A Note from ME! Not really much to say. I just want to say, in response to a question a friend of mine asked when she was proof-reading my first Chapter, (No, I don't know what proof-reading means. I just think she wanted to be the first to read it.) Yes, Kisshu, Pai and Taruto are coming back, Yes, Berry is coming back, and yes, and Masaya is coming back. There. You happy, Sophie?
I'm uploading this sooner then I thought because of a certain comment from MMMMMMMEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWW (no, thats not an exageration on the name.) There you go, you happy? I'm just gonna go make sure that all the doors and windows of my house are all locked...
Oh, and I don't own TMM, otherwise, at the end, Masaya would of died a horrible, painful death, Mint would start doing some work, Pudding would of started going out with 'Taru-Taru', Lettuce would of gone out with Pai, Zakuro would of gone out with Keichro, and Ichigo would of gone out with either Kisshu or Ryou.
Chapter 2
The Masaya Problem
Ichigo stirred, digging her face deeper into her pillow. Then she remembered what the pillow was, and abruptly sat up. Breathing hard, she risked a peek at her 'Pillow'. Good. He was still asleep. It was then that she noticed just how peaceful he looked when he was asleep. Ryou's hair was ruffled, a thick lock falling across his face. His normal strict face was free of any previous worry lines, brought on by his constant fight for the survival of himself, the earth, and his 'experiments'. That's what she thought they had meant to him. But, as she lay on her front, staring at his face, she thought of all the times they had been through together, and realised that they were anything but experiments. And now, well… She giggled, and pushed her hand forward, gently brushing his hair out of his eyes, just like he had at the party, a little more then a year ago. She let out a little shriek of surprise when he grabbed her hand.
"It's morning already?" He said, opening his deep, sea-like eyes and smirking slightly at her scream. She blushed.
"I… I didn't know you were awake." She explained, and felt her face go even redder.
"I know you didn't" He said, still grinning. He opened his mouth, as if he was about to say more, but was interrupted by Ichigo's phone. She started in surprise. It was amazing it was still working, considering what she'd been through yesterday. Just as she went to answer it, however, it went to Voice mail.
"Ichigo? Oh, please answer your phone. I heard about the explosion yesterday. I'm worried. Oh my god, listen to me. For all I know, you weren't there. I mean, what proof is there that it was caused by aliens. But, I'm coming home anyway. I'm just about to board… See you soon. Oh, um… it's Masaya." The phone clicked off. Ichigo sat there, staring at the phone for a while. Then, her ears popped up, and she fell forward, her face landing back on Ryou's lap.
"Ichigo? Ichigo, are you OK?" Said Ryou, shaking her. Ichigo nodded. "Ichigo, shouldn't you be happy? Didn't you hear it properly? Aoyama's coming back." He said, forcing optimism into his voice. In reality, he felt anything but optimistic. Why now? He thought. Why, when I'm this close to being able to tell her what I really feel, does He come back?
"That's the problem, Ryou." Ryou? Since when does she call me Ryou? Does that mean… Maybe… He couldn't bring himself to even think it. What if he was wrong and it was nothing?
"What's the problem?"
Ichigo turned over. "I don't love him anymore."
Ichigo headed downstairs, and pulled a large bucket and a mop out from the cupboard. As she waited for the water to heat up, she thought about her and Ryou. Her and Ryou. Even thinking about it made her giggle with joy. Their agreement was to act as normal. Make sure that no one suspected that they were… Well, not going out, exactly, but... She sighed, and hauled the now full bucket out of the sink. As she set about attacking the floor with the heavy mop, she noticed Keiichiro in the kitchen, already baking up his famous cakes. She walked into the Kitchen.
"Morning, Keiichiro!" She said happily. He looked up, and when he saw her, smiled.
"Good Morning, Ichigo" He said in his kind, gentle voice. "You're up early." He finished icing a cake, and set about slicing into equal, neat pieces. "Here, try this for me." He cut a small piece of cake off a larger piece, speared it with a fork, and offered it to her. Just as she reached out to take the fork, someone reached out and took the fork instead. She felt that same person gently turn her round. She blinked in surprise, and looked up at Ryou's face. Gently, he opened her mouth, and fed the piece of cake to her. She closed her mouth, surprised, but not even this sudden bout of unusual affection from Ryou could stop her from savouring the cake. Once again, Keiichiro had out done himself. Taking a new fork, she speared another piece of cake, stood on tiptoe, and fed it to him. The surprise on his face was too much, and she started to laugh. Seeing this, Ryou grinned mischievously, and started to tickle her. Now shrieking with laughter, she stumbled back, tripping. Ryou tried to catch her, just as she tried to steady herself on him, and they both fell. There they rolled, tickling each other and laughing, with a forgotten Keiichiro staring bemused at them. They rolled over, facing each other, each breathless with laughter, and Ryou lend forward and kissed her, causing her to turn back into a cat.
A sudden shriek interrupted them. Pudding bounced into the room from the doorway, where Zakuro, Mint and Lettuce were standing, beaming.
"It's true! It's true! Onee-Sama and Omee-Sama are really in love!" Pudding shrieked, giggling at the same time.
"Pudding!" Ichigo tried to shout, but when all that came out of her mouth was an angry hiss, she remembered that she couldn't. Cats didn't tend to talk. Ryou scooped her up, and kissed her. She changed back, landing in Ryou's arms. Surprised by the sudden weight, he slipped, causing them both to land on the floor for the second time that morning.
Ichigo struggled up, breathless and laughing, and smoothed off her Waitress Outfit.
"Well, we need to finish getting the café ready. We need to open in half an hour." She announced. Lettuce hurried off to get another mop, while Pudding got a brush to sweep the front, and Zakuro dragged Mint over to help wash the baking stuff from Keichro's hard work.
Once they had finished, and Lettuce had gone and changed the sign to open, Ichigo sat down and sighed. She had spent the whole morning sweeping, mopping, drying and scrubbing. It wasn't helped by the fact that Pudding and Mint had both tried to find out how serious Ichigo and Ryou were.
Ryou saw her, and went to sit down in front of her.
"So much for keeping us a secret." He said, grinning. Ichigo smiled. Ryou looked suddenly shifty.
"Hey… boyfriends normally take their girlfriends out, right?" He asked. He seemed to be almost pleading, and he looked so unused to these sorts of questions that Ichigo couldn't help but laugh.
"Yeah, I…I thought so." He suddenly looked up and smiled suddenly, his normal, cocky grin, but there was something else to it. Some sort of… Anticipation. Like he was waiting for her to discover some huge surprise. He stood up, dragging her up to, and hugged her. Then, he turned on his heel, and walked out of the room. Ichigo smiled, and wandered almost aimlessly out. When she walked into the main room – the one they serve the customers in - Mint called to her.
"Hey, Ichigo! What's that in your ribbon?"
Ichigo turned, and saw a slip of paper stuck in the ribbon tied around her waist. She pulled it out, and realised that it was folded in half. Opening it, she read it, and smiled. She then folded it again, and put it in her pocket.
"Ichigo, what did it say?"
"What? Oh, nothing much."
Ichigo read it again in her mind.
Ichigo,
Meet me in the park nearest your
House after the Café has closed.
I'll see you then,
Love Ryou.
A Note from ME! Okay, I'm getting bored of doing the Note from me thing, and it's only the second chapter!
If you want me to stop doing the Note from me thing, include it in your review.
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