CHAPTER ONE: Lost in Love
A warm spring day, yet I'm stuck inside Café Mew Mew, working my butt off. I don't really understand why I have to work my time away laboriously, you know what I mean? Cleaning up messes, serving customers, washing dishes. It's all part of my daily work routine as a Café Mew Mew waitress. You see, I'm part of a five member alliance called Tokyo Mew Mew. We work together to rid the earth of all things evil. There's me, Mew Ichigo, and the others, Minto, Retasu, Purin, and Zakuro. Of course, there has to be bad guys in the story, right? A group of aliens who are searching for Mew Aqua are the bad guys. They try to destroy the Mew Mews! How evil can they get? Nobody knows for sure, but we Mew Mews can get rid of them!
"Ichigo!" Zakuro called to me from behind. I turned around to see a huge mess of spilled tea and broken china fragments on the floor. Mew Zakuro was holding a mop, and a bucket of water sat next to her. "Clean up this mess!"
"Why don't you?" I shot back. I was tired of cleaning for the day, and the regular work day was almost over.
"'Cause I don't feel like it," She replied simply and walked away, leaving the mop limply against the nearest table. I sighed deeply and began to clean up the mess, even though I sure didn't want to.
"Oh, finally." Exhausted as I was, I used a rag to finish up polishing the tables. All the other girls were already standing in the doorway, along with Ryou and Keiichiro, ready to go home and rest.
"Ichigo, hurry up! We're already closing up and you're still in your uniform?" That was Ryou, blabbing his head off.
"Easy, Ryou!" Keiichiro scolded him. "Ichigo has been working really hard, and I think that she deserves a raise."
All eyes in the room were on me.
"Wow, thanks Keiichiro!" I danced around happily, expressing my joy. I knew all that hard work would pay off one day!
"Well hurry up and change anyway." Ryou sounded defeated, and I gave him that 'in your face' look before I rushed into the back room to change.
"It's about time you got outta there," Minto said stubbornly as I came out of the back room, carrying my pink work clothes in the crook of my arm.
"I'm so exhausted and hungry!" Pudding exclaimed and everyone agreed. "I feel like I could eat so much and then sleep for years!" I nodded happily and laughed. After enjoying ourselves a little bit, we finally decided to go home and relax. I was the last person to go out, so I shut off the lights and locked the doors. When I got outside, the weather was chilly, and the first stars in the sky were already showing their luminous streaks. I shivered lightly but walked steadily on, knowing that the faster I got home, the more I could relax.
At last I got home and knew that there would be time for me now to watch a movie and drink hot tea with honey. Both of my parents were at work (they work late at night), so I was usually home alone when I came home. I put on my favorite Japanese movie and started watching it.
I was watching the movie for less than an hour when I heard a knock on my door. I paused my movie, got up, and opened the door.
"Aoyama-kun!" I shouted with surprise and led him inside. I embraced him in a big hug, and then motioned for him to sit down next to me on the couch. Shyly, I put my head on his shoulder, but he didn't seem to mind. Quietly, I whispered, "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to be with you," Masaya replied. I felt myself turn red. Thankfully, though, Masaya didn't notice, and we continued watching the movie quietly.
Finally it was over, and I was getting really hungry.
"Ichigo, you must be really hungry," He exclaimed after my stomach released a loud growl. I blushed again and laughed. "Yeah."
"Do you want to go get something to eat?" Masaya inquired. It was as if he was reading my mind about me being hungry.
I grinned and replied, "Sure! Thanks, Masaya."
"Okay, then. Let's go." He opened the door for me and I walked out, blushing and grinning like a complete idiot. I was so happy that Masaya was in my life.
AFTER THE DATE
Masaya and I arrived at the door, tired from the small date that we had together.
"Well, I guess it's time for me to go," I said quietly and turned away. Suddenly, Masaya grabbed my hand and yelled, "Wait, Ichigo." I turned around again.
"Hu-" He interrupted me with a passionate kiss. My eyes closed slowly as I faded into the kiss. I wished that it would never end…
At long last, it did. Everything seemed different then it was before. I stood before Masaya, hypnotized by what just happened, until his voice pierced through my head.
"All right. Bye, Ichigo." Masaya looked deeply into my eyes for what seemed an eternity, then opened the door to his car. I went to my front door and rested my hand gently on the doorknob. I heard the engine of his car buzzing, quieter and quieter as Masaya drove farther away from me.
"This night was perfect…" I told myself quietly and turned the doorknob to open the door. I walked in and closed the door again, but when I turned around, a shadow suddenly grabbed me and whispered in my ear.
"Kitty, you better not go on another date with that foolish bastard. You might get…HURT!" The figure dropped me to the ground with force and disappeared. Tears climbed down my face and I stared at the emptiness of my house in horror, confusion, and pain.
END OF CHAPTER ONE
