Authors Note: OMG! I totally messed up! okay... this is a good explanation for those confused souls out there. okay, this Ryou and ichigo, they're not from the time with Tokyo Mew Mew. this is WAAAY before TMM... k? the ichigo and ryou in this story, are a generation of the previous lines of ichigo and ryou.

that means that the ichigo and ryou they were talking about are 100 years before they're time... which is alot of years before the TMM we know today. Get it?

And with her having a crush on her cousin... alot of families back then had inter-family marriages so they could keep the wealth within the family. so thats ok if ichigo has a crush on her cousin (i promise you that they're like 5th cousins or sumthin...)

would it be more easier if i told u that ichigo and ryou and the real TMM supposedly are reincarnations of the original ryou, ichigo, and mayasa? anywayz... i made them all hav the same name (even the other mews) cuz it'll be reallly confusing if i didnt... that okay? if not... i'll be happy to change they're names but U hav to giv me names since im horrible at making up names.

and with the other mews.. o this is going to get confusing and this is getting too long... just review it to me if u don't understand...

Ok... now im getting on with the story... i really hope u got wat i just explained...

Disclaimer: I dont have to complain about anything!

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Previous Chapter:

Ichigo sneezed, and her nose was getting red.

"That's just perfect!" Ichigo thought to herself, she was getting a cold.

Mint stopped by her room looking quite happy.

"Looks like somebody's thinking about our young strawberry!" said Mint, skipping down the hallway, leaving Ichigo confused about what she said.

Little did she know that she would be seeing Ryou sooner than she thought…

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Chapter 4

"MAMA! I'M GOING OUT TO TOWN WITH RETASU! MAY I PLEASE? WE'RE JUST GOING TO BUY SOME DRESSES!" yelled Ichigo, still determined to try to tie her corset.

"Yes darling... that would be absolutely wonderful! I haven't seen your friend in years! You know... she was a beautiful girl. Pity she wears those glasses now..." her mother replied, walking past her bedroom.

"Thank you mama! Retasu and I will be back soon, I promise! I will also buy each of us Christmas presents!" Ichigo said. Ichigo started thinking about how she and Retasu were allowed to be friends. Usually, Ichigo wasn't allowed to get really close to Ryou descendants unless it was parties (all her father's fault, he's picky about them).

Today was only a few weeks after the getting together party. It is getting nearer to Christmas. Retasu and Ichigo are not inter-related like most of the friends she had. Retasu was in the family of Zakuro. The families of Zakuro, Retasu, Ichigo, Pudding, and Mint were often mixed (though this time Mint and Ichigo are sisters) in marriages. Retasu was both from Zakuro and Ryou (no they never married or were ever together). The descendent of Ryou fell in love with a descendent of Zakuro and there was Retasu.

Ichigo reasoned this with herself as she started to go down the stairs. Personally, she hadn't seen Retasu for years yet Retasu sent letters to her often. She was supposed to meet Retasu in Bery Square. As she exited her bedroom door, she saw Mint passing by her.

"Mint! I'm going to Bery Square to meet Retasu! See you later!" Ichigo said bubbling with excitement to see Retasu.

"Sure... erm... Ichigo? Oh never mind..." Mint murmured, but Ichigo closed the door before she even said it. Ichigo didn't notice the frown on Mint's face as she passed by, nor did she notice a diamond ring hanging from a silver chain around her neck, that was hanging around her neck at the end of the party a few weeks ago.

"Mistress Mint, your parents want you to meet them in the library. They said they have made a decision." said a maid a few moments later. Mint's frown changed to a look of worry as she followed the maid to the family library.

Meanwhile, Ichigo was happily skipping down the cobble road to Bery Square. At first, she hesitated.

"Nobody's here to see me though! Nobody comes past here!" Ichigo reasoned with herself. Soon, Ichigo was at Bery Square. There was a Christmas Tree, a gigantic one, exactly in the middle of the square. Ichigo started looking for Retasu around the square.

"ICHIGO!" yelled a familiar voice nearby.

"Huh?" said Ichigo, looking back. Green hair, glasses, books inside her arms... RETASU!

"RETASU! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S REALLY YOU!" squealed Ichigo, running back to meet her friend.

"Neither can I! Can you believe that last time we met was when we were 8! Oh my goodness Ichigo, I would never have known you would actually become a lady! You always seemed like the wild one out of all of us!" Retasu teased. Ichigo just smiled. A chilly wind blew in their faces, and Ichigo put her hood closer, and her hands in the pockets of her warm leather cloak.

"C'mon Retasu! Let's go and buy some gifts for Christmas!" said Ichigo, her cheeks starting to get pink because of the icy wind blowing over the whole square.

"Sure, it is quite cold out here..." agreed Retasu, nodding.

"So what do you want for a Christmas present Retasu?" asked Ichigo while they walked to the bustling part of the village, filled with many stores. The sky was a bit dim, and the windows and light coming through were yellow. They passed by a toy shop where there were many children looking through the window, their eyes in awe.

"Erm... well... I would like the story... Wings..." blushed Retasu. Ichigo gave her a confused look.

"I thought you already read that story!" Ichigo told her.

"Well, remember, that was YOUR book. Wings was a lovely story, and I would like to add it to my own collection of books..." said Retasu, giving an expressionless face.

"But... let me think... you read my book, which I only know the important details of... when I WAS 6! WE ARE NOW 15!" said Ichigo, in shock.

"I don't see your point..." murmured Retasu, giving her an even weirder look than Ichigo gave her.

"My point is that it's been 9 years... and you haven't gotten your favorite book!" Ichigo told her, laughing at the same time. Retasu just blushed.

"Well anyway, sure I'll get you that! And plus, maybe you'd like other stories. I know that you love romance novels, so I'll see what is most bought now!" said Ichigo bubbly.

"What do you want for Christmas?" asked Retasu shyly.

"Good ol' Retasu! You can always count on her being the most innocent..." thought Ichigo to herself. Then the fact hit her of what she wanted for Christmas. What does she want for Christmes?

"Erm... I want a... new dress I guess!" said Ichigo hesitantly. Retasu just smiled.

"That's a very lady-like thing you want!" said Retasu enthusiastically. Ichigo laughed as well, but drifted to the question to what she did want for Christmas. A dress would be nice for Christmas, yet her heart wasn't exactly set on what it wants.

"Retasu... maybe I don't want a dress... but I don't know what I want..." Ichigo stammered. Retasu just looked at her, and looked at her seriously.

"Oh dear... Ichigo thats alright, I'll give you a dress anyway! But you know what? Your heart does know what it wants, but your head just doesn't get it. It's like a delayed reaction... so what do you think Mayasa would like?" said Retasu, smiling.

Ichigo blushed, "How does everybody know I like Mayasa?"

"Shouldn't we buying presents?" said Retasu slyly, not answering Ichigo's answer.

"Sure..." said Ichigo blushing, knowing that Retasu wasn't the person to tell straight out what she wanted.

"So what do you want to get Mayasa?" asked Retasu quietly.

"I don't really know... I know that he loves plants though! Maybe I'll just get him a book about trees!" said Ichigo, her voice falsely enthusiastic.

"That's not a bad idea you know... did you hear about the Christmas party?" Retasu asked.

"Retasu, you must be joking! Of course I heard of the party, it's held in Zakuro's home!" said Ichigo happily.

"Of course..." stammered Lettuce, blushing.

"Do you remember when we met Zakuro?" asked Ichigo, thinking back on how they met.

"Of course! That was when you were in awe of her because she's like the girl with the perfect looks..." said Retasu.

"YOU WERE TOO!" Ichigo squealed, and blushed in embarassment.

"So... have you found anyone for you yet?" asked Retasu quietly.

"You are sure getting romantic about these things... how about you?" countered Ichigo.

"I think I have found him..." Retasu blushed, yet she said it in a breathy voice.

There was an awkward silence between them for a while. They just went around the shops, not really buying anything as they intended. The thing that Ichigo had an eye was a bell on a table in a store they entered. It seemed to be the only one left in stock.

"Oh my goodness, I'm taking these bells to a whole new level..." thought Ichigo to herself as she looked at it. She went to get a closer look while Retasu wandered off to look at something else.

The chain, or more it was a ribbon. It was a pink silk ribbon that felt smooth to the touch. The bell was silver and in a form of something like a heart. Ichigo hadn't noticed how long she was looking at it, for Retasu seemed to be really busy, and nobody except a certain someone came to talk to her.

"You seem to be very fond of that bell... though I find it strange that you haven't bought it yet," said a familiar blonde boy. Ichigo turned around, not knowing who exactly was talking to her, and was about to yell at him. She never noticed how close he was, for when she turned around, their faces were a few centimeters apart from each other.

"Oh... hiiii Ryou..." Ichigo slurred, obviously embarassed of being that close to him. She backed up and watched his eyes travel to the bell she was still holding.

'Why do I get this feeling around him and not Mayasa?' thought Ichigo to herself.

"So are you going to buy that?" asked Ryou.

"No! Of course not! I mean why would I buy a bell? I was just looking at it..." said Ichigo quickly, putting the bell back so abruptly on the table where she found it, that it fell.

"Ok..." said Ryou quietly, still eyeing the bell, "then I'll buy it!"

"WHAT!" Ichigo panicked. She was planning to buy the bell for herself...

"What? What's wrong? I thought you didn't like it?" Ryou teased, a smirk starting to form on his face.

"No, nothing's wrong... I don't like it..." said Ichigo, trying to hold herself together, yet she was failing miserably. She was a klutz, acting like one, as well as looking like one.

"Ok... if nothing's wrong... I'll take it!" said Ryou.

Ichigo watched on sadly as Ryou exited the store with a parcel containing the bell in one arm, and another box with holes in the other.

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R&R

Sorry for the long wait... it's kinda sad. This chapter has been here saved and completed for weeks now and I was just lazy to put it up