This is how I avoid writing Chapters of my already published writings. I write random one shots filled with fluffy love-sickness. Weirdly enough... I'm making Masaya look like a mean boy right now. I'm absolutely horrible. Seriously now, enjoy this Ichigo x Ryou one shot.
Remember boys and girls, I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew.
I totally dedicate this to my dead cactus and to the one who will talk to me with my interests.
Song - Rainy Day Man, Sailor Moon
With All the Questions and All the Reasons
Rainy day man,
Rainy day man,
Rainy day man,
The first part of the song she heard this morning repeats throughout her mind. She never expected this to happen.
He already knew it. She was going to be late. He never expected anything else. He was going to wait at the top of the stairs to proclaim about how late she was when she got in. Why did it feel so different from all the other times? Since he had woken up, he had this uneasy feeling all day. It wouldn't leave his mind. He couldn't just let it go. He felt and knew that something horrible was going to happen this day. He was beginning to worry about Ichigo. It's been an hour and a half since the other girls have gotten here. She should be already been serving the guests. She should have entered those doors long ago. Where was his Strawberry?
Feeling a little tired from standing for so long, he sat down with his legs crossed. He had never gazed at the door for so long his entire life. He really was waiting for the most important person to him to walk inside. He always imagined embracing Ichigo when she was around. He wanted to do so, so badly he couldn't believe himself.
He had to hold back though. It never seemed to be the right time to let her know.
A bright flash of light. Some lightning. She had already entered those doors with tears running down her face and a little soaked from the rain. He couldn't stand seeing her like that. At that exact moment, he wanted to race down the stairs and tell her whatever had happened, it was going to be okay. Ryou wanted to tell her so much that my world had fallen apart just by seeing her cry. Ryou didn't do it. He held back all his emotions and just listened to her.
When I think about the first time (the first time)
Thought I found someone who cared for me
Things were not as they appeared to be
"He's a real jerk!" She exclaimed with more tears running down her face. She looked in pain, and a little in denial. Whatever had happened had completely torn out her heart. "He just did it so casually; acting like whatever had happened between was meant nothing, that she was better than me!"
He watched as the other girls brought her in the other room. It was somewhere where she could not scare the customers away. She was in a mess. They brought her to the changing room to let Ichigo further explain what had happened.
"I knew we were getting further apart, but to do it like that. That's just too mean. It doesn't seem like him." She explained further about what had happened just before she arrived. She told them about the random blond-hair school girl that Masaya had fallen attached to. He told her that he knew that was coming, and it couldn't be helped. He also said that it was the same way with her, that she really wasn't in love with him anymore. She didn't exactly understand what he meant by that. Either way, he even apologized for everything.
The girls tried to cheer up Ichigo, saying that everything was going to be alright. She could not believe a word that they said though. There was no way that she was going to be alright with it. She had lost the one thing she cared about. She didn't want to feel distant to him, but it couldn't be helped, just like he said. But now that he was gone, it was time to be strong.
After sitting in the same spot wondering what Ichigo could be crying about, he finally got up. It was time to let the other girls go back to work and talk to Ichigo. He silently strolled to the room and leaned against the door frame.
"Girls, it's time to get to work." He took notice that Ichigo wasn't crying anymore. He waited as he watched the girls pass by his eyes. "Ichigo..."
She calmly wiped away the remaining tears from her face. She was putting on a strong act. She couldn't let Ryou see her like this. After all it was probably in her best interest if he didn't see her crying. He had already. She feared that he might say something and make it worse. It was obvious the reason she was crying. Whenever anything happened, it involved Masaya. It was the truth. She kept her face facing the ground.
She had always been the strongest Mew, he knew it. She was the one who had to face the greatest battles. Even if she stood there alone, facing her biggest fears, she would put them to the side and defend the earth. When she was faced with all of that, her eyes sparkled up with determination to save the planet she loved so much. All the creatures, plants and people that she cared for. They would all flash before her eyes as she continued to fight on. She would never let the world fall into the grasp of the enemy. That would break her heart the most. And Ryou understood all that, he felt the same way. It was why he always wanted to be there to protect her. She was the one to truly help them all. It was in her blood.
His eyes wouldn't turn away from Ichigo for a moment. They were quiet enough to hear the fall and crash of breaking plates in the kitchen. When Ichigo was feeling brave enough, when she drew enough courage to really face the day, she lifted her face up.
"I'll get to work too." She got up, looked around for some sign of her uniform. She was ready to work the day away then fall back in bed going over what happened. What might have went wrong. She began to hesitate when she couldn't exactly remember where she put her uniform last time.
Rainy day man
On your shoulder I cried
When my first crush with love
Left me shaking inside
Rainy day man
Rainy day man
Ryou snickered to himself as he watched his Strawberry from the door way. He grew restless. 'How many times have I've had the opportunity to let her know? How many times did I let it slip away?' His body somehow managed to unconsciously stroll behind her. He had come up from behind her and lightly wrapped his arms around her. He laid his head against hers, closing his eyes.
She turned to face him, buried her head in his chest. She couldn't help but to cry.
She felt warmth she had never felt before. She couldn't believe that it was real. Such warmth coming from her boss' body. Sure, he was always cold to her. However she knew how much that he really did want to protect the Mew Mews. He was always there in time of need. 'He was always there to protect... me.' It had hit her in an instance.
She was feeling something she never felt when Masaya wrapped his arms around her. She was wandering all over her mind. Why was she feeling something she never felt before? Why was she feeling something that she always wanted to feel with Masaya? Why did she feel so safe when Ryou was around? Even more now that she has been embraced in the middle of his arms. Why did she feel the need to forget all about Masaya and move on so suddenly? She couldn't find the answers to her questions.
Tears rushed to her eyes. She was turned around as they fell down onto her cheeks. He mumbled his words, demonstrating that it's all going to be alright, as he whipped away the tears from her face. Instead of believing when her friends told it was going to be alright, she believed him instead. Another reason she couldn't figure out any of the reasons to her questions. He insisted that she didn't have to work today, deciding that it might have been better if she figured everything out before she started to. He was careful not to make anything worse.
It was true that she really wasn't ready to give it her all when it came to work, but she didn't want to go back in a room with little pictures of Masaya and her. She didn't want to see the little gifts he had given to her. She didn't want to be reminded of it all. She wasn't quite ready to go home.
Every since I can remember (remember)
Just like a brother you've been strong and true
Always been the one to see me through
"Thank you. I think I might just do that." She said, trying to bring her frown to a smile.
Now Ryou wasn't exactly the kind of guy that would let Ichigo just leave like that. He wouldn't see it through. There was something he could do to help her out a little. "Since it's raining... I can drive you home." He didn't understand why but he felt a little more than just uneasy when he told her that.
She had finally brought the smile to her face when she saw another side, a superior caring side, to Ryou Shirogane. She could have accepted the offer, but then she'd be stuck at home with all the reminders. She just had to deny his offer. "It's alright. I'll ... I'll be fine."
"Why... I don't want you to get sick though," Those words had slipped out of his mouth without leaving any signs of regret. He didn't want her to feel any worse than she had already felt. "Just let me drive you, Strawberry."
She didn't respond to that.
"Why won't you let me drive you?"
She could feel his eyes watching her. She had always felt a watching presence like this. Was it really Ryou who watched her over the years? Was he always watching her? The questions grew in her mind as she hesitated to respond to him. "I just don't want to go home right now."
Ryou wasn't going to question that. He just got up. He grabbed her hand and left the room. As they walked down the hallway, Ryou told Ichigo to stay put. He quickly ran up to fetch something in his bedroom. He came back down with a red umbrella.
"We can go for a walk."
He reached to grab her hand once again. They left the cafe, hand in hand. As they were walking down the pathway, Ichigo finally took full notice of what they were doing. Being hand in hand, it wasn't something she would do with her boss. What was Ryou Shirogane to her anyways? He was just another snobby rich kid. She could have admitted that she felt attracted to him, but that was supposed to die long ago. She also admitted that she absolutely adored they way he showed his true sides.
She knew that he was never really harsh for any reason. He took everything that he did seriously. He held such great pride in his work. She could understand that. She couldn't understand why she felt hot as she held his hand, walking in the rain. She could feel the cold breeze against her body's heat, but it was never enough to truly cool her down. She was growing hotter.
She tightened the grip on her hand. She didn't want to let go of his. She continued walking in the rain with him.
Her heart felt a sense of a new kind of peace. She was already on the verge of forgetting all about what had happened earlier with Masaya, even if it's only been seven minutes in the rain. Her mind was already erasing all the memories with him and replacing them with the images of the occurring event. All the memories with Ryou filled her mind. All the happy ones, angry ones and the sad ones. All the times she felt fluttered by the sight of him, she had lost her breath. All the times she had accidentally run in on a shirtless Ryou, how she faces lit up. All the times that she had gotten angry at him and he just blew it by him like it was nothing. These seemed more precious now than ever.
The speed of her beating heart was increasing.
He took noticed as she tightened her grip. He was as silent as the night as they walked through the rain. It was his mind that would keep him quiet the entire time. He had already known why she was upset. He could figure out why she didn't want to go home right away. She had rejected the idea of having any reminders. He wanted to bring her to a little park for when the rain would end. He assumed that it wasn't going to last long.
They arrived a couple minutes away from the park as the hard rain slowly changed into a light drizzle. It did not matter if the swing set seats were wet. They could just sit there with the grey skies thinking. To Ryou, it wasn't often that he got to be alone with Ichigo. He really appreciated this, the time that they were sharing together, even if it may have meant nothing to her.
All Ichigo wanted to do was to sort everything out. She wanted to know what he meant by he's not the one who she's in love with. If it wasn't Masaya, then who else could she be in love with? The answer was in front of her, but she was oblivious to it. What was it she felt when Ryou wrapped his arms around her for the first time? Just another secure feeling from a supposedly-close friend. She wanted to answer a certain question though, why had she forgotten Masaya so quickly. Those were only, maybe, a fifth of her questions.
'I felt more secure than every as Ryou held me close...' Her mind began to ponder all the possibilities of having loved another one, having loved Ryou Shirogane all this time. She never wanted to believe it so. She could remember all the times her body felt hot as she saw him. She could even remember all of the times her heart felt fluttered. It was a decision though. Perhaps she had made the wrong choice.
Rainy day man
You're much more than a friend
She had already slowly fallen in love with Ryou. In the back of her mind were always random images of what could have been if she made that decision. A random image of Ryou embracing her on an anniversary. Another one of them holding hands as they were on their daily date. There were even images of them fighting side by side.
By the time she had already realized that it might be Ryou that Masaya was talking about, she couldn't help but to wonder about the image of them, with their hands tied up with each others, engaging in a kiss. She couldn't help herself this time.
She felt as if she was always wearing her heart on the outside. She knew it was obvious that everyone could see her emotions through her expressions. Even the cat features gave it away most of the time. It was a feature of Ichigo that everyone loved. Though no one loved it more than Ryou. So it really wouldn't be much of a surprise if Ryou were the first to notice her tail.
He smiled to himself. He knew that she must be thinking of something exciting or embarrassing.
He got off the swing, attempting to be as slow as possible, just so he wouldn't disturb Ichigo's simple thoughts. He somehow managed to manoeuvre his way to face behind Ichigo as she kept her head down. Her cat ears were still open to the public. With a swift movement, he started to stroke her cat ears. Ichigo let out a pleasurable purr. Engaged in the stroking, she had completely forgotten all the questions surrounding her thoughts and that she was with Ryou. All she thought of was how good it felt.
"If you keep your ears out like this, someone might see." He said with a smooth smirk on his face.
Ichigo managed to cry out a shriek before she fell over crashing on her side. Another cliché moment for Ichigo. As she regained some awareness of the event, she quickly went to cover her cat features that had already disappeared.
"I wouldn't have this problem if you didn't inject me with wild cat D. N. A., jerk!"
"That's alright." The smirk placed upon his face slowly changed into a serious look. "I did what I had to do, just like you do what you have to do."
Ichigo quite didn't understand what her blond boss was talking about. She ignored that though.
As she was about to say something, she saw him place his hand out towards her. "You'll catch a cold if you sit in the rain." She accepted his hand that helped her up.
As he lifted her up, she felt her heart become more fluttered than ever. It was obvious she really was in love with her blond boss, but how could she admit that to him. To him, she was only the leader of the Mew Mew Project. She was nothing more. She was the annoying red-haired cat girl that requested for a raise over and over. She was the one who accidentally, but more-so enjoyed, walking in on him in strange situations. There was no way that she could mean anything to him.
Somewhere along the line, she had turned into a little rash cry baby. She felt the tears swelling up in her tears and falling down her cheeks. Ryou lifted her head up with two fingers.
"I really hate to see you cry, Baka Strawberry." His voice was soft as he whipped away her tears.
It started to look like Ryou was trying to manage his way into an unexpected kiss again. It was often that Ryou would randomly kiss her. He would do it just because he wanted to see her expressions, her features pop out or just to, well, he really did want to kiss her often. It didn't matter that she was going out with anyone, he'd do it anyways. There were times where he caught Ichigo kissing back.
It wasn't like the other times though. He did not make his way into a kiss, but into another tight embrace. He wanted to hold her in his arms forever, never letting go.
Ichigo began to blush as she also exposed her cat features to him again. He could feel a swift breeze from the wandering tail and the tiny black hairs brushing up against his hands.
"S-sorry..."
Ryou thought that she really didn't have any reason to apologize. "Don't be."
They broke out of their embrace. Ryou grabbed the umbrella left in the grass in front of the swing set. He grabbed Ichigo's hand and directed in a fashion signalling that they will be heading back to the cafe.
Ichigo's hand managed to come back into the grasps of Ryou's hand. There we were, again, walking hand in hand. Ryou, with his cheeks a faint red, couldn't get the fact that she reached out for him out of his mind. It was utter happiness. And Ichigo felt at complete ease.
By the time they arrived at the cafe, the three youngest Mews already went back home. They told Keiichiro to give their regards to Ichigo again if she ever happens to drop by later. Zakura stayed behind to slowly, but surely, clean up the place. Not really like Zakura, but she may have had some other intentions.
"She said something about anothe-"
A cough came from Ryou as he entered the kitchen. He had interrupted Zakura, whom was talking about Ichigo's situation. The eldest were talking about the so-called forbidden love, among other things.
"What were you two doing?"
"Nothing. Nothing at all." She said it with a sly voice, but still indicating that she was lying through her teeth. It wasn't exactly that they were up to something, but they did so some other things. Just another secret relationship.
"Alright then." He wasn't going to bother with the two of them this time. He had more important things to attend to. Someone like Ichigo was the most important to him, especially now than ever. He turned back to face Ichigo. "Just hold on a second."
He walked towards the refrigerator to grab a couple sweets for the walk back. He had a feeling that she was going to feel hungry later on. After all she hadn't had anything since school ended. That was a certainty.
He closed the refrigerator with the back of his food. As he reached the kitchen's doors, his body swung to the left to look at the two.
"Play nice." He smirked and headed out.
When he got into the main dining room, Ichigo was already laying down on the table. 'Of course she'd be tired by now.' He strolled quietly over to her. He nudged her on her shoulder lightly.
"You should eat something before we go."
"Huh?" Her mind was in a sleeping chaos. "Go where."
"Just eat."
She didn't bother to question him again. She accepted the small cucumber sandwiches that he had supplied. She ate them slowly as Ryou sat down to watch her. She started to have that feeling again. She could feel him watching her. New questions had entered her mind.
'Why... Why is he being so nice to me?' She needed to find out. She wanted to.
She finished up with the sandwiches. Ryou grabbed the plate, headed back to the kitchen, and put it in the sink.
"I'll be right back." He told Keiichiro. Keiichiro nodded in acknowledgement.
He left the kitchen to greet Ichigo waiting for him in the dining room. He nodded. They were on their way again. This time wasn't going to be like the other times they walked somewhere today. Those were quiet times filled with subtle happiness as they held hands together. Of course there would be some similarities.
Their hands managed to meet each other somewhere along the pathway. Ichigo grew a faint red, almost feverish.
"Ryou..." The questions about Ryou had already entered her mind as she noted they were holding hands again. They would not stop invading her mind. As she wanted to know, she took the first step. "Can I ask you something?"
"Yeah."
"Why are you doing this?" She knew that must sound wrong. "I mean, you're usually cold towards me."
"Heh." He supposed it was about time that he would just let her know what was going on through his head all this time. It wasn't any wonder, to him at least, why he was a little meaner towards Ichigo than the other girls. He had his reasons. He would let her know. "I guess I'm a little selfish."
Though he had basically told her full frontal why he was harsher towards her, he didn't bother to explain at the moment. He wanted to make her wonder what he was talking about.
They arrived at Ichigo's house. He left her minutes before her father could yell out words.
I would give anything
Just to see you again
Rainy day man
Rainy day man
Rainy day man
More words from the song she had heard earlier repeats throughout her mind. She can't stand this. It wasn't what she wanted. She could admit to herself that she never really wanted to be with Masaya. She just wanted to see Ryou. She just wanted to be close to him, to let him know how she felt. She needed to. She gazed outside. The clouds were still dark. You could hear the hard rain hit the ground as there was thunder in the background.
"I need to see him."
She got on a pair of loose clothing. She pulled her sweater over the top of her head. It did not matter how late it was. All she knew that she couldn't stand that she was not able to see him right now. Her heart could not bear the pain any longer.
She raced against the wind. It felt like a race against time. She would not wait any longer to see the one she was in love with. She had figured out that she must mean something to Ryou. He was beyond just sweet to her today. He cared so much for her, she was sure of it. There was no other real possibility. Sure, there was one where he could actually dislike her to extreme amounts, but she wouldn't accept that for an answer.
The rain drops fell against her clothing. As they were wet, they stuck to her body. She was increasing the heat. She continued to run in the same direction never turning around to look back. It was not the time for any last regrets. She wouldn't have any anyways.
As she looked up ahead to where she was racing, a dark figure stood between her and the destination. She continued to race without a doubt. Nothing could get in her way.
Always been the one see me through
He stood there, front and center. He would not move. He knew exactly who it was racing towards him. He could feel it inside of his heart.
"Ichigo..."
He stood there waiting for her.
As she came closer, she became aware of who she was in front of. For some reason, she knew that he would be standing there waiting for her. She didn't know why but the answers came instantly. He was always this way for a reason. She still wanted to know more though. Her curiosity couldn't bear but to ask questions once she arrived.
She continued racing towards the one she loved. She jumped into his arms as she arrived closer to him. She still could feel his warmth through the wet clothing. She held so tight, it didn't matter anymore that her expression could be shown by her visible cat features.
She glanced up to stare into his eyes.
"What did you mean?" She was hesitating about something Ryou was fully aware of. "Being-"
"Selfish?"
He stood still in his tracks. His body was still embraced by Ichigo's arms, with a single motion; he managed to hold Ichigo with a firm grasp around her waist. "Ichigo. I'm only selfish when it comes to you." His sudden movements managed to sneak a passionate kiss from Ichigo. A big pink puff of smoke appeared as she transformed into a little black kitten with a huge pink bow on her tail. He picked her up. "I'm not sorry but I won't turn you back. Just bear with it." He began to explain furthermore as he stroked her ears.
Rainy day man
On your shoulder I cried
When my first crush with love
Left me shaking inside
"It's always that way when it comes to you. I don't want to give you up to anyone else. I can't stand when I see you with him... I was, um, sort of happy when I found out. I mean, I was glad you were available again, but still upset since you were hurt. I didn't want to see you like that so I wanted to take your mind off of it."
He began to play around with the kitten's tail, eventually making his way up to the bow near the end of her tail. He seemed to be enjoying himself more than usual. His casual face lit up as he went back to stroke Ichigo's ears. He had always wanted to do this, a little more for when she had her cat features exposed as a human, but now as a small innocent kitten, there was nothing she could do to stop him. He wasn't going to let this chance pass by.
He listened to her purr as the cat. He wanted to hear his normal cat girl purr.
"I suppose it's time." He said as a scuff of air was released from his mouth. He sighed, quickly hiding his long face. They've been in the same position for a while now, and he knows for sure that Ichigo would very much appreciate it if she could be a human again.
He lifted the kitten eye to eye. He did not wait to move in to place a peck on the kitten's face. As she was transforming back to a human, he was engaged with a real kiss with his normal cat girl, Strawberry. They were tangled in the heat of the moment. They broke out, gasping for some air.
Rainy day man
You're much more than a friend
I would give anything
Just to see you again
Ryou seemed to be surprised that Ichigo would kiss back. He remembered the other times where she managed to push him away, where she managed to escape his grasp and manage her way back to Masaya. That wasn't happening now.
She had already admitted her feelings to herself. He had already told her that he did not want her to be with any regular guy, perhaps he was hinting at himself. Either way, it was time that she should admit her feelings to Ryou. It did not matter to her if he did not feel the same way, she would do everything in her power to make sure that one day, just one day, and they would end up together. She would not give up on Ryou just like that.
Neither would he let her give up on him. He had already admitted that he hated to see her with another one. But he didn't say the words he thought she needed to hear. A simple 'I like you, Ichigo' would be those words.
"Strawberry…"
She glanced up at the entranced blond boy. He was enjoying this moment the most. Being embraced in her arms, and knowing that she just might feel the same way.
"Ryou, I really… I really like you."
He smiled at her. His dream had finally come true. He could feel a faint blush in his cheeks. Avoiding showing Ichigo his weak side, always wanting her to know that he'll be there for her, he began to say the words. "I love you, Strawberry."
The night sky was still dark. You could not see the stars in the middle of the sky. You could not see the moon either. It wasn't raining hard anymore; the rain had begun to just drizzle on the ground. Enough to soak the grass. You could see lightning from far away. You could hear random thundering from far away. You could even hear the confession of young love in the night.
He let out a small sigh as he looked at his Strawberry.
"You know… If you keep doing this, you're going to end up sick."
Rainy day man
Rainy day man
Rainy day man
Rainy day man
End | With All the Questions and All the Reasons
(Written on October 12, 2006)
