Sweet Berries {Tokyo Mew Mew}

9) Genetics

There was a series of running footsteps until a small figure soon emerged from the bushes. They stopped and looked at us. She was about the height of Luka but she looked like she was wearing the same kind of clothes we wear.

     I squinted and tried to make out their shadowed face. They wore a white and light yellow costume, like ours, but with white fluffy gloves and boots, tight white shorts with light yellow lining and a thin white and yellow belt, long white socks that came up to her garter with light yellow lining as well, a white shirt that showed a little bit of her mid-section with a collar like piece of clothing that barely hung to her shoulders with a short light yellow business tie loosely wrapped around it.

     She sported small white animal ears on top of her neat white blonde hair, and a long, white fluffy tail poked out of her shorts.

     ‘Who is she?’ questioned Ichigo.

     ‘I think I know that girl,’ I said, taking a step forward, causing the little girl to quickly dart back into the trees.

     ‘Hey, wait up!’ shouted Ichigo, running after her, Pudding and I following.

     ‘Did you say you think you know her?’ panted Pudding, trying to keep up with us.

     ‘I'm not sure I do. But we'll see.’ I said, running faster and faster and dodging trees on my way.

     Ichigo was a bit ahead of me but I overtook her in seconds. The forest seemed to be endless. We seemed to be running for hours.

     ‘How long is this going to take? And where did she go?’ I asked just before we abruptly stopped in a large clearing the size of a football stadium, all covered in an even layer of healthy green grass.

     The little girl was standing right in the middle of the field, seemingly waiting for us and ready to take on whatever we had to bring. She was alone and thankfully Kisshu wasn't in sight. The air was dropping surprisingly fast; goosebumps started to rise on my arms. The dark clouds above soon parted and the little girl's face was clearly visible.

     ‘Luka?’ I shouted into the cold night air. ‘It is you!’

     ‘Who's Luka?’ asked Pudding.

     ‘She's my … my little sister,’ I began to run towards her but was thrown off my feet when they ground started to rumble.

     ‘What is that?’ said Ichigo, struggling to keep balance herself.

     A few seconds of staring at my little sister disbelievingly, deep footsteps came from the bushes behind Luka. A long, hairy leg came out through the trees behind Luka before the whole chimera anima was visible.

     ‘A giant spider?’ I yelled, fear bubbling deep inside my stomach. ‘Is there a way you guys could handle this one and I go back to bed?’

     I had a very strong condition of arachnophobia. They were the one thing I feared most in the world and my heart seemed to stop even from the mere thought of running into a small one somewhere in my house. There was no way I could have summoned enough courage to fight a giant, hairy one.

     ‘What are you talking about?’ said Ichigo. ‘This is what we do. We have to fight that thing. I don't know if the other Mew Mews even know that this chimera anima has been made.’

     ‘Ichigo, I can't do this,’ I begged, looking at Ichigo with fear-filled eyes. ‘If it was anything other than a spider, I would take it on. No trouble. But this,’ I pointed to the spider who was staring at us with its many eyes. ‘I can't do this,’ I repeated. ‘I'll make it up to you later. I'll take on the next five chimera animas alone if you deal with this one.’