Author's Note: Um, wow. I know that I haven't really visited this fandom in a long time on this site, so I hope you all like this. And yes, I did purposely make you guess about Ryou's date until the last second. Those who know me, however, should know automatically who she is.

Disclaimer: Tokyo Mew Mew is the creation of Reiko Yoshida and Mia Ikumi. It most certainly isn't mine.

Scheme. N. An elaborate and systematic plan of action.

She never knew how beautiful she looked, even as she was fixing the final touches on beignets for customers from the states. As Ryou glanced over at her, the blond couldn't help smiling weakly as he eyed the powdered sugar everywhere on her face.

There she was, messier than he had ever seen her in his life, yet none of that beauty had faded or disappeared.

On the contrary, she was even more beautiful with that smile that could melt anything if she sincerely tried.

"Girl-watching, Shirogane?"

He frowned at that voice. Glancing over at the speaker, he questioned, "Aren't you supposed to be working, Ichigo?"

"Oh, come on, I'm working," She insisted, waving her arms in the air madly. "But what about you? You've been staring at her for the past hour. Geez, just make a move all ready, will you?"

The newspaper in his hand hit her head; Ichigo whined, rubbing her head.

This caught the attention of the girl that Ryou had been eyeing (and the rest of the cafe, for that matter). She blinked, blushing as she realized that her boss and co-worker were both looking over at her.

"I-Is something the matter," She questioned. "I…. didn't know if… you know… if I was doing a bad thing or not…" She then handed the platter to a blond waitress, who had been waiting to serve the customers up front.

Ryou shook his head, smiling weakly. "You've done nothing," He insisted.

"Omigosh. Are you gonna keep that behavior up?"

The girl winced at Ichigo's behavior. "Ummmm… I-Ichigo san..?"

Ichigo grinned in reply. "Hey, Shirogane was gonna ask you if you were free tonight."

Judging from the beet red face that Ryou had quickly gained, he was going to ask her no such thing. Yet, as he quickly looked away from both girls, everyone knew that he was actually up for it.

"Huh?"

"Yeah," Ichigo replied. "Because he's gonna ask you out on a date! Let's see… you two will meet in front of the local Chinese restaurant at seven, okay? Now, I insist. You take the rest of the day off to get ready!"

As the pink-haired girl shoved her friend out the door, Ichigo braced herself for all the yelling that she was sure she would receive for even attempting such a grand and dangerous scheme.

So, why did nothing come out of her boss's mouth?

"Shirogane…?"

He dismissively waved his hand, turning back to walk upstairs. "I'll leave you all to your work. After all, I have a date."

Ichigo crossed her arms, tilting her head. "Huh, he didn't yell at me."

Turning her attention back to her co-workers, Ichigo motioned for them to come closer. "Hey, guys," She called, whistling to grab even Zakuro's attention to the scene. "Let's go, since we have a date to spy on! Shirogane's finally going out with Retasu-chan, nya!"