One Thousand Pink Roses
By Sofri-chan
Sofri-chan: I'm trying to update BWW, but I was itching to write something other than ZXP, so here is a short, sweet little fluffy bit called "One Thousand Pink Roses". It's…dum dum dum…IXK!!! (It's a oneshot, people. Don't ask for more.)
Disclaimer: Don't own TMM. Don't sue.
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One Thousand Pink Roses
"Missed me, Koneko-chan! Missed again! Oh, over here, kitten!" a green-haired alien named Kish yelled at the girl below him.
"Ribbon Strawberry Check! Strawberry Bell! Ribbon Strawberry Surprise!" The flustered cat-girl, Ichigo Momomiya, yelled up at her enemy/suitor.
As the attack missed yet again, Kish disappeared. Ichigo scanned the sky for him, pink eyes puzzled. Suddenly, she felt pale arms lock around her waist from the back. A second later, lips were pressed against her own in yet another unwilling kiss.
"KISH!!" Ichigo yelled as she pulled roughly away. "Kish, stop it! I don't love you, so stop doing that! Stop kissing me, stop trying to make me yours, because I'll never be yours. I hate you!"
Tears—real tears—welled up in the alien's golden eyes. "Ichigo…my beautiful kitty cat...is there anything I can do to get you to be mine! Even for a day?"
Usually, Ichigo would have yelled "No!" and gone on fighting him and the two large rabbit Kirema Anima her fellow Mew Mews were working to eradicate, but she was completely fed up. Also, she'd been reading romance lately, and she happened to think of something.
"All right, Kish," Ichigo said resignedly. His large ears perked up, was he finally going to get to spend some time with his love? "If you…bring me one thousand roses…no, not any roses, one thousand pink roses, within…let's see, it's April first…within the next month, I'll be yours for exactly one day. Twenty-four hours, no longer."
There, she thought proudly. Not even Kish is desperate enough to bring me one thousand roses just so I'll pretend to like him for a day. Genius, Ichigo, pure genius! The neko joined her friends in destroying the Anima, pretty much forgetting about what she'd said…and the fact that Kish had mysteriously disappeared and didn't show his face for the rest of the fight.
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"Aaaah…morning! And it's Saturday, so NO SCHOOL!!" Ichigo yelled joyously, jumping out of bed in her pink cat pajamas.
"ICHIGO? Can you get the mail please?" Sakura Momomiya, her mother, yelled from downstairs.
"Sure, Mom!" Ichigo called. She quickly got dressed and rushed downstairs, pulling the door open to reveal a small bundle of letters and a basket.
Ignoring the letters, the curious cat-girl pulled the pink cover off the basket to reveal ten pink roses tied up in an equally pink ribbon with a tag attached that read. To Ichigo. 10.
"That's strange," said Ichigo, not really remembering the events of the day before, "Maybe I have a secret admirer! Oooohhhh I love mysteries!" Excited, Ichigo grabbed the roses and put them in a jar of water in her bedroom, pretty much forgetting the rest of the mail.
(Later that day)
Ding-dong! The doorbell of Café Mew Mew rang loudly as the five employees mopped the floor under the critical eye of their blonde employer, Ryou Shirogane.
"I'll get it," Lettuce chimed, and opened the door to reveal a post-boy holding a white basket. "Something for a Miss Ichigo Momomiya? Is she here?"
"Yes," the green-haired girl replied, bringing the basket in to Ichigo. The waitress instantly left off mopping and pulled off the red cover, revealing twenty roses of the same color she'd received that morning, with a similar note, except this one read To Ichigo. 30.
"Oooh, flowers! Has Ichigo got an admirer, na no da?" Pudding Fong, the youngest, most hyper member of the group, inquired as she jumped down from the ball she was balancing on.
"Is it Masaya?" Mint Aizawa, a slightly snobby ballet dancer who was infused with lorikeet DNA asked.
Ichigo shook her head sadly. "We broke up when he found out I was a mew. But it does seem I have an admirer. I got some of the same in the mail this morning. That note was signed 10, but this one says 30. He must like numbers…"
"Hmm…Pie?" Lettuce asked. "He's into math."
Mint shook her head. "Nope, Pie's already dating someone." She looked pointedly at Zakuro Fujiwara, a famous model and the fifth mew.
Zakuro blushed slightly, but managed to scrounge up an indignant remark. "What are you looking at me for?"
"Hmmm…" Pudding said. Ichigo grinned, knowing how much she loved to play detective. "Ryou. Taken. Keiichiro. Taken. Pie. Taken. Tar-Tar…" she grinned slyly, "Taken. So, it must not be anyone in the group, na no da."
Ichigo was just about to suggest a few boys from her class that could be just playing pranks when the two were interrupted by the loud, angry voice of Ryou. "GET BACK TO WORK!" he practically yelled.
"Yes sir," Ichigo replied sarcastically as she and her monkey friend turned and went back to the café.
(Two Weeks Later)
Ichigo hummed a slight tune to herself as she walked home from school with her best friends Miwa and Moe. It was her day off from work, and she had decided to devote it to discovering just who her secret admirer was.
For it was definitely an admirer now, and more than just a prank. Every day, Ichigo had received at least two baskets/bundles/bouquets of pink roses, either at her house or at the café. Each one contained a note written exactly the same as the first: To Ichigo followed by a number. With every delivery, the number got higher. Last time it had been 700.
"Bye Ichigo!" Miwa and Moe yelled as they turned to go to their own houses. "Bye," Ichigo yelled in return.
As soon as the blonde and the brunette were out of sight, Ichigo began sprinting down the street, eager to get to her house. Perhaps today would be the day her mysterious admirer would leave her some other clue as to who he was…
BUMP!
Ichigo hit into something large and soft. She flew back and would have hit the ground if the thing hadn't caught her. Looking up, Ichigo realized it was her mom, wearing the comfortable clothes she usually did to go shopping.
"Slow down, Ichigo," Sakura laughed, "Have you got that much homework? Well it will have to wait because when I tried to vacuum your room the door wouldn't open. I'd like your room clean by the time I get home, OK?" With that, Sakura gently deposited her daughter on the concrete and walked off toward her favorite mall, humming.
Ichigo glanced at her mother, confused. She'd cleaned her room only yesterday…Strange. Must be something wrong with her door. She hurried the rest of the way home…and stopped short.
For the first time in weeks, the doorstep was clear. No baskets with pink coverings, no bouquets tied with red ribbon…no roses. Surprisingly disappointed, Ichigo tried to tell herself it didn't matter and stepped into the empty kitchen, hurrying up the stairs to her room.
Grabbing the gold doorknob, Ichigo pulled.
Nothing.
She yanked harder.
No movement.
Wrapping both hands around the knob, she braced her feet on the ground and pulled with all her might.
Wham! The door flew open and Ichigo went sailing into her room…to land in a pile of something sweet-scented as perfume.
Getting up, the cat-girl gasped. Her entire room, floor, bed, dresser, even ceiling fan, was littered with pink roses. There must be at least a hundred…probably more! Her secret admirer must be really getting serious.
Reaching up to pick a rose petal out of her hair, Ichigo found that it wasn't a petal at all, but a small white piece of paper. Opening it, she realized that there was a good bit of writing on it. This would be a clue! It said:
Dear Koneko-chan,
I know I only have 2 weeks left to get you the rest of your pink roses, but I've exhausted every flower shop in Japan and the rest of Asia. I've got to move into Europe, so you may not be getting as many, or even some every day. I'm so sorry, kitten, please forgive me.
Love,
Kish
P.S. 850
For a second, confusion streaked through Ichigo's brain. Then, gradually, memory came back to her. That fight…her promise…
"If you…bring me one thousand roses…no, not any roses, one thousand pink roses, within…let's see, it's April first…within the next month, I'll be yours for exactly one day. Twenty-four hours, no longer."
Her pink eyes widened with shock. Kish…he'd been so desperate…he was actually going to complete her impossible task? He was actually going to bring her one thousand pink roses…after all, he'd already gotten her 850, and he still had two weeks…
"I don't get it, Masha," she told the small robot who was her constant companion. "Is Kish that desperate? Does he want to play with me that much…" she trailed off, a new, amazing thought coming to her.
"…or does he really care about me? Really…like me?"
She thought back to all the times he'd teased her, flirted with her, annoyed her. Their first meeting…when he'd jumped off a building and kissed her. When he'd promised to take her to somewhere where she wouldn't have to worry about fighting. Every time…now that she thought of it…he'd looked so serious. His gold eyes hadn't had any of the sarcasm they usually held.
She shook her head, trying to clear up her thoughts. What am I thinking? He's a stalker! He actually took up an impossible task just to get me to be his for a day. One day!
Ichigo had to do something. She had to go talk to someone. Someone who always knew exactly how she felt about boys, and how boys felt about her…
Day off or not, she had to go to the café.
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"So you set him an impossible task hoping to get him away from you, and he's actually been bringing you roses?" Zakuro inquired calmly.
Ichigo nodded. "I…I didn't believe he would actually…do such a thing…for me. Now…"
"You're confused about how you feel. You were certain he only thought of you as an 'important toy,' but now you don't know. You think his actions might show genuine caring…even love," the wolf Mew told her cat friend.
Ichigo nodded. "And now I don't know how I feel. And I came to ask you…what to do. You are older and experienced."
Zakuro smiled slightly. "You were smart, Ichigo. And…I so wish I could help you more, but there's only one thing I can say: Talk to him. See him again. Maybe even agree to let him be yours for the day. And see…how it feels."
The cat-girl thought it over for a minute. That seemed sensible. She hadn't seen Kish face-to-face since before the Pink Roses incident. So…if she saw him again, maybe she'd understand her messed-up feelings. "Thanks Zakuro," she said abruptly, then rose and walked out of the café, turning home again. After all, she had to get those roses out of her room before Sakura came home.
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(Two Weeks Later)
Today…Ichigo thought. Today…he's bound to. Today, he will come. Today, I will see…what I feel.
It was nearly two weeks since her conversation with Zakuro, as well as May first, the day she'd told Kish he had to bring her all the roses by. She'd been looking for him every day, hoping to fulfill the plan she and the wolf had come up with, but he'd never appeared. The roses had been coming less frequently and in fewer numbers, and the notes he'd left told her he was moving farther and farther away to find them.
She held those notes in her hand now. They all said things like:
Strawberry: Left Europe. Going to try Africa. 900.
To Koneko-chan: Africa done. Not many there. Off to the Americas. 930.
And the last one she'd received, yesterday.
Kitten: I've exhausted the Americas, and I have only one day left. I am going to my last hope: Australia. I swear, I will find you the remaining roses if it costs me my life! 998.
Two roses. He had two roses left to bring her. And she was certain that he'd deliver the last two personally, and she'd see. See if he cared, and if she…maybe, just maybe…cared in return.
A soft voice behind her interrupted her reverie. "Ichigo…"
She turned, and he was there. Her heart leapt and—to her great surprise—she had to stop herself from leaping into his arms then and there. Then…she got a look at him.
He was not the cocky, flirty, Kish she'd last seen at the battle one month ago. His skin, always pale, was nearly white, and there were bags under his large golden eyes. His clothing was torn, and he was thinner than before. In his hands he held a single pink rose.
H…he exhausted himself for me. No—he almost killed himself to get me these roses. I—I feel horrible! Poor Kish!
"Ichigo…" he said again. Not Kitty. Not Koneko-chan. Just Ichigo.
"Kish," she replied, unable to say more.
Then, surprisingly, he dropped to his knees in front of her. "Ichigo, I'm sorry. I tried…to fulfill your request. But I searched the entire world…and only found…999 pink roses. I…failed…now I'll never be yours." He collapsed, as though he could barely hold up his own weight anymore.
Heart in her mouth, she fell to her knees before him. "Kish, are you all right?" she gasped, grabbing his pale hands with her own. "Kish…I…I'm sorry."
"Y…you don't need to b…be sorry, K—kitten. I t…tried to do what you said…but I failed," Tears—real tears—formed in his eyes. "I…I love you Ichigo. I'm sorry."
Ichigo's mouth fell open. So he does care. He doesn't just think of me as an important toy. All the hatred she'd ever felt for the green-haired alien disappeared, replaced with something new. She couldn't tell what for a moment—then it became clear.
"Kish, I'm sorry. I never should have set you an impossible task…never should have made me work for your love."
He shook his head. "I'd do anything for your love," he whispered through his tears.
Ichigo gave him a slight smile. "I have a new deal for you. How about, for your 999 pink roses…"
"Anything…whatever you ask of me," Kish replied.
"How about…you listen to me. While you were working for one day of my love…I…I realized you already had it. And not just a temporary part of it, all of it. I love you Kish, and I'm sorry I was so cruel. So how about…if you'll have me…you be mine forever?"
A beatific smile crossed Kish's face. "Ichigo…that's the most wonderful thing anyone has ever said to me. Of course I'll be yours…forever and always," he told her quietly, then reached up and kissed her.
She kissed him back for the first time, loving how it felt. He was so kind…so sweet…so soft…and he was hers. Forever.
Suddenly, Kish broke away, a brilliant light filling his eyes. "Ichigo, I…I found the thousandth pink rose."
Her brows quirked up in confusion. "What do you mean?"
He grinned. "I mean…that you are the most beautiful girl I've ever met. You are a pink rose to me, Ichigo Momomiya, you are a beautiful pink rose. Does…does that count?"
She smiled softly in return. "Of course it counts, Kish you baka!" she told him joyfully.
"Out of all the thousand roses I brought you…this one is my favorite. Because it's my pink rose," he told her, before proceeding to kiss her for the second time.
Nine hundred ninety-nine of the roses Kish brought Ichigo were donated to various gardens and flower shops across Asia, Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Australia. For years, people tried to solve the mystery of how so many pink roses were all bought within one month, and then how just as many were donated back within the next month.
The thousandth pink rose, however, didn't go to any garden, flower shop, or market. She was happy right where she was, thank you very much.
The End.
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