Chapter One: Date
"I'm going now, you guys! See ya tomorrow!" Ichigo called, while walking out the door. Masaya was waiting for her just outside of the door.
"Hey, Ichigo. Want to get going now?"
Ichigo smiled at Masaya. "Masaya-san. Sure let's go!"
Ichigo and Masaya walked out to the park. There was dark mist swallowing the swings and slides. Ichigo shivered.
"Ichigo…are you okay? You're cold aren't you? Here." Masaya said softly as he handed her his jacket. Ichigo shook her head.
"No, Masaya-san, it's not that…it's just…should we really be going out at the time of the evening? I mean, look at all that mist. And the street lights are already on. I'm so sorry, Masaya, but I think…I think I need to…"
Masaya shook his head, flicked hair out of his eyes and blinked at Ichigo. "Ichigo…it's no problem. I understand that it's dark and cold and misty, so you want to go home right? That's fine by me. We'll go out on the weekend when it's sunny and bright. Let me walk you home." Masaya said.
"Masaya…"
What's going on with me? I feel weird. When am I ever going to tell Masaya that I'm a Mew Mew…?
Masaya put his arm around Ichigo's waist and pulled her close.
"Don't worry, Ichigo. You'll be safe with me." Masaya whispered.
They approached Ichigo's house and stood on the doorstep, facing each other.
"Masaya…I really am sorry about this. I mean, why do I have to be such a scaredy-cat all the time? It was just a bit of mist. I remember this one time when I was 5-" Ichigo spluttered out. Masaya shook his head again and put his finger to Ichigo's lips. "I told you, Ichigo, its okay. We'll go next weekend. I promise. Good night." Masaya gave Ichigo a hug and kissed her on the lips. He started to walk away and waved at Ichigo behind him. Ichigo waved back and went inside.
The next morning at the café, Ichigo was cleaning the floor and humming happily to herself.
Mint and Pudding peered round the door to see Ichigo.
"Hmm…Ichigo looks strangely happy today…I'm going to ask her to find out." Mint said, while walking through the door.
"Good luck, Mint-san!" Pudding called.
"Hey, Ichigo," Mint called. "What's up? You look really happy today. What happened yesterday with you and Masaya?"
Ichigo blinked at Mint with an expressionless face, and then suddenly burst into fits of giggles. "Oh, absolutely nothing happened. I'm just happy today, because I am."
Mint didn't look like she was buying it.
"Ok, ok. The reason I'm so happy is because-"
Ichigo was cut off by an alarm clock ringing.
"What's that?" Ichigo asked.
"Oh, that's the alarm to remind me to have my afternoon tea." Mint replied.
Ichigo smiled. "Oh, okay. Anyway, why I'm so-" Ichigo was cut off again, but this time, by Mint.
"Aha…Ichigo how many fingers am I holding up?" Mint asked.
"…Three?" Ichigo replied, looking confused.
"Good girl. Now, look at that clock on the wall. What's the time?".
"It's just gone twelve o'clock. Why are you asking me all this?"
"Oh, I'm just making sure you're not blind. Twelve o'clock means twelve o'clock! I need to have my afternoon tea, so I'm not really interested in your petty stories."
Mint walked off into the kitchen and poured hot water into her tea cup. Ichigo sighed and shook her head.
"I don't care if Mint doesn't want to know why I'm so happy," Ichigo thought. "I love Masaya and Masaya loves me. That's all that matters to me right now. We'll be together forever…"
The End of Chapter One