Note to self. I've never made a fan fiction before, nor do I own Tokyo Mew Mew. If I did, you bet you could expect different outcomes. But that's beside the point. It's another IchigoxRyou Fan fiction, I swear. And I'll tell you this once, Masaya is a nice guy. It's true so shush.

Constructive criticism, pretty please.

(Written on August 11, 2006)
Chapter 1 | The Dominant Kiss

The crazy red-haired cat girl hurried up the stairs for she was in need to talk to her rich, blonde boss. It was only yesterday night that her long-term perfect boyfriend, Masaya, and she planned another get together the following evening. The plan was to ask Shirogane that morning if she could get off early, then report back to Masaya at school. She had planned the entire day in her head already. She couldn't wait for her date.

She reached for the doorknob and swung it open, revealing something that she didn't expect. Her face turned bright red, as if her head was a match that was just lit. She was in one of her various predicaments. She quickly looked down feeling embarrassed, though she was somewhat getting used to it by now. 'Oh no! I did it again.'

"Don't you ever knock?" hissed her boss, then his expression slowly changed from a growl to a smirk. "Or do you enjoy seeing me like this?"

By the time Ichigo manages to say something, the blonde, attractive yet snobby Ryou had a bigger smirk on his face. He was standing there as he had many times before. His hair was still damped from the shower he took earlier. He had his regular white pants on; his black sleeveless t-shirt was lying on his white covers. She glanced over him, making sure that he doesn't notice, watching as the water droplets fell down his chest. Her face grew even redder.

"N-n-no way, I'm not interested! Can't you just put on a shirt?" She shouted. She knew she must sound like an embarrassed idiot.

"Don't you like the way that I look?" He smirked and laughed. He reached over towards his bed, grabbed his shirt, getting ready to put it on. "Aw, you big baby, would you really feel better if I put it on?"

Ichigo found something in the back of her mind suggestion that she wouldn't. But she shrugged it off. He was nothing to her, just the boss of the Mew Mew Project. He put on his shirt. "What would your amazing Aoyama think if he knew about us..." By then he couldn't help to have a bigger smile placed upon his face, but Ichigo's face still looked the same as before.

"What? There's nothing between us. I love Masaya and I hate you!"

"Yeah yeah, what do you want this time?" He demanded. 'Probably wants a higher salary or a day off. That baka.'

"O-oh, I was wondering if I could get off work ear-" She was shortly interrupted.

"No." His answer was plain and simple. He didn't want to hear anything more. "You're always late, you slack off way too much, and.. you're always day dreaming! Besides, you- You just can't."

She wasn't blushing anymore. She was filled with anger towards him. He was always complaining about the things that she did, or didn't do. As if it was never enough for him. If she were to slack off for a minute, he would be right behind her, ready to make a sharp statement about her faults.

"That's not true! And you know it. I'm always doing the work around here. I work the hardest..." Her speech could go on but it was always short.

Yet Ryou stopped listening to his nagging superhero cat girl after the first couple words. He knew exactly what she was going to say. It was the same rowdy speech she gives every time they get into an argument about her job.

"Baka Strawberry!"

She stopped in the middle of her speech. Though Ryou thought that it would make her shush up even for a minute, it didn't seem to work. "I am! I am not the idiot here! You're the idiot. You think you're so smart just because you have a hi-"

Suddenly she felt a gentle fingertip pressing against her lips. They were suggesting to her not to say another word. She couldn't help but to blush. She didn't even notice that he came closer to her, or even reached out to touch her. "Sh-shir-Shirogane?" She stared deep into his bright aqua eyes, completely unaware of what he was going to do next.

He grabbed her by the waist then pulled her closer. Before she knew it, his lips were pressed against her own. 'He's.. He's kissing me?' And the transformation began. She was the lovable black cat with the big pink bow on her tail. Ryou picked up the kitten laughing.

"Well we can't have you be the kissing menace again..." He kissed her once more.

He noticed something different from all of the other times. He had kissed her several times when he was Alto, saving her when she was the little kitten. She didn't fall over. She was standing tall, her body was still wrapped around Ryou's arms. Only after a couple minutes, she started to pull away. He was holding on to her tight. He decided to end the kiss after a couple minutes of her attempts.

"Shirogane..."

"You can have the day off, now go." He turned around, walked towards his window, and looked outside. The sky was bright blue. There wasn't a single cloud insight.

"Shi.. Shirogane?"

Ryou hesitated for a moment. He decided that was the best thing to do. "You're going to be late." He figured that it would be the only thing to get her going. After all, she's always late for her classes.

"Oh no!" She shouted as she realized exactly how late it had gotten. "I'm never going to make it." She rushed out of his bedroom, down the stairs and out the cafe doors.

Ryou turned around to face his empty bedroom. 'Baka Strawberry.' He signed, and then laid down on his bed. He glanced up at the ceiling, reached for his lips. "Did she kiss me back?" He couldn't believe it. "No, must be just my imagination. It can't be..." He sighed. 'Baka Strawberry. Baka Aoyama.'

Ichigo managed to reach her school just as the bell rung. It didn't save her enough time to find Masaya to tell her that she would be available. "During Lunch Time!" She said with huge amounts of determination." In all the rush, she completely forgot about the kiss with Ryou. As Lunch Time came around, she managed to find Masaya to inform him about the good news.

"Yeah! He said it would be okay."

Masaya smiled with relief. "I'm glad. Would you meet me at the park after you get off?"

"Sure!"

- Q -

"I'm going to be late. I'm going to be late. I'm going to be laaaate!"

Ichigo giggled as she floated into the Pink Cafe, only thinking of the evening plans with Masaya. Ryou was on top of the stairs waiting for her to come in. He knew that she would be late. This time he would not accept any of her excuses.

"Ahh, hey Ichigo!" The three Mews welcomed her, Zakura simply nodded in her direction. They looked at her curiously wondering how she could be floating, especially when she's going to hear it from Ryou, once again.

"I guess.. Must have a date with Masaya later." Retasu suggested.

"You're late." The unpleasant voiced yelled out.

"I know! I know!" She didn't bother to plead with him. She wasn't ready for him to ruin her evening. "I'll get to work right now." She floated off into the direction of the changing rooms.

During her entire shift, she would randomly get into day dreams about what could possibly happen, as she held up one or two plates in the air. Ryou would come right up to her, flick her nose, demanding that she would stop fooling around and tend to the customers. This only made her drop more plates. "Nya."

"If you're going to act like that, then you can forget about taking off early."

"But you already said I could!"

"Whatever." He glared at her. "Just get back to work. Stop fooling around."

She looked at him carefully. He looked so innocent there, just in that moment though. She quickly glanced away, only to find herself staring at his lips. She remembered the kiss from the morning. 'I.. I.. I'

"Get back to work!" He shouted to her. He walked back upstairs.

Time flew by quickly. Though she did continue to slack off, she managed to break some more plates, Ryou didn't bother to come downstairs and say something to her. This completely shocked her, just a little. Ichigo told Akasaka that she would be leaving now. He suggested that it would be best to tell Ryou also. She nodded and went off to change.

Ichigo raced upstairs, trying not to waste a minute, opened the door. He was laying on his bed with his eyes wide open. He didn't blink at all, he stayed with his deep thoughts. He looked calm. Almost relaxed. He looked as if he wasn't there anymore, but in another world thousands of miles away.

"Uh.. Shirogane?"

Reality snapped back faster than he could look over to see who it was. 'The nosy red-head. Is she leaving?' He got up, walking towards her.

"What is it?"

"I'll be leaving now, alrighty, bye bye!"

Before she could turn all the way around, Ryou reached for her hand. He held it tight. Ichigo turned around. He didn't look angry anymore, just a little bit confused, or worried, or another emotion. He was hard to read. Ichigo started to blush slightly in the cheeks.

"You, um, you look nice."

"Shirogane..."

He let go of her hands, said his goodbye, and then turned around. She walked out of the room, only to glance back at the mysterious blonde, wondering what was on his mind.

Ryou sighed. She was gone. 'What am I doing?"

Ichigo ran straight to the park. She was worried that Masaya would of gave up on waiting for her, even though she knew that he was willing to wait for her no matter what. She thought of the first time that he told her that he loved her. She was late, as always. She ran to meet him at the train station, the rain couldn't stop her. Though when she arrived, he wasn't in sight, but the minute he came into her sight, he told her the truth. Masaya loved her. He always has and always will. He would have for her forever. Masaya wouldn't just leave. 'He said he'll always wait for me.' She smiled with some relief as she saw Masaya waiting on the bench, not even bothering looking at the time. 'He'll understand; he always does.'

So Ichigo met up with Masaya as they had planned. Except the date was nothing like the ones that she imagined earlier. She wasn't smiling as often as all of the other times. She wasn't giddy, she felt somewhat giddy, but it couldn't be from Masaya. Masaya kept questioning her if there was something bothering her. He could tell. She wasn't her regular self.

She guessed that she might not be feeling so hot. She said it was nothing though, something that he shouldn't worry about. 'Something that no one should worry about...'

She thought that she couldn't hope up this any longer. She didn't want to drag down Masaya's day.

"I think I'm going to go home and lay down for a while."

"That's a good idea." He was still smiling. "I hope you feel better tomorrow." He gave her a little kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks. Thanks a lot." She smiled back at him and walked the other way.

She couldn't get her mind off of what had happened earlier. Not only their kiss, but now it was the holding of her hand. It was the nice comment that he made about her. He hasn't done that often. 'Why am I even thinking of him? He's just so mean to me all the time. He's always yelling at me. Always calling me an idiot. How dare he kiss me! I love Masaya...'

End | Chapter 1

I'll write up chapter 2 after. Need. Sleep.