Ryou and Keiichiro were sitting in the basement while the girls were taking orders. "this is not good..." Ryou trailed off. they were both looking at the computer screen, and something was wrong. "What if-" Keiichiro started, but was interrupted by a loud crash from upstairs. "I wonder what Lettuce broke this time..."
Upstairs
"Lettuce! I can't believe you DID this!" Mint screamed as Lettuce desperately tried to clean her up. "Quit! just leave me alone!" she yelled as she ran to the bathroom. Lettuce felt the hot tears flow freely now. "I didn't mean to spill everything on her. I was only trying to-" "What happened?" A very angry Ryou interrupted, seeing the mess on the floor. "Lettuce spilled a tray on Mint na no da." Pudding said, while working the register, and delivering food. Ichigo still wondered how she did that. " It wasn't her fault! she couldn't help the fact that little miss lazy was in her way!" Ichigo said in defense. "Alright everyone, lets all calm down now." Keiichiro said. "Remember-" He whispered. "There are still customers here."
"Well, all I know is that Lettuce should clean this mess up! What exactly happened up here?" Ryou asked. "Well Mint-" Ichigo was cut off. "Not you! Lettuce." Ryou half-yelled. Customers turned to look as they argued, wondering if someone was going to get fired. They looked expectantly as Ryou yelled."Maybe we should close up early."Keiichiro said with a sweatdrop.
After the shop had closed, everyone gathered at a table. "Ok Lettuce. Go ahead and tell us what happened." Zakuro said kindly. "Yes Lettuce. do tell." Mint said in her snobby tone. "Ok, well, I was getting to the table where a family was. The tray was full of things. So as I'm going, I passed Mint. Then, I fell. I guess she tripped me." Lettuce finished nervously, mumbling the last part. "What! I so did not!" Mint yelled. Everyone was looking at her like she was insane. "Ok, what really happened is that, she was walking by me, and she had a tray full of things for a table. When she walked by me, she totally pretended to trip and fall. I know she did it on purpose!" Mint finished.
"Is this true Lettuce?" Ryou asked, looking doubtful. There were a lot of things Lettuce would do, but this was definitely not one."No way! It was an accident, I swear." Lettuce felt the hot tears beginning to come. She blinked them back this time though, and tried to be strong."If Lettuce says it was an accident, I believe her." Zakuro said quietly. "What? How can you take her side?" Mint was yelling now. "It's like your all against me! How can- how can-" Mint stuttered and tears welled up in her eyes. 'No. Don't cry now. Keep it together' She thought. "Mint I'm sorry. It really was an accident! I was just trying to get to the table and I fell! I really am sorry." Lettuce kept repeating over and over again.
"I don't want to hear it." Mint said bluntly. "I can't take anymore of this! I try to work hard here and-" "Wait a minute! You don't do anything but sit on your lazy butt sipping tea like it's the end of the world if you don't have it at exactly the same time every stinking day!" Ichigo interrupted. "I QUIT!" Mint yelled, and ran out of the room.
While she yelled, she noticed that everything seemed unimportant now. Her life seemed to have no meaning. As she ran, she saw everything she thought was important flash before her eyes. her clothes, her house, her hair. she was suddenly aware she was crying. She quickly wiped the tears away, thinking about what she would do next.
She ran back to her house, without dropping pace. her eyes were red and swollen, and her breath was ragged. her legs burned from running those painful miles back home. she slowed and walked into the gates of the Aizawa mansion, only to find her brother and father home. ' Oh great. This will be fun!' She thought sarcastically. She walked in the door as her father and brother were leaving. "Hello dear, how was- wait, are you crying?" Her father asked, puzzled. " She is father! She is crying!" Her brother reported. Seeming as though she didn't hear them, Mint walked up to her room, and slammed the door.
'That's strange.' Mint thought. 'There's usually plenty of maids and butlers around. I haven't seen but maybe five or six.' Wondering if something was wrong, she called for all the maids in the household. Then for all the butlers. 'That's odd. This is only about half of how many work here.' She thought. "Maid Sara, where is everyone?" Mint asked a tall, pretty, brown-haired girl, about twenty years of age. "Your father seems to think that very few of us are needed." She spat.
"Oh no!" Mint almost yelled, but stopped herself just in time. 'This is why I don't like coming home. He thinks he can control everything. But he can't. He just can't.' "I'm going to bed." Mint suddenly announced, unaware that it was only about six o clock. "But Miss Aizawa! It's only six o' clock! You simply can't go to bed this early!" Sara cried. "I can and I will." Mint said, slamming the door to her bedroom. "Well that was pleasant." Sara thought with a sweat drop.
Soon after entering her room and laying down, she fell asleep, and began what she thought would be a pleasant dream. Mint was walking in the park, beside a handsome young man. They were holding hands, and Mint was blissfully aware of it. 'This is so nice! But, I wish I knew who he was.' She looked up at him, but couldn't see his face. Suddenly, they came to a humongous cherry tree. In the top branch, a fat, discolored bird sat pompously. It ruffled it's feathers, and waited patiently for Mint to notice it's presence. When she did, it let out a loud squawk. She was instantly reminded of a crow, and thought, 'How ugly!'
Suddenly, everything went black, and shattered into tiny shards. 'What's going on?' Mint panicked, and tried to transform, only to feel sharp pain, shooting through her body. "What's happening?" She screamed. Her body wavered, as though in a haze, and turned half to her mew form, then flickered back. She didn't know what to do, how to stop it, or how to wake up.
Then, everything grew quiet. Mint's screams ceased, and the breaking sound stopped. the only thing left was the bird, and Mint. "Wh-what are you?" Mint asked the bird. "I am me, and I am you. I am your bird genes. I am the reason why you cannot transform." The bird said.
"Well why are you so weak then?" Mint challenged. "I am weak, because you, my dear, have not found your true love." "True love?"