Mythical Mew Mew Episode 01: Ame's Transformation ー Mew Project Restart! (Alt 3)

The small room was crowded; cardboard boxes littered the floor, some emptied of their contents and others overflowing with wires, machinery, and an assortment of clutter. If not for the thin layer of dust, one would assume the owner had just moved and hadn't finished unpacking.

In the center of the room, a woman sat in front of the sole light source; a computer. Strings of code that would be indecipherable to the average person filled the screen, reflecting off of the woman's rectangular lenses, and tinting her milky white skin a pale blue.

Despite the dark circles under her eyes and unwashed, greasy appearance of her brown hair signifying her exhaustion, the woman's fingers moved quickly, filling the otherwise silent room with the sound of clacking keys.

The sound of typing was replaced with a loud *creak* as the woman leaned back in her beat-up office chair and stretched her arms above her head, another lock of hair slipped out of her messy bun at the subtle movement. Suppressing a yawn, she took a sip of coffee from a plain brown paper cup while examining the screen.

*'Ugh, it's cold,'* she thought to herself, though she didn't stop drinking. Once empty, she placed it next to an ever-growing pile of empty coffee cups.

With a sigh, the woman stood up and approached a pair of machines. The first had an odd design; it was about five feet tall and resembled a flower with vines wrapped around the stem, sitting on top was a winged, golden cat statue with aquamarine gemstone eyes. The second ー and more sensible-looking ー was a large laser with five barrels that, all together, mimicked the shape of a star. Finally, nine glass vials were inserted into the machine.

The woman checked that everything was in working order, then checked again ー she couldn't afford any mistakes, not when she was so close ー before grabbing the activator from a nearby desk. She flicked up the plastic guard, took a deep breath, and pressed the large red button.

The cat statue's eyes began to glow ruby red, quickly followed by the rest of its body and the flower it perched upon. Almost simultaneously, the laser started to *thrum* as a bright white light gathered and pulsed at the tips of all five barrels.

"Let's hope this works."

**OP: Mamoritai Kara ー Mew Five**

**『Episode 01: Mew Project Restart ー Ame's Transformation!』**

The newly bloomed cherry blossoms swayed slightly as a gentle April breeze grazed the branches, sending a few delicate pink petals fluttering through the air. Below the picturesque trees, several rows of students ー all clad in navy blue uniforms ー filled the sidewalk as they made the routine trek to school.

Momose Ame weaved through the crowd, occasionally pausing to stand on her tippy-toes or crane her neck in an attempt to look out over the sea of students, her magenta eyes searching for something and her blonde braid bobbing in front of her shoulder. Then, she saw it; a head of strawberry blonde hair that made her heart beat faster.

Struggling to keep the grin off of her face, Ame stepped forwards, only to be stopped by a pair of strong arms locking around her thin waist and lifting her off the ground.

"*Kyaa!*" Ame kicked out her legs and flailed her arms in an attempt of freedom, that is, until the other person rested their head on her shoulder, their shaggy black hair tickling Ame's cheek and their deep laughter filling her ears. "Ai-chan?!"

Ai-chan, better known as Kurosawa Airi, placed Ame back on the ground, still loudly laughing to herself. "Sorry Ame-chan! Just wanted to see how you'd react!" She was roughly half a head taller than Ame with a broad, lightly-tanned face and even broader figure, a pair of short cowlicks stuck up from the crown of her nape-length hair.

Ame pouted, her pink cheeks puffing up as she stared her friend down..

Without warning, Airi pulled her into a tight hug and pressed her cheek against Ame's head. "Seriously, you're just so cute ー *too* cute ー when you make that face!"

"I'm *always* cute, Ai-chan!" Ame retorted, trying and failing to suppress her giggles.

"I know, I know!" Airi pulled away, before raising an eyebrow and poking Ame's cheek. "Hey, hey, why's your face so red?" She grinned. "You thinkin' about a *special someone*?"

"Maaaybe." Ame placed a hand over her reddening face, the other subtly pointing ahead. "I saw Asakusa-san just before you showed up~"

"Eh, seriously?!" Airi looked in the direction that Ame pointed in, her brown eyes widening. "Jeez, I have the worst timing!"

Before Ame could reply, the sound of footsteps caught the duo's attention. "Ame-chan! Airi-chan!"

A third girl slowed to a stop in front of them, hands on her black stocking clad knees and her breath coming out in heavy pants.

"Ah, good morning Mi-chan!" Ame chirped as the newcomer straightened herself up.

"The ever-punctual Sato Miki is later than *me*? Quick, someone pinch me!" Airi exclaimed in a dramatic tone.

The corners of Miki's mouth twitched upwards as she ran a hand through her short, light brown hair. "Ha ha, very funny Airi-chan." She readjusted her round-framed glasses, a glint of light momentarily obscuring her bright blue eyes. "My alarm didn't go off this morning."

"Seriously? First Ame-chan misses her chance to confess her undying love to *you-know-who*, and now this!"

Ame flushed bright red at the comment. "I-I wasn't ー that's ー no!"

"Oh, and what *were* you planning to do?"

"...Ask if she wanted to hang out after school...?"

"Well, it's a start." Airi and Miki's eyes met in an unspoken agreement. "You know what this means, Miki-chan?"

Miki nodded. "Of course, it could only be one thing."

In perfect unison, both girls pointed at Ame, free hand on their hip. "It's time for *Operation: First Date*!"

"*Eeeeh?!*"

With no further explanation, Airi and Miki pushed Ame further into the crowd of students, giving her a thumbs up as she looked back at them.

'*Those two will be the death of me...*' Though visibly flustered, Ame continued forwards.

"Sorry! Excuse me! Just need to get through here!"

Before long, that same head of strawberry blonde hair came into Ame's view, and her heart-rate sped up all over again. '*Well, no turning back now!*' With her hands clutching her school bag with an iron grip, Ame took a deep breath to steel herself.

"Good morning, Asakusa-san!"

At the sound of Ame's voice, Asakusa Satomi turned to face the flustered blonde, her thick ponytail bobbing with the movement.

"Oh, good morning Momose-san," she said, a warm smile on her round face. "You look lovely today."

And with those four words, Ame's face turned a bright, glowing red.

"Th-thank you! You look lovely too!"

Satomi's smile grew, as did the amount of butterflies in Ame's stomach. '*You can do this, Ame! Just ask her!*'

"Um, I was wondering if, maybe, we could hang out after school? O-Only if you're not busy, though!"

"Sure, I'd love to! The student council isn't having a meeting today, so I've got plenty of free time."

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