A/N: Hello again! I am posting yet another new story today. I am not sure why, but I have been writing a lot lately. I think that break I took during Christmas and New Years was what I needed. This is a Tokyo Mew Mew story. This is about the love Ryou has for Ichigo, but she is with Masaya. All of you know I love Ichigo and Ryou. All of my stories are about them after all. This follows the manga, so Berry and Tasuku are mentioned in here. This takes place ten years after Tokyo Mew Mew Ala Mode. Anyways, enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew. It belongs to Ikumi Mia and Yoshida Reiko. If I owned, Ryou and Ichigo would have been together.
Unrequited Love
He was watching her. He had been watching her for ten years. She had grown up before his eyes. She grew up from a cute, feisty thirteen year old girl into a beautiful and vivacious twenty-three year old. But, he knew he could never have her. She belonged to someone else. Momomiya Ichigo was in a relationship with some guy named Masaya. Ryou could do nothing but watch her and yearn after her.
There are days when Ryou wished Ichigo would dump Masaya and come to him. After all, he loved her, too. Sometimes Ryou even wanted to grab her and hold her and tell her how much he loved her. He wanted her to know, but because of her relationship, he couldn't tell her. But, just watching her for now was enough. He wasn't sure how long he would be content with that.
He sighed in frustration as he walked up to his room. The room that Ichigo sometimes visited him in. He remembered when she first started working for him. She had come up to tell him off about something, and she had caught him just coming out of the shower. He had his pants on, but they were unbuttoned and he had no shirt on. They both were embarrassed.
He stood by his window and looked out the window. He could see Masaya waiting for Ichigo to get off work, and a couple minutes later, she came out of the cafe and into his waiting arms. Ryou looked away and sat on his bed. He glanced over at his desk and his eyes were drawn to a picture. The picture was of all the girls, him, Keiichirou and Tasuku. It was right after they had introduced the home delivery with Tasuku and Berry making deliveries.
Ryou groaned and fell back onto his bed. He closed his eyes, but all he could see was Ichigo. She plagued his every thought. He pulled out his cell phone, intending to call her or text her and ask her to come back to the cafe. And then he would tell her that he loved her. That he had loved her all this time. But, what would be accomplished if he did that? It didn't mean things would change. It didn't mean that telling her he loved her was going to make her break up with Masaya for him.
If he told her, then at least that would be a weight off his chest. At least it would be out there and she would know how he feels about her. He debated with himself for several minutes before he sat up.
"Fuck it," he muttered.
He flipped opened his cell phone and sent Ichigo a text message, asking her to come back to the cafe. She replied a couple minutes later saying that she was on her way back. Ryou was surprised that she was coming back without a fight, though he supposed she would probably give him an earful when she got back to the cafe.
He made his way down to the now empty cafe. Just as he walked into the main area, Ichigo came in through the door. She placed her bag on a nearby table and fixed her brown eyes on his face, pushing a piece of red hair behind her ear.
"What did you want me for, Ryou?" she asked.
Ryou looked away from her and leaned up against the wall. It was quiet in the cafe and she was waiting for Ryou to answer.
"Ichigo, for the past ten years I have watched you grow from a teen into the beautiful woman who is standing in front of me now. I have loved you from the first moment I saw you. You are everything I want. You're funny, smart, and you're not afraid to argue with me," Ryou said, looking up at her with his sapphire eyes. "I love you, Ichigo."
Silence followed Ryou's declaration of love. Ichigo looked like she was stunned, and she probably was. Ryou waited patiently for Ichigo to get over the initial shock of his confession.
"Ryou, I am sorry. I cannot return your feelings. I am in a relationship with Masaya. I'm really sorry."
She picked up her bag and she was gone. Ryou felt his heart contract with pain.
"So," he whispered, "this is how unrequited love feels."
He slid down the wall, his hands hiding his face and the tears that fell from his eyes.
The End
A/N: What did you think? It turned out to be more of a drabble than a story. I do hope you enjoyed it. I decided to do something a little different. If you are a fan of Ryou and Ichigo, then please read my other story Smile for Me. That one is ongoing as of right now. Chapter four is up! Anyways, please read and review. I accept constructive criticism, but please, no flames!