Chapter Three: Hurt
We're opening sweets shops? Thought Ichigo, a bit nervous. Managing a whole store at sixteen years old seemed scary yet exciting at the same time. Ichigo smiled at the idea but a whole lot of negative thoughts also bombarded her mind. She tried to shake those thoughts out of her mind.
"Anyway," said Henri-sensei, "With that announced; I want you all to rest up and go back to St Marie Academy. Think up some ideas about the décor and theme of your shop. Also what kinds of sweets you're going to be selling. There are other things you should think about also, but I'll let you figure that out for yourselves. You'll be given a limited budget to manage your store. Lastly, do you all want to participate in this project?"
"Definitely!" said Johnny and Lemon in unison, grinning happily.
"Yeah, why not?" said Kashino. All of them looked expectantly at Ichigo, including the Spirits.
"I'll do it!" she smiled.
"Great," smiled Henri-sensei, "I'll see you all tomorrow."
With that, he and his assistant Sully walked away.
"Yay! Running a shop together with Ichigo and Lemon!" said Johnny, the minute they were gone, picking up Lemon first, "Round and round you go~!"
"Ahhh!" screamed Lemon.
After about five spins, Lemon was finally put down. She held her head, a little bit uncoordinated. Mint flew to her, concerned.
"I-I'm fine," assured Lemon.
Suddenly, Kashino was in front of Ichigo in a protective stance like the way a wild animal might protect its young or love. Ichigo blushed at the thought of that.
"Don't you even think about it," said Kashino in a deadly voice.
"Geez, so defensive, little boy," said Johnny, frowning but shrugged, "Oh well. I'll see you soon anyway, baby," he said, looking past Kashino at Ichigo and winked.
"OI!" said Kashino and Ichigo nearly jumped at how aggressive he sounded.
Johnny rolled his eyes, "Geez." He turned around and walked off the balcony type thing. Lemon followed closely behind, "I'll just leave now. See you soon, Kashino-sempai, Ichigo-sempai."
"Bye bye!" waved Mint.
"Bye," said the two and their Spirits. As Lemon went down a flight of stairs back to the ground, Ichigo turned to Kashino, "What was that?"
"Nani?" said Kashino.
"About Johnny. You didn't have to be so aggressive with him. He's just being Johnny."
"He could just greet people normally and talk normally without picking people up all the time," said Kashino, obviously angry.
"There's nothing wrong with it," insisted Ichigo, "Lemon and I aren't hurt or anything. Maybe this thing is very common in America."
"Trust me, it's not," said Kashino, walking back towards the stairs, "Anyway, I'm going to go back first. You better hurry. The train is leaving soon."
Once he was out of her sight, Ichigo let out a frustrated sigh, "Why do they have to hate each other before we even open the shop? Why do they hate each other anyway?"
"Who knows…" said Vanilla, "It must be a male thing."
DAMMIT, ICHIGO, WHY ARE YOU SO DENSE? Vanilla screamed in her head.
"Maybe," said Ichigo, sighing, "Johnny and Kashino are both really good patissiers but it won't work unless they work together." She walked towards the stairs herself since she had to get back to the academy soon, "I just hope they won't argue anymore."
"They're professionals," said Vanilla, "I'm sure they won't fight while managing a shop."
"I hope so…" said Ichigo, "But Marie's Garden really is beautiful. We'll manage a great sweets shop, right, Vanilla?"
"Yeah!" nodded Vanilla, smiling.
Ichigo walked out of Marie's Garden, looking back once; can we really manage a shop?
"Ichigo!" called Vanilla, flying ahead, "Come on! You're going to miss the train back!"
"Y-Yeah!" said Ichigo, hurrying ahead, "When does the train leave?"
"5 minutes," replied Vanilla.
"NANI?" yelled Ichigo, sprinting ahead, "Why didn't you tell me that earlier?"
"Because I forgot!" said Vanilla, "But run! Or you'll miss the rest of your classes and Kashino's cooking date!"
"Huh?" said Ichigo, suddenly remembering, "AH! KASHINO! I FORGOT!"
"Yes, that's obvious," said Vanilla, "Hurry!"
"Do you know how hard it is to run in a dress?" said Ichigo, "I'm going as fast as I can!"
4 and a quarter of a minute later…
"We're finally here!" panted Ichigo, leaning on the entrance to the train station, "Just wait a minute…"
"We have no minute! Come on!" cried Vanilla, taking one of Ichigo's fingers and trying to pull her along and failing to do so, of course.
"Hai, hai, I'm coming…" said Ichigo, walking along, "Where's my train supposed to come in, anyway?"
"Right… here…?" said Vanilla, flying to the edge of the platform and looking out. The back of the train greeted her, "EH? ICHIGO! WE MISSED OUR TRAIN!"
"NANI?" cried Ichigo, crying anime-style, "Why…?"
"Hey, baby, you need a ride?" asked a familiar voice.
"No, but thanks for asking," said Ichigo, still crying anime-style.
"Uh…" said the blonde American.
"Eh?" said Ichigo, abruptly stopped crying and turning around, "Johnny! What are you still doing here? Did you miss the train?"
"No," said Johnny, "I didn't even come here on a train. I have a motorbike."
"A motorbike?" said Ichigo.
"Yeah," said Johnny, "Anyway, do you want a ride or not?"
"Ichigo, you haven't got a choice," said Vanilla, hidden under her hair again.
Ichigo nodded, "Yes, thank you, Johnny!"
Soon…
"WHAT?" cried Johnny in disbelief, "You're telling me you've NEVER rode on a motorbike?"
"Never," said Ichigo, "Otou-san always told me and Natsume they weren't safe." She remembered an instant when she was about seven.
Flashback
A young Ichigo and even younger Natsume walked along the street with their parents when a motorbike suddenly zoomed by. Ichigo, being Ichigo, was instantly impressed and interested and turned around to her father, "Ne, ne, papa, can I have a go on one of those?" She pointed to the motorbike as it made a dangerous turn on the road, narrowly missing an oncoming car. Obviously the rider wasn't the safest person to be with.
"It does look interesting," said Natsume, "Onegai, papa?"
Her father was vigorously shaking his head, "NO! NO! OVER MY DEAD BODY WILL YOU EVER GET ON SUCH A THING!"
End Flashback
"Well, maybe your father's right," nodded Johnny, considering this, "… IF you were riding with someone inexperienced! But don't worry with me; I'll get you back safely, I promise! Just get on and hold on tight!"
Ichigo hesitantly climbed on and sat there, "Ano… where do I hold on?"
Johnny fell down, anime-style with his feet up but immediately got back up, "Wow, you've really never been on a motorbike before! You wrap your arms around me."
"E-EH?" cried Ichigo, her face turning a deep red and steam rising from her.
"Ichigo, just do it!" hissed Vanilla, "How else are you supposed to get back?"
"I know!" whispered Ichigo, "You don't have to be so pushy!" She wrapped her arms around Johnny's torso as he placed a helmet on her head, "Does that fit right?"
"Y-Yeah," nodded Ichigo as he put his own helmet on his head.
"OK! LET'S GO!" cheered Johnny, revving up the engine. It gave an almighty roar, louder than Ichigo expected but bearable, and zoomed off.
Ichigo's stomach gave a flip and her grip on Johnny tightened until she was sure she was crushing his ribs. Johnny didn't seem to mind, concentrating on driving and dodging cars.
"Whee!" cheered Vanilla from under Ichigo's hair, "Ichigo, this is fun! We never have stuff like this in the Sweets Kingdom! Aren't you having fun, Ichigo?"
Ichigo smiled and gradually began enjoying the wind in her hair, her trust in Johnny rising, "Yeah!"
As Kashino arrived at the gates of St Marie Academy, he noticed Lemon standing outside them, "Kashino-sempai!"
"Chocolat-sempai!" greeted Mint.
"Hey," said Kashino. He looked around, "Where's Amano and Johnny?" He had planned on waiting for Ichigo at the train station when he arrived to make sure she stayed out of trouble but he never saw her.
Maybe she's already left, Kashino had thought at the time. Now he wasn't so sure.
"I haven't seen her," replied Lemon, sounding worried, "I thought she would come back with you. Johnny hasn't come back either but he did take his motorbike which should take longer to arrive here I suppose."
Kashino nodded. Johnny's lateness made sense but not Ichigo's. He took out his phone, scrolling through his contacts until he reached hers and called it, holding the phone to his ear, "Geez, if she somehow got stuck on the train, had to get off at the next stop and meets some foreigner playboy again…"
"A-Ano, Kashino-sempai…?" said Lemon, backing away from a dark energy that suddenly surrounded the blonde.
"Do you hear something ringing?" asked Ichigo as she heard a faint ringing but it was overpowered by the engine's roar and the wind whistling in her ear.
"No," answered Vanilla, "It's probably just the wind."
"Yeah, that must be it," said Ichigo.
"WHEE!" they both cheered as Johnny laughed, pleased Ichigo was enjoying herself.
"Why isn't she picking up?" asked Kashino darkly, disconnecting the call and snapping his phone shut, "Dammit, Amano, if you get in trouble again…"
"Are you worried?" asked Chocolat, interested. She had gotten a message from Vanilla through her fork and knew exactly where they were so she wasn't concerned. Kashino was still completely oblivious of his feelings so she wanted to hint subtly.
"Of course I am!" said Kashino, "That girl's attracts trouble like a magnet!"
"You know, you didn't worry when Johnny picked up Lemon but you did when he was about to pick up Ichigo."
Kashino flinched, "T-That's…" He blushed a faint pink as he searched for an answer, finding none.
Chocolat smiled smugly at the blush that was clear on his face, it seems the two years didn't affect his feelings for Ichigo. The boy's as helpless and clueless as ever.
Just then, the bell rang for class. Kashino didn't move, his eyes fixed on the road, waiting for her to come back.
"Kashino-sempai, I'm going to class," said Lemon, "If Ichigo-sempai is in class, I'll let you know."
"Yeah," said Kashino, not turning around.
As Lemon went away, a few minutes passed. Chocolat flew concernedly in the air as ten minutes passed. Were Vanilla and Ichigo really okay?
What are those two doing? Thought Chocolat bitterly. She flew down to Kashino, "Kashino, you can go to class. I'll keep watch out here."
"I'm not leaving until I see her," said Kashino.
Chocolat opened her mouth but couldn't find a reply. Instead she smiled, that's the way, Kashino.
Just then, a roaring sound interrupted their conversation. As they looked up, a motorbike came into their view and stopped near them. A girl got off the back and took off her helmet. She looked at Kashino, surprised, "Kashino?"
"Amano!" said Kashino, "Where were you?"
"Don't worry; she was safe with me," said the driver, taking off his helmet.
"Johnny!" said Kashino, "What happened anyway for you to go on a motorbike?" he asked Ichigo.
"I missed the train," said Ichigo. Kashino and Chocolat fell down, feet up anime-style.
"Are you kidding?" yelled Kashino. He shut his eyes and frowned. Of course it had to be something like that.
"Hey, boy…" said Johnny, walking up to stand next to Ichigo, "Don't tell me… someone like you was worried?"
"Johnny," said Ichigo, blushing again.
"No!" Kashino's first reaction was. Then he realised how uncaring he sounded and talked to cover it up, "Why should I worry?" He turned around and walked away.
"Kashino…" said Ichigo, the hurt plain on her face.
Kashino Makoto! Thought Chocolat, slapping her hand to her face and flying after him, "Kashino!"
Once she caught up with him around the stairs leading into the building, Chocolat opened her mouth, "What was that?" she demanded.
Kashino paused and leaned his head against one of the stone pillars, "I don't know."
"Huh," said Johnny, "'Why should I worry'," he copied Kashino's voice, "Don't worry about him Ichigo. Hey, let's go for a ride. It'll cheer you up." He put his arm around her and sounded hopeful.
"I'm going to class," said Ichigo, walking into the school, shrugging off his arm. She turned around, "Thank you for bringing me back to school." Then she walked towards the cooking room where her class was.
"Ichigo," said Vanilla, flying next to her, "Are you okay?"
"Yes," said Ichigo, a second too quickly. Although she made it clear she didn't want to talk on the topic anymore. Vanilla respected that and stayed quiet. Ichigo got changed into her usual cooking outfit and tied up her hair.
As she went into the classroom, the teacher Ameya-sensei walked over, "Amano, you're late. Do you have a late slip or any sort of excuse?"
"Gomenasai, but no," said Ichigo, "I just missed the train while coming back to school."
Ameya-sensei sighed. Naturally Ichigo. It was no real big surprise. She had a soft spot for her though and decided to excuse her this time, "OK, Amano. I'll excuse this one and only one time. Please report to your cooking station. We're making mille crepes for our first cooking session this year."
Ichigo almost laughed. The first cooking she'd ever done at St Marie Academy was mille crepes too. She nodded, "Hai. Thank you, Ameya-sensei." She walked to Rumi and Lemon who were already working.
"Ichigo-sempai!" said Lemon, "You're back!"
"Yeah," smiled Ichigo, "I just missed the train."
Rumi and Lemon sweat-dropped, "Okay…"
"Anyway, what can I do?" asked Ichigo, rolling up her sleeves.
Rumi smiled and handed her a large bowl and a whisk, "You can combine the ingredients while Lemon and I work on the decorating stuff."
"Okay!" smiled Ichigo, mixing the ingredients and poured some into a pan. She tried to concentrate but Kashino kept appearing in her head. Why should I worry?
Kashino… did he mean that? Thought Ichigo, tears threatening to come.
"Ichigo, it's burning!" said Vanilla.
"Huh?" said Ichigo, snapping back to reality and looking at the burning crepe, "Ah!"
"Eh?" said Rumi, looking up from cutting strawberries, "Ah! It's burnt!"
"Gomenasai!" said Ichigo.
Rumi gave a little laugh, "Don't mind, Ichigo! We still have plenty of time; just make some more! I'll keep an eye on it too."
"Talk about déjà vu," said Vanilla, "Can you remember an incident like this 2 years ago, too?"
"Vanilla!" said Ichigo quietly, tipping some mixture into the pan and throwing out the burnt crepe.
The rest of the crepes were made perfectly and decorated beautifully with whipped cream and strawberries.
"Spectacular," said Ameya-sensei as she cut a bit and ate it, "As expected from A Group. Even though one member is missing."
"Yeah, Johnny…" said Lemon.
"Although, none the less, remarkable," sad Ameya-sensei, "I'm giving you top marks for this one. That is a wonderful achievement. You all may go to your next class after you've cleaned up." She took notes down on her clipboard and proceeded to the next cooking station.
"Did you hear that, Ichigo?" cried Rumi, turning and grinning at her, "Top marks for our first sweet this year! Ichigo?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah, it's great!" said Ichigo, trying her best to sound excited, despite her sad feelings.
"Ichigo-sempai…" said Lemon, looking at her concernedly.
"Ichigo-chwan," said Mint, flying above Lemon's head.
"Did I just hear something?" asked Rumi, a confused look on her face, "Well, whatever. We have to clean up so, come on!"
As Ichigo rinsed the mixing bowl under cold water, her mind still wandered. Kashino… Did he really mean what he said?
Kashino's egg broke, the white and yolk going everywhere. He flinched. He hardly ever broke eggs.
"REALLY, KASHINO?" bellowed Chocolat which most of the egg had landed on, "ARE YOU DOING THIS ON PURPOSE NOW OR SOMETHING? DON'T THINK I'VE FORGOTTEN THAT THIS HAPPENED TWO YEARS AGO AS WELL!"
"Sorry, Chocolat," said Kashino as he cleaned up the mess. His class were each focussing on individual projects this session so luckily he didn't get in anyone else's way.
Chocolat looked at his frustrated expression and decided he already had enough to worry about without her screaming in his face. She folded her arms and shut her eyes, "Fine. I'll let it slide. For now." She hoped she sounded more serious than she looked with egg shells in her hair.
"Thank you," said Kashino as he began shaping some marzipan. He was making a chocolate cake which was already baking in the oven. He would decorate it with marzipan figures and drizzle some chocolate over it for the final touch. He finished shaping his first marzipan as Chocolat cried from the stove, "Kashino! The chocolate's past its heating limit! You've turned the fire up too high!"
"Crap!" said Kashino rushing over to the stove. Just as Chocolat said, the chocolate had been heated too much and its temperature was too high. It couldn't be used anymore.
"Damn it," muttered Kashino. He still had time to make some more chocolate to drizzle the cake with but he hated wasting chocolate. Although, in the state the chocolate was, it couldn't be used for anything and still taste good.
"Kashino…" said Chocolat. He isn't concentrating… I don't know whether it's a good sign since he recognises his mistake in saying what he did or a bad sign since he'll flunk out of his classes at this rate. Next time, he won't have enough time to redo anything.
As class ended…
The rest of the class had already went back to their rooms or to the Salon de Marie as classes ended. Kashino was the only one left in the cooking room.
"So I suppose since Amano's coming here, we'll just wait, right?" said Kashino. He had already cleaned up everything and just had to wait for Ichigo so they could start making sweets together like the old times. Kashino smiled. He had more fun than he could have ever imagined since Ichigo had joined their group.
"Yeah," said Chocolat.
As the bell rang, signalling the end of class, Ichigo started packing up her books in French class. As she shoved the book in her bag, Vanilla flew close to her, "Finally! Now you have that cooking session with Kashino!"
"Yeah," said Ichigo, getting out of her seat and following the rest of the students out of the door. Then, unexpectedly, she turned in the opposite direction than the cooking room.
"Eh? Ichigo!" said Vanilla, flying after her, "The cooking room's that way!"
"I know," said Ichigo, making no move to turn around, "I'm not going."