Announcement by ImoutoCommissions

Chapter 1

When Ichigo invited the Mews to a cafe, the only one they frequented 
besides the one they worked at, none of them knew what she wanted them 
to talk about. They only knew that she sounded serious and they hoped 
that it was nothing too bad. Things had seemed so good between her and 
Masaya that it didn't seem possible that she could be coming to them for 
advice about that, but nobody knew what else to expect.

And Masaya had meanwhile invited the guys to talk with him, and Taruto 
told Pudding about it who told the other girls, who all wondered if 
their relationship was so on the rocks that they both needed help 
sorting it out. No one was prepared for the big meeting or what might 
come of it.

When they did meet up, it was plain from the beginning that she was not 
acting like herself. She wasn't energetic or bubbly and instead seemed 
very worried about something, which only worried them further. It had to 
be something just as serious as they thought, as all evidence pointed in 
that direction. They waited for her to say something, all practically 
dying from suspense and hoping that they could offer some sort of advice 
to help her out through whatever it was.

"Can you tell us what's going on already?" Mint finally asked, tired of 
waiting.

"We're really worried about you," Lettuce added, not wanting Ichigo to 
get the wrong idea from Mint's statement.

"Masaya is telling the guys about this right now," she said, sighing. 
"I...well, he and I...we're expecting a...I mean...I'm...pregnant." She 
said the last part so quietly that they would not have heard her had 
they not been listening very intently. And they could hardly believe it 
once they did hear it, having not expected such good news or such 
extreme news at all.

"Really?" asked Pudding after a while, finally being the one to break 
the silence.

Ichigo nodded. "It was unexpected, but we've decided that we're going to 
go through with it. In fact...he proposed to me, and we're getting 
married." She lifted a hand, showing a beautiful ruby engagement ring, 
and they all leaned in to admire it, commenting on how nice it looked. 
Masaya clearly had excellent taste and each girl found themselves 
wishing for such a gorgeous ring, except for Zakuro, who could only try 
to imagine what Mint might like.

"But I'm not sure what to do," said Ichigo, snapping their minds back to 
the problem at hand. "I mean, I have to tell my parents. That's not 
really something I can avoid, but I'm so scared of how they'll react. I 
don't want them to hate me, and the nature of the pregnancy is so 
complicated..."

"What do you mean?" asked Zakuro.

"And why'd you get pregnant anyway? I thought you were using birth 
control. Why'd you change your mind if you were just gonna be scared 
about it?" asked Mint.

"Well, those two things are connected," she replied. "Human birth 
control doesn't affect our animal sides. I had to find that out the hard 
way, and my children are going to inherit a lot of my cat DNA. I can't 
exactly hide my identity from my parents anymore."

"So birth control doesn't work on any of us?" asked Lettuce.

"Probably not, no. Ryou wanted me to warn all of you about that."

"He did mention something like that to me once," said Pudding. "It makes 
sense now."

None of them noticed the way that Mint visibly paled or the reassuring 
hand that Zakuro laid on her shoulder. They were all too busy wondering 
about their own situations, and Pudding was glad that she hadn't taken 
any risks yet.

"Your parents aren't going to hate you," said Zakuro. "You've just got 
to explain things to them and let them know that you're grown up and can 
take care of yourself. In the end, though, they're still your parents 
and they'll still love you and that means they'll support you no matter 
what."

"I know, but my dad can be sort of...much, sometimes. I worry that he'll 
be angry with me, and I know he's going to want to kill Masaya." She 
sighed. "It's not going to go over well no matter how I present it."

"But you're getting married!" Pudding squealed, as if she were trying to 
help take Ichigo's mind off of things. "Isn't that so exciting? Do you 
know when you're going to do it?"

"Hopefully soon," she said. "Before things go on for too long."

"Then we should start planning it," said Lettuce. "And we'll need to 
plan for a baby shower too."

She sounded so sure of herself already that Ichigo grinned at her. "You 
sure do know your stuff, huh? I want all of you to be my brides maids, 
and it's hard to pick one of you to be my maid of honor when I love you 
all so much but...the maid of honor does a lot of the planning. I feel 
like Lettuce would be best for that sort of job, if nobody else minds."

Of course, none of the girls were petty enough to be upset about Lettuce 
being chosen, though Lettuce blushed quite heavily and wondered aloud if 
she was actually any good for the job. The girls were all quick to 
assure her that she was. Talking about the wedding and the baby shower 
was able to take Ichigo's mind off her problem and lift her spirits 
momentarily, but it wasn't long before she remembered that she and 
Masaya were going to talk to her parents that night.

She was still very worried and very nervous, but she tried not to let 
that get in the way of her time with her friends and soon enough forced 
herself to cheer up. Even when it came time for her to leave, even as 
her nerves set in again, full-force, she was happy to have seen them and 
talked to them. They were happy and supportive, and that was all she 
could really ask for from them.

As she went to meet up with Masaya, she wondered how his meeting with 
the other guys had gone.

Chapter 2

"It's weird for all of us to get together like this," said Taruto, 
because it was. "I mean, without the girls or anything." The men all 
knew each other well and considered each other friends, but it was rare 
that they all spent time together without their girlfriends around.

Masaya, who had called for the meeting and who had nervously been 
stalling for a long time, replied, "Well, Ichigo thought it would be 
best if we told the groups separately. The girls are all together right 
now hearing it from her, so that's why you're all hearing it from me..."

"So, what's the news?" he asked, growing more and more impatient.

"Well, see..." Masaya trailed off. "Well, I guess Ryou already knows 
what I'm going to tell you."

Taruto groaned and Kish said, "Would you just tell us already?"

"Ichigo is pregnant," he said at last and a shocked silence descended 
over the group as they tried to process the news they just heard.

Finally, Kish let out a noise of frustration and said, "What the hell 
did you do to her? I thought you were better than that, I thought-" He 
broke off, rising as if he were going to attack Masaya, but Pai and 
Taruto held him back, letting him know that he needed to calm down. His 
feelings for Ichigo were not entirely gone, and it was hard not to be 
worried for her.

"Listen, I..." This was going worse than expected, but still Masaya 
tried to press on. "Ryou explained to us something about birth control 
not working with Mews. Ichigo is explaining to them now, but if any of 
you guys have questions, you can ask him after this. It's just, we had 
to find out the hard way because she was supposed to be on birth 
control."

"Pudding mentioned something like that," said Taruto. "She didn't know 
all the details, but she did say something like that."

Pai turned to Ryou and said, "I'd be more than happy to assist you in 
studying their reproductive cycles and trying to create a contraceptive 
that would work for them. I think that, together, we might be able to 
discover something." He then turned to Masaya and said, "And I would 
also like to help monitor Ichigo's pregnancy so that we might have some 
idea of what to expect in the future." To himself, he said, "I wonder if 
Deep Blue's possession will have any effect on things..."

His concern and offers were appreciated, but Masaya had other things 
that he wanted to discuss with them so he changed the subject. "I've 
asked Ichigo to marry me and she's agreed. I'd like for all of you to be 
my groomsmen. One of you will be my best man, but I think it's safe to 
say that it's hard to choose between you all and that I'd like to see 
who Ichigo's maid of honor is before I make that decision."

"I really appreciate it," said Keiichiro, "but I don't think I should be 
in the wedding party. It'll be an uneven number if she has all the other 
girls, and it'll be hard for me to be in the wedding party when I'm 
doing all the catering."

Of course, Masaya was more than eager to let him do such a job and very 
grateful that he offered. They didn't have much else to discuss after 
that, and it was still such an awkward situation that he was eager to 
leave and go meet up with Ichigo so that they could prepare to tell her 
parents. That was something that he was dreading, but he knew it was 
necessary.

~X~

"How did it go with the guys?" she asked when they met up.

"Pretty good, I think. I made sure I warned them about the birth control 
thing. Kish had a little bit of a negative reaction, but I think he was 
more worried than anything else."

Ichigo sighed. "I almost feel bad for the guy. I know he means well, but 
I just couldn't ever care about him like that. I already had you and he 
really did not know how to treat a girl when we first met."

"Well, you know I'm glad that you'd already fallen for me," he replied 
with a smile, putting an arm around her. "How did things go with the 
girls?"

"Really good. They were all really supportive, and I managed to choose a 
maid of honor. I think Lettuce is good for planning that sort of thing, 
so I chose her. I hope that's alright with you."

"That's great! I'll let Pai know that he's the best man. Oh, and 
Keiichiro said he wants to cater, so he won't be in the wedding party."

"Oh, he's going to make us the prettiest cake," she squealed in delight. 
"It's all so perfect!"

For a moment, they were able to smile and think about their impending 
wedding. They were both very excited for it and it was a happy occasion, 
something they had dreamed of for so long and something for them to look 
forward to. But soon enough, reality set back in and they knew that they 
would have to go to dinner with her parents in order to let them know 
the news.

Their nerves set back in and he offered her his hand. "Shall we go?" he 
asked, trying to keep the unease out of his voice. She nodded, looking 
positively terrified.

~X~

Throughout dinner, Ichigo couldn't hide how nervous she was. Though she 
tried, her parents could both tell that something was bothering her 
until finally her mother asked what it was. She wanted to stall and wait 
on telling them that she was pregnant, and she knew that she would have 
to come clean about her alter ego anyway, because her children would 
have the same cat DNA. And so, she told her parents that she had 
something to tell them and then she rose from the table.

"Mew Mew Strawberry, metamorphosis!" she declared. In a flash, she 
transformed into Mew Ichigo in front of her parents, striking her 
signature pose. By force of habit, she found herself saying, "For the 
future of the world, I will be of service, nya!"

Chapter 3

Her parents stared at her in surprise, mouths agape, neither one knowing 
what to say as she stood before them, her secret identity revealed. Her 
father finally found his voice to say, "You mean...all this time you've 
been the famous super heroine?" He shook his head in disbelief. "You 
saved the city and even the world so many times and I never even 
knew..." He looked proud, but still very stunned.

Her mother, on the other hand, said, "I can't believe I never figured 
out you were part cat. I mean, it all makes so much sense now. The fish 
cravings, the constant napping, but...it's still hard to believe that 
it's true!"

"It's all true," she said. "I'm sorry I never told you before but I 
never knew how. It had to be a secret for so long and then...well, it 
just got too hard to tell. And I didn't want you guys to have to worry 
about me."

"Well, you're right we would have!" her father said. "I would have been 
worried sick if I'd known it was you, not that I needed to be." He was 
grinning now. "I always thought Mew Ichigo was the coolest one, after 
all! Always so proud she had the same name as my only daughter..." 
Shaking his head, he laughed, before suddenly growing more serious and 
turning to Masaya. "You don't seem too surprised. Did you already know 
about this?"

He nodded in response. "Yes, sir, I did. Ichigo was put in a situation 
where she was forced to reveal her identity to me in order to save me, 
but I did what I could to help her keep her secret."

"We appreciate you helping our daughter so much," her mother said, "but 
I know this can't be all you came here to talk about. What else has been 
bothering you two?"

There was nothing more Ichigo could do to stall now. Sighing, she lifted 
a hand to show the ruby red engagement ring, which was still visible 
even when she was transformed like this. "Masaya and I are engaged," she 
said. "He asked me to marry him and I accepted."

"Oh, my baby!" her mother cried, tears streaming down her face as she 
smiled. "Oh, I'm so happy for you, for both of you! I just knew the two 
of you would end up together and now my sweet Ichigo is going to be 
married..." She sniffed.

"Like hell she is!" her father snarled, Ichigo's fear being realized. He 
had never been happy that she was dating and even though he knew that 
Masaya was a good man, there would never be anyone good enough for 
Ichigo in his eyes. It was the classic overprotective father act, now 
magnified because this was his worst nightmare. His daughter was, as he 
saw it, finally being taken away from him.

"Dad, please-" she started, but he didn't let her finish.

"I'm not letting some nobody steal away my precious Ichigo!" he 
declared. "You're not good enough for my baby girl!" He charged at 
Masaya, looking ready to fight, but Masaya did not even take up a 
defensive stance. He was ready to take whatever his future father-in-law 
threw at him, and that touched Ichigo.

However, she was not willing to watch the two most important men in her 
life fight, and she was not willing to watch Masaya take a beating from 
her father. She summoned her Strawberry Bell and darted in front of 
Masaya, blocking her father's path. Her father stopped short before he 
could collide with her.

"What are you doing?" he asked. "I need to have a serious...talk with 
him."

"I'm not letting you hurt him!" she snarled, sounding just as menacing 
as her father had when he let them know he was not okay with the 
engagement. "Stand down, before I'm forced to hurt you instead. I don't 
want to, but I can't let anyone...I won't allow anyone, not even my own 
father, to hurt the love of my life and the father of my children."

"The...the what?" Her father blinked in confusion and a pit of dread 
formed in her stomach as she realized what she had just exposed. He 
staggered back, a look of shock on his face and she lowered her bell, 
not sure what to say to follow up the accidental confession.

"Honey, is that...is that true?" her mother asked at last. "Are you and 
Masaya...expecting?"

"That's, uh...yeah, that's what we came here to tell you," Ichigo 
replied, trying to force a smile. "That's part of why we're getting 
married."

"And your babies...they'll...they'll be part cat too, won't they?"

"They will," she said. "That's why I had to tell you about the situation 
with me. There was no way to keep it a secret anymore, and it's the only 
explanation for the way my children will be. In fact, from what we've 
been told, they might end up even more like cats than me."

"But...but..." her father said, finally finding it in him to speak once 
more. "But I'm too young to be a grandfather!" he wailed. "And my sweet 
Ichigo is too young to be a mother, and...and....oh, it's all too 
sudden!"

"But it's all so exciting!" her mother said, fresh tears of joy in her 
eyes. "You've grown up so fast and so beautiful and your father and I 
are so proud of you. You're going to have such a happy family, I just 
know it!" She wrapped an arm around Ichigo and an arm around her 
husband, pulling them in for a tight hug, though the latter was still 
whining about the situation.

Finally, he got the hint and quieted down, wrapping his arms around his 
daughter and agreeing. "Yes, we're very proud of you. I love you so much 
and whatever it takes, I want what's best for you and for you to be 
happy."

The three held tight to each other, like a happy family would, and no 
one complained when Masaya joined in. After all, he would be a part of 
the family from there on out.