, so don't worry about us."

"If you say so," Mimi replied. "We'll do what you say."

"Yeah," Shuu echoed. "So if you need us, you know how to reach us."

"We should probably head home in a few minutes," Celsia pointed out. "I'm sure our folks'll be worried about us if we don't."

"Just take the sub home," Roy nodded. "Or if you need a ride, I guess I can ask my older sister. She's always looking for opportunities to drive people home."

"She really is," Ryou laughed. "It's crazy."

Sorrel turned towards Celsia. "Well, I wouldn't mind walking you home. Primrose, Retasu? You ready to go?"

The four nodded, then turned to leave. Just as Primrose set out to follow the others out, a brown-haired man walked into the room. Car keys in hand, he tilted his head at her.

"Primrose Wallace? Is that you?"

She blinked, staring up at the man. "Uh-huh. Who're you?"

"Jishou Shirogane," The man grinned. "I used to work with your dad Daniel."

"Oh," Primrose smiled. "Does that mean you'll be able to give me a ride home, Mr. Shirogane?"

"Of course," Jishou said. "Actually, your dad's over at my place right now. He thought you might be hanging out with Shuugo."

She blushed. Jishou turned to talk to Shuugo, and even began, "Shuu, Ryler, let's head on---"

And then he spotted Miles. "Miles."

Miles slowly nodded. "Yes, Professor? Is something wrong?"

"Nothing," Jishou finally replied. "It's just... you're starting to look a lot like your father."

"Oh," Miles slowly said. "I guess that's a good thing."

"It is," Jishou assured him. "Your father's a good man. I wouldn't mind driving you home either, Miles. And Mimi, was it? Do you need a ride home too?"

Mimi shrugged. "I guess? I was just going to call my older sister."

"I don't want to hear of it," Jishou grinned. "I'll give you a ride home too. Wouldn't do for me to go looking like a bad adult for making you go home on the subway, okay?"

"Okay," Mimi blushed.

Finally turning to Ryou and Shuu, Jishou asked, "So, how're you doing, Ryler? You think you can walk to the car?"

"I think so," Ryou nodded, finishing the last bits of soup. Setting the tray aside, he slowly rose from the bed. Shuu immediately rushed over, allowing Ryou to use him for support as they walked out.

Jishou frowned as he took over for Shuu, "I don't think so. I'm glad I got the SUV out."

Ryou laughed, "You should really get rid of that thing. It's not that good for the environment."

"Better than the Hummers," Jishou pointed out as they walked out of the room. "You don't see people conserving gas mileage with those."

"True," Ryou admitted.

As they all piled out of the room, Roy finally set his violin on his desk. Limping over to his bed, he sighed with relief as the door slammed shut behind the entire group.

"Thank goodness," The redhead muttered. "I thought I'd never get some sleep. Hope Ryler'll be better in the morning."

+

Sorrel didn't think that being late would matter that much. Garner was going to meet her in her own house, and her parents said they wouldn't mind keeping him company until she got home.

When she finally did? Her parents smiled at her before disappearing upstairs. She knew they liked Garner. He was a perfect boyfriend. He brought her home before curfew, he always made sure that she was treated nicely at restaurants... and most of all? He respected her parents' opinions. (That one was huge.)

She sighed, realizing her parents left the intercom on. "Typical," She said as she sat down beside her boyfriend. "So what'd you want to tell me?"

Garner looked up at the ceiling. "This is a little hard for me to say."

Oh. This was going to deal with emotions? Sorrel bit her lip; Garner was never good when it came to anything that logic couldn't explain. It was like he didn't know how to smile or laugh at the appropriate moments.

Sorrel squeezed his hands. "It's okay. I'll wait."

"It's just that... I don't know if we should keep dating."

Sorrel's eyes grew wide. She immediately stared at him, blinking back tears as she fought to keep her face perfectly composed. "W-what do you mean?"

Her shaking betrayed her, Garner noticed with increasing depression. He didn't know exactly why, but he felt like hugging her. "You seem to be caught up in something that takes up a lot of your time."

"You're saying that... I'm too busy to date you?"

"And me too," Garner hurriedly explained. "I don't know if I've been dating you for the right reasons."

She blinked. That explained why he was always so hesitant with her about everything. He was reluctant to even hold hands at the mall! Where pretty much everyone expected some kind of public affection display. They'd never kissed, let alone hug more than a couple of times... it explained so much.

Sorrel knew she was shaking, but she couldn't help it. She just hadn't met anyone like him. And for him to admit that he might not even like her? It hurt.

"H-hey," He immediately paused, leaning in to wipe the tears off her cheek. "Please don't cry. I didn't mean for you to be sad."

"I can't help it," She bitterly replied. "You're breaking up with me."

(Oh god, she realized with worry. Her parents were probably going to shoot him down any minute.) Garner looked back at her and blinked. "Break up?"

"You know," She frowned, sure that tears were still falling down her face. "End our relationship. You've probably been cheating on me with another girl or something. You've been late to band practice for a while now."

"Cheating on you," Garner tilted his head to the side. "That means... dating another girl at the same time I've been dating you, right?"

Sorrel nodded.

"Well." Garner frowned. "I'm glad you think so highly of me."

So he wasn't---

She didn't get to finish the end of that sentence. Garner looked hesitant, but he slowly leaned in. He took her chin, closing the gap as he gently kissed her.

Sorrel blinked as he let go.

He blushed, "... How was that?"

She immediately embraced him. "It was perfect," She admitted. "What I'd always dreamt of."

His face darkened, "That was what I was afraid of."

"Huh?"

"Nothing," He replied, his face still holding lingering traces of doubt. Sorrel leaned in, resting her head on his shoulder. He flinched, relaxing as he realized she wasn't going to let go anytime soon.

"I missed you," Sorrel whispered. "Don't scare me like that again."

"I can't keep that promise," Garner whispered back. "... But I missed you too."

There he went again with those weird phrases. It was almost as if he were hiding something incredibly big from her. Sorrel didn't want to think about it. Kissing Garner again, she willed herself to hide her thoughts. She would not think about Garner's weird tendencies. Her boyfriend was just extremely sheltered. That was it.

He reluctantly let go from the kiss, then smiled as he hurriedly left. "I have to go," He hurriedly called. "Parents expecting me, you know?"

"Bye," Sorrel called back, waving as she melted onto her couch.

Slamming the door shut behind him, Garner sighed. "That didn't go as I planned," He admitted. "I... didn't want her hating me once she finds out."

Pressing his hands to his lips, he couldn't help smiling. "... But I really do love her. How am I supposed to break this to the others?"

He shook his head. "Maybe I won't have to."

Sighing, he waved good-bye at her house. He walked to the end of her block before pulling out his cell phone.

"What're you doing here?"

Garner jumped as he stared into Briar's eyes. "I'm calling for a ride home?"

"Looks like you were gonna waste gas when you could've just floated home."

Okay, now this was seriously weird. Garner narrowed his eyes as he crossed his arms. "What've you been drinking lately?"

"Panforte," Briar sighed. "You should just give this up. I don't even understand. Is it really that fun to toy with a mew's heart?"

"Who's this Panforte--"

Briar leaned in and tucked Garner's hair behind his pointy ears. "You. Garner de Leurre."

Garner stared. He released a sigh of exasperation, "And you know my full name because?"

"I finally broke into the lab," Briar triumphantly grinned, holding up a manila folder in his hands. "No wonder you didn't want us to go in! That's where you were doing your own plans. Like stalking a mew mew just to get close to her?"

"Briar," Garner rubbed his temples. "I have no idea what you're---"

He paused, then groaning as he added, "And I just gave myself away, didn't I?"

Briar nodded. "Pretty much. Now, why don't you transform back and tell me everything?"

"Not until we get far away from here," Garner - or was it Panforte now? - replied. "I don't want Sorrel to suspect anything until she has to."

There was a brief look of pity in Briar's eyes, but he nodded as he took Garner's hands. They floated for a few blocks, stopping only when they reached a clearing in a nearby park.

"Spill."

Garner shrugged, sitting down on a nearby bench. Resting his arm against its back, he said, "Where do you want me to begin?"

"Why don't you tell me why?" Briar sighed. "I thought we were going to fight them fair and square."

"It's not really that hard," Garner admitted. "I figured our mission would go more smoothly if I had a way to blend in with Earthlings. I took the name and identity of a former resident - Garner de Leurre. I believe he moved to England about a year ago? It wasn't hard to write away his move."

"Then why Sorrel?"

"I had to go to his band practices," Garner - well, Panforte now - shrugged. "That's when I first met her. She apparently had a crush on Garner before."

Briar made a face; Panforte raised an eyebrow.

"It's still weird to hear you speak their language with so much slang," Briar shrugged. "You're not usually the type."

"Just because I prefer to speak English as it was meant to be doesn't mean I can't speak it like average Earthlings."

"I know, I know," Briar was still making a face. "But it's still weird!"

Panforte sighed. "Returning to the story... she wanted to date Garner. Since I knew she was a mew mew at the time, I figured it would be another way to watch her motives."

"So you were stalking her! I can't believe---"

"Not anymore," Panforte cut him off with a melancholy look. "It somehow turned into genuine love along the way. She doesn't feel like the most solemn mew fighting against us. Humans... are more complex than I thought."

"You fell in love with her."

"Yes," Panforte hollowly laughed. "I suppose I did. That's why I tried to go to her house today. I wanted to end our relationship. I... didn't have the heart to tell her the real reason why. And she still doesn't know."

"But you know she'll find out eventually," Briar pointed out with a pout. "Girls don't like being lied to."

Panforte amusedly asked, "And where did you find that out?"

"It's everywhere on TV. One little lie turns it all into chaos."

"Hm."

Briar now sat down, curling his legs under him. "But Panforte. I thought you hated girls. You know, after what happened to Raclette."

There was a sudden, pained look in Panforte's eyes. "... I thought I did too. As cliche and trite as this sounds, Sorrel's different."

He fell in love with the very person he was supposed to be fighting against. Briar couldn't help tilting his head to the side as he laughed softly to himself. "And here I admired you."

Panforte blinked, "You admired me?"

"That idiot Chive has no idea of what you were like before, on our home," Briar looked down at the sidewalk. "But I remember. I saw you and Raclette... and I thought you two were going to be perfect together. That is, until they decided she'd be a servant for the queen."

Panforte rubbed his temples. "I had no idea." For a little kid, Briar was demonstrating a maturity he'd never seen before. Was this really how Briar was? He just pretended to act bratty and snobby most of the time?

Briar lightly punched Panforte as he pouted, "Don't you think of telling Chive. I just wanted to tell you... cause I don't want you to betray Raclette."

"Raclette and I are family," Panforte gently said, brushing back his still-brown bangs. "I don't think I'll be betraying my own sister by dating a human."

"No. But you'll be betraying your own mission."

Briar stood up, brushing the dust off his shorts. "I think we've talked long enough. You know what you're going to do next?"

"I... wish I knew," Panforte dejectedly admitted. "I'll return to the lab tomorrow and resume the search for Mew Aqua."

"That's okay," Briar confidently grinned. "I've got Chive working on that. He's got more field experience than the both of us combined!"

"Oh really," Panforte tilted his head to the side. "Even though I have an identity that's successfully blended in with Earthlings?"

Briar nervously laughed. Panforte nodded, "But that's fine. I'll return to research and order yet another new shipment. Make sure the fluffball's out of the place before it comes in."

"Sure, sure. ... You know, you should tell Chive. He was obsessed with Mimi."

"That was lust," Panforte frowned. "It's not real love."

Briar shrugged. "I don't like keeping secrets."

"Oh, so you can make me keep secrets but you can't?"

Sticking his tongue out, Briar groaned, "Fiiiiine. You hafta tell him someday, okay?"

"I will," Panforte promised. "Now, let's get some sleep. Tomorrow'll be a long day."

He stood up now, shedding his disguise with a simple swipe of his hand as he started to float into the sky. Briar followed slowly, staring at his older partner before he closed his eyes.

"You know," The younger alien muttered to himself. "Earth may have changed him for the better."