[America Mew Mew] Episode Twenty-Seven

[sunrises]

Oh wow. D: Twenty seven episodes and I still haven't really managed to scratch the surface of the whole mythos to the Miles & Aliens situation. I'm sorry, guys, but it really does look like it'll have to take another episode. However! This episode is not by any means filler. It's actually pretty important to the set up of the next, so please read it? ♥

Title: Episode Twenty-Seven: Still Asleep? Shuu and Luciano Talk
Fandom: ... we're just gonna label this OC fic
Summary: Miles is still in his coma? But then, what's this about Shuu and Mr. Alesci verbally fighting?
Claimer: Every single character in this episode is mine~~ Please no takie. D:

Miles was still asleep. Shuu bit his lip as he paced around his friend's bedroom. How long was someone supposed to sleep after being knocked out like that? There had been absolutely nothing in his textbooks! Jeez. One bad thing after another... it was piling up on top of each other.

Shuu's older brother and Roy were forced to stay at home to rest from their injuries. Miles reacted violently to some weird substance and promptly passed out. Whatever the substance was, the aliens wanted it. They attacked Miles, but the Mews were thankfully there in time to prevent anything major.

Last Shuu checked, they were still fighting.

Stress never benefited anyone, but this was getting ridiculous. Shuu threw himself onto the blue beanbag sitting in the corner of the room. Staring up at a poster of some British soccer team (Arsenal, was it?), he sighed.

"Come on, Miles," He muttered. "Please wake up."

The door slowly opened as a middle-aged woman walked in. She wasn't much older than Shuugo's own mother, but there was something decidedly different about her. Her dark hair was cropped short, but she was fashionable (or at least, Shuu thought she was fashionable. He didn't keep up with the current trends) with a loose tank top and jeans.

She forlornly smiled at Shuu, "He's still asleep, isn't he?"

"Yes, Mrs. Alesci," Shuu found himself sitting up. Somehow, the entire Alesci family carried this aura of elegance. Shuu even felt like straightening his t-shirt and tucking it into his own jeans. "He's been asleep since this morning."

"I wonder what happened," Mrs. Alesci sighed as she set down a tray on her son's wooden beside table. "He didn't seem sick this morning."

Turning to Shuu, she added, "You want some lunch? I bet you're hungry."

"I'm fine," Shuu shook his head. Standing up, he gestured towards the multitude of soccer posters. "But Miles really does love his soccer, doesn't he?"

"He does," Stella chuckled. "He's mainly a fencer, but I don't think British fencing is as appealing as soccer. Luce is also heavily into soccer, so it's how the two bond."

"I think I'd die if my dad was into British soccer," Shuu made a face. "Thankfully we can 'bond' over food or something less... athletic."

"Jishou never struck me as the athletic type," Stella smiled. "But I'm glad you two get along. I remember Luce saying he was very much into his work."

"Still is," Shuu laughed.

Stella pressed her lips together, but said nothing as she escorted Shuu out of her son's bedroom. It wasn't her place to comment on the inner workings of a family - especially one that had a rocky relationship with her own.

Shuu rubbed his arms as he walked into the familiar dining room. He hadn't spent much time at the Alesci household lately, but he loved coming here. It was almost like home. Almost being the key word.

Perhaps it was because their fathers fought, but Luciano didn't seem to trust Shuu. No matter what he said, no matter what he did... it was almost like there was this invisible wall that Shuu couldn't break. He was caged by a glass ceiling that he couldn't even see.

Were all Norms this weird?

Taking a seat opposite Miles' little sister, Shuu forced a smile. "Thanks for letting me have lunch with you, Mr. and Mrs. Alesci."

"It's no problem," Stella smiled as she looked over at her husband. "I'm just glad you were with Miles the entire time. Who else was there with you when he collapsed?"

"Uh, my cousin Fuyuki and dad's lab assistant, Keiichiro," Shuu blinked. "That was it. Mr. Alesci and Dad were outside, Mom was busy arranging flowers... and my brother's currently out of commission."

"I'd heard about Ryou," Stella sighed. "Shame that had to happen to him. He was such a nice boy too."

Luciano chuckled, "You know, Stella, it's not like he's dead or anything."

"I know, but he's still ill. No one deserves to be ill."

Miles' little sister, Evelyn, made a face. "Mom's always like this," She whispered to Shuu. "Just ignore it and we'll move onto something more positive."

Somehow, Shuu found that very hard to believe.

The rest of the lunch went smoothly. Shuu remembered his manners and thanked Stella profusely for her hospitality as he helped clean the dishes afterward. Evelyn giggled (if she weren't older than eight, Shuu would've thought she were crushing on him!) as she too wiped the dishes with enthusiasm.

"You know," Shuu mused as he watched Luciano and Stella exchange longing glances. "Your family seems really different from mine."

"Your father's still obsessed with the Mew Project," Luciano sighed. "I thought I could've gotten him to stop."

Shuu blinked. "Actually, he hasn't touched the Mew Project since we were kids."

That stopped Luciano mid-sentence. He closed his mouth as he crossed his arms. Making his way over to Shuu, the adult ran a hand through his sandy blond hair. "You mean... he hasn't touched it? No experiments, no research... nothing?"

"Nothing," Shuu nodded. "Keiichiro and he've been working on other things instead. More with stem cell research for cancer than anything."

Luciano's face fell. "... And here I accused him of being obsessed as ever--"

"He's still obsessed," Shuu looked down at the sparkling dishes. Wringing his hands, the redhead sighed, "No matter what we do, he seems to want to disappear into his work. Uncle Brett and Uncle Max said that it wasn't really like him."

Luciano didn't say anything as he put away the plates. After what seemed like forever, he finally responded, "... Is that why you started the Mew Project up again?"

Shuu stared at him. "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

Noticing that Evelyn and Stella were staring, Luciano coughed as he said more loudly, "Hey, Shuugo! I've got some Arsenal gear I want to show you."

Shuu nervously laughed, "Sure, why not?"

Luciano then took him into a more secluded room of the house. Closing the door behind him, Luciano said, "Don't be stupid. I can sense that your family's been doing things with the Mew Project. My main question is why more than anything."

Shuu frowned, "I have no clue why you'd have such a vested interest in it. Like I said, I really don't know anything about it."

"Really? I remember your father taking you in as an experiment."

Shuu stared down at his shoes.

"... I'm sorry. It's just... If Jishou had nothing to do with the Mew Project, then the most logical explanation is that his kids did it. I know you two are smart enough to keep it going, but." Luciano stopped there, rubbing his temples in slight exasperation.

"Look. I just want to know why my kid is involved in all of this."

Shuugo stared into Luciano's eyes, "That's what I've been trying to figure out. I know he's been dating Mimi Belmont - who is involved in the Mew Project - but besides that, I can't come up with anything."

"So you didn't bring him in on purpose?"

"Of course not," Shuugo solemnly nodded. "I didn't even know who Miles was at first. He was just an innocent bystander at first - and we swore we'd never bring him in. We even came up with the book club for his sake."

Luciano blinked, "Book club."

"Book club," Shuu cheerfully noted. "Though I think Miles was the only one who actually enjoyed the book club."

Reaching to turn the fan on, Luciano couldn't help cracking a smile as he gestured towards the rest of the room. Under brighter lights, Shuu could now see the details that their shadows failed to reveal. The Alescis believed in keeping everything in the open, so the family room or den hadn't been hidden under lock and key.

This looked more like some hidden soccer shrine. There were posters everywhere, stray soccer balls on the floor, and even a couple of strewn jerseys on the couch. Shuu laughed upon noticing a pair of pink cleats by the couch - those were definitely Mimi's.

"Good thing we didn't form a soccer club," Shuugo joked.

Luciano nodded in agreement as he sat down. Taking his glasses off, he lightly wiped them with a cloth he pulled from his pants pocket. "A very good thing indeed. You swear that my kid had absolutely nothing to do with the science and experiments?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die," Shuu pressed a hand to his chest. "I'll even bet it on Meems' next soccer game."

"Heh," Miles's father chuckled. "I hoped that he had nothing to do with you."

"He doesn't have anything to do with the actual science of the project," Shuu confessed, now staring at his shoes. "But... he's gathered the interest of some other people with less savory intentions."

Luciano's eyes widened. "Could you please extrapolate on that?"

"Uh, I guess," Shuu shrugged. "You could say that they're fellow treehuggers. Obsessed with the environment as much as Miles is and even lecture us about how much we pollute and how we're going to bring our planet to ruin one day."

"Miles is the most earth-friendly kid I know," Shuu continued, "Which is why the Flower Shoppe's going organic. But... these other treehuggers don't think Miles is being radical enough. They want him to be even more crazy about his attempts to save the earth."

Sitting up, Luciano motioned towards Shuu. Nodding, Shuu added, "And... that's why he's been indirectly involved. The Mew Project's protecting him from these crazy treehuggers. I think they saw him yesterday when his hands turned blue."

There was no response from Luciano. Shuu awkwardly remained in the room as he rubbed his arms. Was he supposed to stay? Or could he leave and just thank them for the meal? And Miles wasn't even awake yet... it had been seven hours already.

Turning to leave, Shuu began, "Anyway, that's all I know. Thank you for the meal, Mr. Alesci---"

"Wait. Please, wait."

Shuu glanced over his shoulder at the man. "Yes, sir?"

"Do these... 'treehuggers' have weird ears? Human-like, but slightly pointy?"

The redhead immediately stumbled into the door. "Uh, why do you ask? It's not like we're all big D&D fans or anything--"

"Just answer my question, Shirogane."

Rising from his fallen position, Shuu mumbled, "yeah," as he finally opened the door and left the room.
Luciano's eyes widened; he slumped onto the couch. Closing his eyes, he muttered to himself, "That can't be. It's impossible, they were supposed to leave when they---"

He shot up and immediately headed to the garage door. There, Stella had just begun to grab her car keys; Shuu was just putting his Merrils (purple, Luciano amusedly noted) on.

"Good, I caught you," Luciano forced a smile as he patted Shuu on the back. "Because there's something I think you forgot."

Stella shot her husband a glare. Luciano mouthed, "I'll explain later," as he ushered Shuu upstairs and outside Miles' bedroom. Shuu peered into the room and then at the blond professor with a look of complete bewilderment.

"What'd I forget, Mr. Alesci?"

"... There's something I need to tell you about Miles and those treehuggers. They're not human, are they?"

Shuu let out a barely-audible gasp. "W-who told you that?"

"I've met them," Luciano sighed as he crossed his arms. "Or at least met their species. They came to Earth a long time ago. Jishou and I were just out of graduate school and with our diplomas... I'd met a woman I was completely obsessed with, and we were planning to settle down and have children."

"I know," Shuu nodded. "Auntie Stella, right? She certainly seems like it."

"No," Luciano turned away from Miles and crossed the threshold into his son's bedroom. "Her name was Alina."

Shuu furrowed his eyebrows, "But Miles never mentioned any Alina. He calls Auntie Stella his mother all the time."

"He was incredibly young when she disappeared," Luciano whispered as he wandered over to a tall bookshelf on one wall. "He doesn't remember anything about her - I soon married Stella afterward."

Shuu followed him over, staring at the massive wall of books with awed eyes. "So you're saying... that his real mom is the key to understanding the Mew Project?"

Luciano nodded as he pulled an old book out from one of the taller shelves. He blew on it gently, wiping the dust with his bare hands as he handed it to Shuu. "Exactly. I can't tell you more here - not without Stella or Miles suspecting something, but Alina would know what happened to Miles today."

Shuu stared at the ancient book for a second before whispering, "You sure you don't know? And you're not trying to pass this off to me as some kind of test I must solve for myself."

"I knew the answer a long time ago," Luciano admitted as he walked over to the chair beside his son's bed. "But I don't remember it now. It's more important to you to have these notes, right?"

He paused for a second, leaning over the bed and kissing his son on the forehead.

"... And I would rather not dwell on the past. Those books are yours for the picking. I placed them in Miles' room, thinking he would read them, but it seems he too prefers the future to the ancient past."

Shuu smiled gently. "It's a good philosophy to have. Thank you, Mr. Alesci."

"Anytime," Luciano returned the smile. "You should probably go before Stella yells at you."

Staring at him with a look of disbelief, Shuu stuttered, "S-she's actually capable of being violent?"

"Believe it or not, yes," Luciano chuckled.

Shuu stuck his tongue as he turned to leave. "Thank you," He called before running down the stairs. Luciano winced - anyone running down those old stairs always managed to somehow sound like a stampede of elephants, even if he was just a thirteen year old boy.

A hand clutched his own; Luciano peered down to see his son slowly open his eyes.

"Papa? Were you... talking to someone?"

"Just Shuugo," Luciano smiled. "We were discussing a project of his."

"I see," Miles remarked as he slowly sat up. "I'm sorry for worrying you, Papa."

Luciano said nothing as he enveloped his son in a tight bear hug. "It's all right," Luciano whispered. "Please don't volunarily hurt yourself like that, okay?"

Miles slowly nodded as he too wrapped his arm around his father's. "I promise."

"Good," Luciano exclaimed as he patted his son on the back and let go. "Come on, dinner's ready."

"I should probably take a shower first," Miles commented, his gaze slowly beckoning his father towards the hallway. "If you'd please...?"

"Miles, seeing you naked is no big deal," Luciano chuckled.

But after two death glares, an embarrassed, "DAAAD!" and many, many ruffles and hugs, Luciano had finally been relegated to the hallway separating their bedrooms. Luciano touched the distinct sign with Miles' name on it briefly, before turning his back and slowly descending the stairs.

"He's growing up too fast," Luce sighed to himself. "Where did all the time go by?"

He shook his head, forced a smile on, and slowly descended the stairs. He turned one last time to stare at the looming staircase. Funny how one little moment can ruin your whole day, He mused to himself as he crossed the threshold into the kitchen. And how another can make any horrible day... absolutely wonderful.