I do not own Tokyo Mew Mew, nor do I own any of the characters that take part in this fanfiction. Key Word : Fan.

(Written on September 27, 2006)
Chapter 10 | Jealousy Runs Deep

Ichigo stayed on the ground as Ryou's last words repeats throughout her mind. It seems to be in a complete shocked state of mind. She knows she heard his words exactly what he said. There would be no mistaking it this time. He told her he's the only one able to kiss her.

It was true. She wasn't going to argue with that. He was the only one that she wanted to kiss. He was the only one that she wanted to be with. Ryou was the one that made her fluttered, her heart raced and drew her mind utterly blank. There was no one else that she wanted to be near. No one could fill his spot.

A muffled voice called out to her.

She managed to get up sometime after she heard Ryou's calling voice. He said he would be back later. She swears it was the first time he ever did such a thing. She brushed off the dirt from her pants. Grabbing her books, she left the cafe. Now she really had to do it.

She arrived home just a little past five o'clock. She had giggled or dozed herself in multiple fantasies on the way home. She was exactly like a wild fan girl. She decided that she would tell Mint what had happened, after all, Mint is her best friend. She walked up to her bedroom after she grabbed the portable phone. She dialled the numbered.

"Hai! Is Mint there?"

"I'm sorry dear, but Mint has stepped out for the moment. I'll let her know you called."

"Alright. Thank you."

A failure. Even though the day seemed almost perfect to her, she really wish she could tell someone what had happened. She dropped herself on the bed as she started to remember what Ryou said earlier.

"The only one?" She smiled as she giggled to herself. "Of course, I love you, Ryou Shirogane. Only you." She grabbed her pillow and held it tight.

Her mother yelled to her, saying it was time for dinner. She went downstairs and ate with her family. As the hour passed by, a phone call was finally received. "Ichigo! Telephone!" Her mother called out.

She picked up the phone. "Hello, hello?"

"Ichigo, its Mint. Did you call?"

"Yes!" She was so happy she could tell her now. "Ryou- Ryou, uhh, I think."

"... Ichigo?"

Ichigo couldn't bring herself to say it. She didn't know why. But it was unbelievable. The guy of her dreams actually saying something like that. She spent most of the night thinking that he was holding some kind of feelings towards her. Her dream had come true. "I think, I think Ryou likes me!" She finally exclaimed.

"What!"

Ichigo explained to Mint what had happened. From the start of helping her with her homework, even though he really didn't want to, to the end of when he exclaimed those powerful words. Ichigo was feelings really excited and nervous right now. "What do you think?"

"I think," she paused. "Get rid of that stupid bell and tell him how you feel."

- Q -

The night was pitch black. They watched as the sun fall over and night came sneaking inside. They were searching for some kind of evidence for hours. It seemed they were going nowhere. They would have to give up on their search tonight.

"It's getting pretty dark. We won't be able to see anything."

"We'll head back for tonight. Try again in the morning?"

"Alright." Keiichiro smiled at Ryou. It was time for an inquiry. "Did you tell her yet?"

Ryou began to blush. He figured this would come up sooner or later. He wondered if his best friend had heard what he said to her earlier. The chances were low; there was still no way of being certain. "Uhh, well." He scratched the side of his head. "Sort of. I'm going to go more in depth tomorrow."

"What do you mean sort of?"

"I kind of played it out like she was property..." Ryou grinned. His Strawberry was his no matter what. It wasn't that she was a piece of property to claim, it's just that he wouldn't tolerate it having any other way. He wouldn't let anyone else be with her.

"Pro- property?" He laughed. "Ryou, you haven't changed at all." He messed up his childhood friend's hair with his long fingers.

Ryou looked at the stars most of the way back to the cafe. He bid his farewell to Keiichiro and went up to his bedroom. He turned on the lights. His bed was a mess. He did not bother with it as he jumped into bed, pulling off his clothing. Before he knew it, he was already asleep.

The morning was beautiful like all the others. It had been such a beautiful week. The sun was always shining bright. The birds sang their songs as they sat on the branches of the trees. There was only a little breeze when night came around. Otherwise the day could be described as being perfect. He managed to get out of bed as his alarm clock went off. It was earlier than usual. He left his room. Straight into the bathroom to take a shower.

After he was done, he went back into his bedroom to put on a pair of gray boxers. He knew that today was going to be a good day. He stayed in front of his window with a towel hanging on his shoulders. He quickly got dressed after he stayed in the same position for five minutes. He went downstairs to fix himself some breakfast.

"Morning." Keiichiro came in the room.

"Morning." Ryou responded. He got up to put his bowl away. "I'm going to head out early today. Can you do some more research?"

Keiichiro nodded. Ryou headed out the door. He started walking along the park's pathway. He had only been there not even nine hours ago. They couldn't find anything. He would try again anyways. This was his project. So much determination, so much love, so much time, and so much pain went into this project.

He arrived at the destination and continued his search.

- Q -

"Today is the day!" The red head shouted with euphuism.

She held onto the necklace tight. She could still hear the bell ring. All she had to do now is find Masaya.

She searched the entire school during the little break they had. But still he was nowhere to be found. She wasn't ready to give up though. She didn't want it. She wouldn't keep it. She heard the first bell ring. "I guess I'll have to find him after school then."

- Q -

"R - r - r - r - r - r."

He heard his phone ringing. He reached in his pocket to pick it up. "Hello."

"Keiichiro, I can't find anything here." Ryou looked around the place. "Are you sure you found anything?"

"Well what I found yesterday seems to be gone today."

"That's odd." Ryou sighed. He looked at his watch. "If there's nothing else, I'm going to leave."

"That's fine. Talk to you later, okay?"

"Yeah." He hung up. He placed his phone back into his pocket. He started to watch in the direction of Ichigo's school. 'She should be getting off soon.'

As the highly attractive blond arrived at her school, it caused a commotion. He could see and hear the group of girls gossiping, asking questions about whom this stranger could be. He smirked. The fans giggled some more. He started to walk in the school court. A pile of girls started to surround him.

"Who's he, he's so cute." A squeal came from her followed by more giggles from the fans.

"Aren't you the owner of Cafe Mew Mew?"

"Are you alone?" One of them asked. "Have a girlfriend?"

'Heh...' He needed to get out of this circle and closer to Ichigo. He didn't want her to see him in the center of all this. She might mistake it for something else, which weren't Ryou's intentions.

Ichigo was still in the school after the dismissal bell had rung. She was always left later than her friends. She hurried this time though. She quickly ran out the front door. As she was about to turn to the right, she saw a figure. "It's time."

She raced away from the school. "Masaya! Masaya!" She called out. "Aoyama!" She continued to call out his name as she ran forward.

Masaya finally noticed that someone was calling his name. He turned around to see who it was. "Ichigo?" He said as he stopped in his tracks.

She raced towards him with the necklace still in her hands.

"Ahh, I caught up to you." She gasped for some air. "Thanks for waiting."

"Can I help you?" Masaya said with the usual smile on his face.

Ryou tried to get away from the crowd of swarming fan girls. He attempted to use his charm to ask the girls to quietly move out of his way. "I'm actually here on some business. Do you mind if I get through." He smiled at them. They just squirmed some more, bringing the crowd closer in. He attempted to struggle. It seemed like no use. He raised his head high up to see if he could find Ichigo anywhere. In the middle of the school court, he spotted her. He spotted her with Masaya.

"I-Ichigo..." He said with a sigh. "You baka."

The crowd was silent.

Ichigo smiled back at Masaya. "I have something that's yours."

Masaya seemed to be a little confused about what she was talking about. He doesn't remember ever lending her something of his. Ichigo held out the bell necklace that she had received. "But... I gave you that as a gift."

"I know. I can't keep it though."

Masaya didn't want to question her reasons. He took the necklace from her hand.

Ryou watched as this all happened. To him, it wasn't like this. It looked like they were about to hold hands. He dropped his head down and turned around. "Excuse me ladies," he said in a phony cheerful voice. "Could you let me through? I've got to return to the cafe." Though the crowd still wouldn't let him go, he managed to escape their grasp. He headed back to the cafe feeling a little low. It was as if his heart was torn out. As if what he said yesterday meant absolutely nothing. The kisses meant nothing.

"I should have known." He kept repeating to himself.

End | Chapter 10

I'm sorry; surely you shouldn't hate me for this chapter because you'll be all good when I write Chapter 11.