SS: Hmm, another action-packed chapter, on its way!

Ichigo: Yes, indeedy-oh.

REVIEWS~!

SoulBear13: Haha, well tough. I did it. But here, have a cookie~! ((gives you a cookie))

1411alexis: I'm glad you've liked the story so far… and… HAPPY BIRTHDAY! ((gives you a cookie))

starlight3395: Great, really? =D I hope you enjoy this chapter~! ((gives you a cookie too))

Thankies to all, and to all a goodnight!

Ryou: WHAT!

SS: Joking, joking, gosh. This chapter is dedicated to 1411alexis ! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I do not own TMM characters. I wish.

Roll chappy!


Thanks

Well, she made it, wheezing and almost collapsing. Ichigo couldn't see anything straight, and everything had a double, or a triple, or a quadruple! She somehow managed to run inside and lock the door shut, before running toward the stairs, and into the bottom of the balustrade. "Ouch!" She exclaimed, freaking out more than a couple of customers here early. She attempted to take the stairs 3 at a time, but kept banging against the wall and stumbling up the stairs, stubbing her toes on the edges repeatedly. Whenever she looked up at the further stairs, they seemed wider and longer than could possibly ever be, and finally, her foot fell through the air where a step should be.

There was that moment, that terrifying one, where you think you have more steps, but there are none, and you think you're falling until your foot hits the ground. She stumbled against the door, and fumbled for the handle, finally grasping and turning it. She stumbled into the room and slammed the door shut behind her, standing there with her legs shoulder-width apart, huffing and puffing like an unfit horse run 10 miles! Or, well… maybe most horses run 10 miles…

She wheezed and slumped down, trying to catch her breath, and she finally caught sight of the several Shirogane's in the room. Shirtless… albeit with jeans on.

"God, Strawberry, hasn't anyone ever taught you to knock?"

Her breath hitched in her throat and she struggled to reply. "Um, uh, er…"

Shirogane snorted at her incoherence, before really looking at her instead of just glancing. She was red-faced, wide-eyed and… crying?

"Hey, Strawberry, are you okay?" He went towards the pile on the ground that was Ichigo and reached out for her. He knelt beside her and gently touched her arm. "What happened?"

"I-I don't know… One minute I was in control, and then the next I was all-" Her voice broke off in a sob, and he sat next to her against the door, their shoulders brushing.

He got up once, to get her a glass of water and some aspirin, but besides that, Shirogane waited next to her on the floor for her to catch her breath. When she stopped crying as well, she mumbled a thanks to him.

"So what did you come in here all frantic about, hm?"

"Masaya." She mumbled again, staring at the floor with the glass in her hands.

Ryou tried not to groan out loud when she said his name. What's he done this time? He thought to himself. He meant to say something a little more kind and comforting, but those exact same words came out of his mouth with exactly the same amount of hatred and disgust as they'd had in his mind.

Ichigo looked up at him in surprise for a second, glancing out of the corner of her eye. She didn't think he'd say anything like that, with such an obvious distaste for the boy. After all, he was the Master of Masks, the unbreakable. At least – he was when it came to pay rises.

"He asked me out." She said glumly, moving her eyes back to the floor.

"What?" Shirogane gave a sharp bark of surprise. He turned and stared at her. "And what did you say?" His voice was suddenly guarded, as if he was carefully gauging her every movement, his eyes trained on her.

"I didn't say anything!" She exclaimed, sounding suddenly frustrated. "I turned and ran."

Ryou snorted. "Good." He sounded almost… proud… triumphant. But he couldn't be, right? Why would he be…?

"I came straight here… what do I say?"

Ryou wanted so badly to tell her she should tell him to piss off and never speak to her again… but something nagged at his mind. 'I came straight here'. That meant she'd come straight here before anyone else… she didn't call her friends, didn't talk to the girls downstairs… And that meant she trusted him to tell her what he thought was best for her.

His mouth struggled to say the words he was trying to force himself to say. "W-Well. You…" He took a deep breath. Now or never, Ryou. Now or never to gain her trust. "You listen to what you think your heart is telling you… what did you feel when he spoke to you."

"Well," it almost hurt Ryou too much to see the look on her face, the flush on her cheeks as she went back to that moment, "I felt betrayal… and hurt… and…" she glanced up at Ryou, surprised to find herself saying, "forgiveness."

Ryou's heart clenched when she said that, fear's cold hand grabbing it him, trying to drag him down. He didn't want to lose her!

Wait a minute… He didn't want to lose her?

If he cared this much then that would mean…

No… never… he couldn't possibly…

He groaned.

"Ryou?" She looked at him as if afraid he hated her for what she said.

"Huh? Oh, nothing Strawberry… hey, you just called me Ryou."

Her face flushed, more than when she thought about Masaya. "No I didn't." She replied too quickly.

"Yes, you did." A grin began to break out on Ryou's face while Ichigo struggled to keep her calm.

"No I didn't!"

"I'm pretty sure I heard what you said!"

"I'm pretty sure I'd know what I said!"

"Obviously you don't." He teased.

"Obviously you need you're hearing checked!" She was all but yelling now.

"Obviously you need your memory checked… or maybe it's just selective memory."

"I do not! I think I'd know what I said!" She fumed and sprung up agilely on two feet, almost falling back over again, staring at him accusingly.

"Strawberry, sweetheart," he also got to his feet, smirking as she turned beet red. "It's okay. You can admit it." She narrowed her eyes, not quite seeing where this was going until he said it.

"It's okay to be in love with me."

Ichigo's jaw dropped and she stood there gaping like a fish for a few moments before she started pointlessly opening and closing her jaw. Finally, when she realized she wasn't getting anywhere, she made a frustrated sound from the back of her throat before she turned and opened the door, leaving and slamming it behind her.

Ryou stood there grinning at the door for a long time, until the grin faded to a smile, and the smile turned into a sigh.

Well. You couldn't always have what you want, but at least he was closer than he'd been in a long time.

Ichigo stormed down the stairs to find an empty café. How long had she been up there? The chairs were stacked on the table, and she felt surprised to find out there was only one mew left besides her.

"Lettuce-chan?"

The green-haired girl turned to face Ichigo. Neither were in their work clothes. "Ah, Ichigo-san. I was just leaving, and you should too." She smiled. "Everyone else had to leave early, so we just sort of closed up early."

"I'm sorry, I was, um…" She fumbled around for words.

"No need for an explanation Ichigo-san, as long as you work harder next time~!" The girl giggled as Ichigo gave her a vigorous nod, before she skipped out of the café.

And finally, Ichigo realized something. She walked towards the kitchen where there was a notepad and a pen sitting on the bench. She scribbled something down on the paper before sticking it against a wall where it couldn't be missed. Then she turned off the lights and turned to leave.

Because she wasn't upset anymore. She smiled as she walked out of the dark café, locking the doors behind her.

Thanks.


SS: Aww! It was a bit, sort of, depressing at the start, but I tried… I promise the next few chapters will be more… humorous… or I'll try for them to be…!

Ryou: That… hardly made sense.

SS: Ah, but it did~!

Ichigo: Kay. So, Weekend next. Hmm. What will transpire?

SS: Review to find out~!