Summary: Ichigo's never met Ryou. Ryou's never met Ichigo. But apparently they're about to get married. Or so that's what was made as a deal by their parents. Through their none stop bickering and fighting can they finally learn to love each other? Or will their wedding and marriage end in disaster? RXI
Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew.
...Ichigo's POV...
I couldn't believe the horrible cliché atmosphere that had set up the scene to driving towards the huge gated mansion in which I was to live the rest of my life in. Gray sky's accompanied by a light drizzle made it seem like driving up to the home, I mean, castle of the man I was supposed to marry was the worst thing to ever happen in my life. I wouldn't have put marrying a complete stranger in the 'worst moment in life' category but it defiantly made the top ten.
The mansion, Ryou's mansion, my fiancé's mansion, stood brooding on the top of a very large hill in a rural, small town area. But as the old taxi slowly began to putt up the road of the hill and we rose higher and higher into the mountain area, I could see everything for miles, including the large city we had passed through. I sat with my legs folded up on the seat, my body slouching as I rested my head against the door of the taxi, staring out the window at the view beneath.
In all honesty, I wasn't surprised when my parents told me to sit down and talk with them those few months earlier. I could see in their eyes after I had walked home from school that they had something important to tell me. Mentally, I had prepared my self for the worse, assuming they would be telling me that we would be moving or someone in our family had passed away. And when they dropped the news, I think my reaction had to be as appropriate as it got.
"What! You've got to be joking me?" I asked, narrowing my eyes.
"We're not forcing you into this Ichigo but we strongly recommend it. It would be for the best considering this is something we've arranged for you since before you were born." Mom explained, her reassuring smile faltering.
I shook my head, "I can't believe this..." I trailed off as I thought. Even though they had said it was up to me to go through with the marriage, I still felt like I was stuck between a rock and a hard spot.
"He's a young, wealthy man, Ichigo," My father added in, "Both of his parents are deceased and they left everything to him. Although his parents are both dead, he also has a choice and he's chosen to go along with the marriage if you choose to also."
That didn't take anymore pressure off the situation. I was ready to have myself a meltdown and the only reason I hadn't yet, was the logical thought that I had just turned eighteen and should act like an adult. It didn't stop the tears coming from my eyes though and after a few seconds, I began to bawl. Marrying a complete stranger, leaving my friends and family, taking on a completely different life along with the baggage from his life was a lot to take in. Especially with your parents totally encouraging it.
Eventually I felt my mom's arms wrap around my shoulders in an embrace.
"You don't have to do this Ichigo," she cooed, "like we said, this is a choice. An adult choice that someone at your age will have to make at some point." I looked up at her and she smiled a smile that didn't falter.
"It's a big responsibility and," she whispered quietly in my ear, "I don't know if I can watch my baby girl grow up and leave just like that."
When the cab came to a stop, I looked up through the front window at the huge black gates that sat guarding the mansion. I felt my mouth drop at the sight of the gates and the mansion and the grass and gardens and everything. Leaning closer between the driver and passenger seats to get a better look, I asked dumbfounded, "This is it?"
The driver ignored my question and rolled down his window, leaning out towards a small speaker that sat rooted in the ground a few feet from the gates. "I'm here with Miss Momomiya," he said, squinting at the light drizzle that brushed his face.
The speaker made a hissing static sound in response then said, "One moment please."
The driver leaned back into the car and rolled up the window. Glancing at me through the rear view mirror he smiled, "This is it."
The massive iron gates creaked and groaned as they opened inwardly. The cab drove slowly along the path to the front of the-what looked like- fourteen story mansion. I stared out the window, practically pressing my nose against the glass to look at the giganticness of the house I would be living in.
"This is outrageous," I mumbled.
"Tell me about it," The driver replied as his rubbed the back of his bald head, hidden underneath a green plaid, golf cap, "a house this big must take forever to find a bathroom in."
I giggled and ran my fingers through my thick, wavy red hair, "I hope this guy is alright, I don't know if an arranged marriage to a complete jerk will work out at all. I doubt I could ever stay with him."
The cab came to a stop at the front of a small set of stairs that led to two wooden front doors. A man with an umbrella stood waiting on the steps, a huge grin plastered on his face.
"Ah, well here's someone now," The driver mumbled quietly with a nod. I grinned in response and the man with the umbrella opened the door to the cab. Holding out his hand, he helped me from the car and held the umbrella over my head.
"Miss Momomiya! How nice to finally see you! How was the trip? Not too horribly long I hope," greeted the man as he smiled with pursed lips. I blinked a few times at the friendliness of the stranger and smiled. He had long brown hair, tied back with a red ribbon, and soft gray eyes with a twinkle in it that reminded me of Santa Clause.
"Not Mister Shirogane though," I thought I as I finished examining my greeter. The trunk of the cab popped as it opened and right away the man was helping my driver unload the few bags I had brought along with. I was told that the rest of my stuff would be moved in later in the month, which didn't bother me too much.
After my three suitcases were at the front of the doors and the cab driver was paid, I waved goodbye and pocketed the business card he had handed me, figuring it might come in handy some time.
"Well," Started my greeter man as I continued to watch the cab drive through the gates, "are you ready to see your new home?"
Guessing it was too late to hail the cab driver and get back in the car and go straight back home, I inhaled nervously and nodded, "Yeah," I smiled, "I'm ready."
My parents left me alone after the conversation. I had a while to decide what my choice was. Of course my first reaction was, "no, absolutely not." It took hours and days and weeks of dwelling on the matter to have my thoughts begin to sway a little bit. My friends were typical friends and thought it was the most bittersweet decision of all.
"Getting to marry a rich, handsome man Ichigo, is like, the most amazingly romantic story ever," squealed my friends as we sat at our lunch table a few days after I had told them the story.
"Yeah but then we wont get to see Ichigo anymore," Seconded another from our group.
"I'd come visit everyone," I smiled reassuringly. It was the first time I was actually positive about the whole arranged marriage situation.
"Then you should do it! Go get married Ichigo," my friends encouraged, "and bring us back some of his friends."
By the time my opinions had changed and I felt better about marrying Ryou Shirogane, I had begun to think of the positives. Being financially stable, knowing that I'd be able to raise a family in a good home, not having to worry about money for college and school or depending on my parents any longer were the reasons I had decided to go along with the marriage. I faltered now and then, not knowing if the stranger I was going to marry was someone I could fall in love with and if I'd ever be happy but I figured, I'd have to wait and see.
And as I told my parents my decision, I reminded myself that what I was doing was making the choice to go and be with Mr. Ryou Shirogane. It was a big choice and took a long time to think over but as my parents smiled with happiness and approval and reassurance that the man I would be with would be good to me, I knew the decision I had made was right.
"It's nice to meet you too, Misteeeer...?" I stared at the young man with the brown hair and bright eyes as he stood in mid step up the flight of stairs that would lead to my room.
He chuckled and set down my bags, "Oh how rude of me," he smiled and bowed, "Keiichiro Akasaka at your service."
I smiled, "Keiichiro Akasaka?"
"Mmmhmm," He hummed and continued to walk up the white and gold and black flaked marble stairs, "But you can call me, Keiichiro." he said in a singsong voice. I giggled quietly, following up behind him with a suitcase in tow.
When we reached my room, I was pleasantly surprised how sunny and welcoming it was. Big windows that practically reached the ceiling were laced with white curtains and gave a spectacular view of the backyard where trees and flowers of all sorts bloomed near a small man-made lake and rock fountain. It was like I was looking at a pamphlet for a vacation resort.
A king sized bed with a mahogany bed frame held up a white decorative canopy, was planted right in the middle of the room, the head resting against the wall. Cream colored sheets and mountains of pillows piled on top of the bed. A matching mahogany dresser stood across from the bed with a few empty picture frames on top. One blue leather tub chair was placed caddy corner from the wall to the left of my bed while a matching tub couch was placed on the opposite side of the room near the windows and bathroom entrance.
The walls were painted a very faint pink with thin white vertical stripes. The carpet was beige and screamed 'brand new'. I practically had to stop myself from spinning as I gazed around the adorable room. Keiichiro opened the door to the bathroom and flicked on the lights, showing the double sink and cast iron claw footed bathtub. This I couldn't stop myself from squealing at.
"This room is too adorable," I laughed at and sighed happily, "it's like a dream. Everything is so bright and welcoming!"
Keiichiro laughed with me and added in, "It was specially designed for the bride to be."
My laughing faded as I was brought back to the reality on why I was here. A new cage of butterflies was let loose in my stomach and slowly I walked around the room, trailing my fingers across everything. Taking the lacy white curtains in my hands I smiled, "When do I meet Mister Shirogane?"
Keiichiro rocked up on the balls of his feet and grinned, "Soon. Probably around dinner. But I bet you're tired from your long trip so you'll probably want to clean up and unpack and get ready before than. So I'll just," he started towards the door, "leave you to your business."
"Oh," I smiled, "Are you sure? I don't mind the company."
Keiichiro grinned and nodded, "I have to go make sure that our cook is getting everything ready for dinner. But I'll be back after I'm done." he winked and shut the door.
I shifted from one foot to the other and pulled at the hem of my long sleeved beige seater. Staring at the three suitcases, I mumbled to myself, "I don't want to unpack."
Sighing an 'oh well' sort of sigh, I shrugged and grabbed one of the suitcases. At the foot of my bed sat a small, backless, blue chaise, which I sat my suitcase on. I opened it slowly and began to take out the components within. I carefully walked a stack of shirts to the dresser and opened the top drawer.
"Huh?" I questioned as I looked and noticed there were already a few shirts place neatly inside. I sat my shirts on top of the dresser and pulled one out from the drawer. Holding it up to my chest, I took note that it was my size. "Maybe someone was staying in this room before?" I wondered. It was a nice shirt and as I looked at the other two, I noticed they were both equally as nice.
"Well whoever she was, she had a great taste in clothes," I laughed and took the shirts out, "I'll just leave them out and tell Keiichiro later that someone left their shirts in here."
I grabbed my arm full of shirts and started packing them into the drawer. I returned to my suitcase and grabbing more articles of clothing, moved down to the second drawer. Opening it, I frowned, again there were more clothes. This time just two pairs of jeans but it made me curious why someone had left so many articles laying around. Then I stopped.
"This room was specially designed for the bride to be," echoed Keiichiro's words in my head. So maybe nobody had stayed in the room and left their clothes.
"Maybe this is for me?" I asked, taking out the jeans. They were-again-my size.
Curious to know, I decided to hunt down Keiichiro and ask if they were. I opened my door and slowly stepped from the room, "Uhh," I looked both ways down the hall. Which way was it to the kitchen? I decided to start my search back at the marble staircase by the entrance to the mansion. Walking quickly down the hall, I took a quick right and stepped into the area where the marble staircase began its wide spiral down to the entrance. I slid my hand onto black wooden railing of the stairs and descended quickly down the steps, hopping every other one. Gaining some speed, I bounded down too quickly and at the bottom, took a quick right and spun right into something hard.
There was a loud, "Oof!" and taking a step back, I realized I had bumped into a someone. A someone with bright blue eyes and soft blond hair. He looked familiar, I thought as I stood staring. But he didn't look happy and stared back with a scowl on his face.
"Oh!" I remembered I was the one who had bumped into him, "I-I'm sorry," I stammered, "I came down the stairs too quickly." I finished with an apologetic smile.
He rolled his eyes and pushed passed me, "Watch where you're going," he mumbled and took hold of the railing, running up the stairs.
I had to stop for a minute to process the answer. "What. The. Hell. Was. That?" I thought and watched the young man run up the stairs.
"What the hell!" I shouted up at the young man and took back up the marble stairs. He paused mid step to look back at me then waited so I could catch up, "Excuse me?" He asked, cocking a dark blond eyebrow.
"You're such a jerk," I hissed, "How dare you say, 'watch where you're going' when it was a simple mistake."
He looked taken aback for a moment then glared and shot back, "Watch where you're going! It means, watch out lady, you're going to knock someone over." He looked away and shook his head like he was talking to an idiot.
I narrowed my eyes, "I can't believe you! It was an accident and your reaction is, 'I have to be a big asshole to someone I don't even know'."
Mister Blond Hair-Blue Eyes guy looked like he was going to bite my head off after that but the sound of footsteps running up the stairs stopped us. Keiichiro jogged up next to us and out of breath, managed to chuckle. With his fists on his hips, he bellowed out a loud laugh then said, "Now children, what seems to be the ruckus?"
"Nothing." Blondy replied and turned away, starting to walk back up the stairs. I was about to have myself a little bit of a whiny baby fit but luckily Keiichiro grabbed hold of the annoying young man and steered him back my way. The guy rolled his eyes again and crossed his long arms in annoyance.
"I believe you two have gotten off on the wrong foot," Keiichiro began with a soft grin.
"Make it her feet running down the damn staircase," mumbled Blondy.
Keiichiro ignored him and went on, "So let's start over again. Take each other's right hands." he commanded. I held out mine and the young man held out his, grasping mine. Surprisingly he held my hand softly.
"Now say, 'Ichigo Momomiya, I apologize.'" Keiichiro told the young man.
The young man looked up and said, "I apologize, Ichigo Momomiya." His eyes kind of had a bit of a surprised look hidden behind them and I was curious why all of a sudden he acted different.
"Ichigo, you say, 'I apologize, Ryou Shirogane.'" Keiichiro smiled.
I couldn't stop myself when my mouth dropped open. I stared at the man holding my hand, looking me straight in the eye, and knew I had recognized him from somewhere.
It was only a side picture from when Ryou was younger that my parents had handed me after I had made my decision. They told me, 'this is the man you will be marrying.'
Staring at Ryou, I swallowed and said, "I apologize, Ryou Shirogane."
My fiancé.
...to be continued...
Authors note: Hello everyone and welcome to Disarranged And Misfitted. I want to start off by saying thank you if you've made it this far. I appreciate you taking the time to read this. I just want to introduce myself. I'm Kristen, this is not one of my first stories, I've actually been on this website since 2005 but have decided to make a new account.
I hope everyone has enjoyed the first chapter to this story. I want to point out-since this has come up in a story of mine before- that I did not take the time to sit there and browse through hundreds of pages of Tokyo Mew Mew stories to see if there is any story similar or if the story has been done before. I do not care if there is a similar plot. :/ Sorry. There are tons of stories in book stores with similar plots and no one emails the author to tell them that they've stolen an idea. If there is a similar plot, oh well, I hope mine is just as good as the other author's. I hope that doesn't stop someone from reading my story however. I love to know that people are enjoying what I've written. If there are any concerns with the story, feel free to email me or write in a review. :] Thank you.
Enjoy Disarranged and Misfitted!