Author's Note: Hey guys sorry for the gap in updates! I lost inspiration for this story but you guys obviously love this new Henri/Ichigo ship that I was rejuvenated with ideas! Please take into account a couple of things, however:

1) I am in my sophomore year of university. That means more homework, studying and tests. So if I can't update very often, you do know why. I know you all want an update, and I do get the notification when each one of you review in my email. They all (more or less) say one word in it, which is "update". And I do want to, but I have a life on the side which I also have to balance. So while you think I may be ignoring you by 'not updating' I am gathering ideas and slowly typing the next chapter.

2) I need time to come up with ideas for this plot. I am going one step at a time with this chapter. Each time I post, I wonder, "What new conflict can I put in the next chapter?" Because each update should be meaningful and dramatic. So wanting to put both quality and quantity, I take time to update.

Miya had been the first one to act on the plan. She knew where Henri's office was located as well as when he tended to go to his office to do 'paperwork' as he always said as an excuse to get away from Mari and her over-dependent nature. Everyone, even her own so-called loyal friends and sweets spirit, knew she was too dependent for her own good.

Everything started with, "I wonder what Henri-sensei…"

Mari just wasn't functioning on her own. Granted, she did get to come to St. Marie's Academy the same way Ichigo did: they were Henri's recruits. But unlike Ichigo, she took the recognition all to her head. She thought she was superior to the ordinary students who had to work hard to get admission, thinking she was this super-talented special person. And also, she misinterpreted Henri's recruitment of her that he has feelings for her.

"She's so delusional," Miya snorted.

"And people called your devotion for Kashino-kun as 'delusion'," Marron scoffed, folding her arms, "This girl thinks she will be his future wife."

"As if," Miya shook her head, "Our teacher would have to be as dumb as a brick to see anything redeeming about her. Mari may be talented but she can't function without his approval. I wonder, doesn't even he get sick of it?"

"Why do we get the brunt of all the teasing?" Marron sighed sadly but then perked up when she witnessed that Henri left his office without locking the door, "Miya, look!"

Miya saw what her sweets spirit was pointing at and lunged for the door, not wanting to miss any opportunity. She knew she didn't have much time, so she just tried to look for anything in particular that might stand out. She also knew he could be back soon so she couldn't go pawing around in his drawers.

"Miya, look at this picture! It looks like Ichigo-chan!" Marron pointed to a picture on his desk, "And that kind of looks like Henri sensei."

Miya inspected the photo that was framed and frowned. So many things were off in this photo. First of all, Ichigo doesn't wear her hair like that. And second of all, she hasn't been here long enough to get some kind of photo with Henri. She had been wary of him enough that she wouldn't allow a picture with him.

"I don't think that's her," Miya sighed but took a picture of the framed photo, "But maybe it's a relative of Ichigo's."

"We should go before we get caught," Marron advised and Miya nodded. The two dashed out of his office before they could get caught. Sometimes they were happy the office didn't have any security cameras, or else they would be in such deep trouble for trespassing his property.

After classes that day, the two girls decided to go to the library to do their homework. After Ichigo and Miya packed away their completed homework, they decided to chit chat casually as a reward for completing their homework with plenty of time to spare.

"Hey Ichigo?" Miya asked, "I snuck into his office."

"Really?" Ichigo asked in surprise, "And you didn't get caught?"

"I didn't, luckily," Miya shook her head, "But I found something that might interest you."

"What would that be?" Ichigo asked in confusion.

Miya took one long look at her before whipping out her cell phone and thumbing through it and pulled up the picture she took earlier that day. She slid her phone over to Ichigo and asked, "Does this look familiar?"

"That's my grandmother," Ichigo said, studying the little girl in the photo, "And I think this is his grandfather, the founder of this Academy."

"Wow, so your grandmother was his favorite student?" Miya asked in wonder.

Ichigo shrugged and said, "I think so. I really don't know. I know that my grandmother thought of him as a good teacher. Whether he felt like she was his favorite student or not is up to him."

"I find it creepy that it's in Henri's office, though," Miya said, taking the phone back from Ichigo.

"Miya, that's his grandfather," Ichigo sighed.

"But seriously? He put it on his desk so he can stare at it while he does paperwork or whatever desk work he does in his office!" Miya exclaimed, "I'm telling you, it's fishy!"

"Well I did find it fishy when he sighed a breath of relief when I told him I was single," Ichigo shrugged, "But I always get that feeling like there might be some kind of note written on the other side or something."

"Why would you think that?" Miya looked at her weird.

"You get your ideas from manga, I get mine from movies," Ichigo explained, "It's a mechanism or a way of hiding information."

"Yeah but I don't know if he would be bold enough to hide his love confession for you behind a picture," Miya snorted.

Ichigo rubbed her forehead and sighed, "You're the one who thinks he's acting all fishy."

"Well yeah, I know, but I don't know. If what you're saying is true, then it might be information regarding the photo," Miya shrugged, "Oh well, too late to go back now."

"Yes, I know. I don't want you to risk it going in there another time," Ichigo nodded, "I don't want you to get caught by him. But either way, this picture can't prove much, really. I'm not surprised that he would keep a picture of his grandfather on his desk."

Miya gave out a defeated sigh and said, "That may be true, but there must be something that can give us a clue as to what he's hiding from us. Maybe it's a part of a bigger picture."

Ichigo snorted but said, "Yeah, what are you going to do about it? Interrogate him?"

From the cornfmer of her vision, Miya spotted Mari rush over to Henri the two walked over to some hallway. Clearly Mari looked conflicted. If Ichigo didn't know any better she would say she was annoyed. But Mari was jealous. And for once, she wasn't the newest edition of Henri-sensei's recruits. So of course, she would feel a little left out.

"Let's follow them," Miya pointed after Mari and Henri, and grabbed the girl along with her before she could protest.

"How are we going to hide? Did you think about that?" Ichigo whispered angrily as they silently ran down the same hallway the two walked a minute earlier.

"Because there are the stairs, and a little nook underneath it," Miya pointed; and she had a point that if you hid well enough then from any angle you couldn't be seen.

The two girls hid underneath the stairs and sure enough, on the other side Mari and Henri were seated on the steps, clearly in some kind of discussion, or rather argument.

"Sensei, am I not good enough?" Mari asked; her voice sounded stiff and tense, almost wavering. Ichigo knew that one word could set her off into tears.

"What are you talking about, Mari?" Henri asked in a calm but annoyed tone.

"What does she have that I don't?" Mari elaborated on her question, "I have won numerous competitions, made many public appearances on TV, magazines and newspaper for my fame, the fame I worked on just for you! And still…after all these years of working so hard, you wouldn't spare me more than a couple of seconds of a glance in a formal setting. This girl comes along and not even more than a week in she has your attention! So, tell me, what am I doing wrong?"

"You are crossing the boundary," Henri said, annoyed. He wasn't about to start with this drama all over again. Sure, he may have feelings for Ichigo, but Mari had been possessive enough should he even glance at another female that isn't her.

Mari didn't listen and continued to rant, "Why is she so special? She's just a nobody who was lucky enough to impress you and that's why she got in!"

Now he had enough of her constant and incessant whining. Slamming his foot down on one of the steps, he reveled in how Mari flinched at his sudden aggressive behavior. Even behind the stairs, Ichigo and Miya flinched considerably, but were quiet enough to make sure that neither Mari nor Henri heard them.

"You don't know her," Henri said coldly, "You think you're so great you're on the top of the world and other students are just amateurs compared to you. If you want to stand the chance of being at least a decent pastry chef, then you should drop that arrogant attitude. It will get you nowhere. Besides there are countless patissiers and patissieres who are infinitely more talented than you. Know your place."

With that, he stomped off. Mari sobbed for a couple more minutes before sulking down the hallway opposite to the one Henri walked off in. When the coast was clear and some students began to walk in the hallway for afterschool activities, the girls decided to take advantage of that to blend in and go to their dorms. Miya and Ichigo made a run for Miya's dorm, since Miya didn't let Rumi know of her plan to spy on Henri. Also, Rumi might rat them out if she's coerced to do so. Miya's roommate was more of a social butterfly than Rumi is and so her roommate was almost never in their dorm; coming in at very late hours and leaving at peak hours of dawn. Sometimes for a couple of nights her roommate didn't come back; but she always made sure to text Miya if she didn't plan on coming to their dorm for the night.

Miya's phone dinged, and she checked it. Sure enough, her roommate Saaya (get that Shugo Chara reference?) told her that she's not coming back to their dorm. She was relieved because that means the girls can discuss what they just saw more in detail.

"What if your roommate comes?" Ichigo asked worriedly.

"She's sleeping over at some friend's house," Miya shrugged indifferently, "Saaya's got at least a thousand people she calls her sisters and BFF's."

"Sisters? Like those girls in sororities?" Ichigo asked in confusion.

"God no," Miya retorted, "She just considers girls she can rely on as sisters, but she's got a lot of them."

"Sounds like Rumi," Ichigo commented.

"Oh, trust me, she's way more social than her," Miya laughed, "Almost like she's got her own kingdom of friends."

The two sat on Miya's bed. They just sat there, leaned against the wall where the bed touched it and were in deep thought. The two were wondering how they should discuss what they just witnessed over the day. Miya breathed out loudly, startling Ichigo who snapped out of her daze.

"Today was a long day," Miya stated, but her voice kind of made it seem like a question.

Ichigo slowly nodded and said, "It would seem so."

"What are you going to do about it?" Miya asked.

The brunette looked at the pale, beige wall of the dorm across the room from her. She sighed and shrugged, letting her shoulders shakily rise and slump in defeat slowly. "I don't know, really," Ichigo said, "It seems like Mari wouldn't hold back if sensei got fonder of me."

"It isn't like you can control that," Miya argued, "You can't control love no matter how much you want to. Did I ever tell you how and why I fell in love with Kashino-kun?"

"No, I only heard the stupid rumors spread about you in school, but I never believed them," Ichigo said.

Miya's eyebrow rose in response and she asked slowly, "What would they say?"

"That you fell in love with his looks and money," Ichigo responded, "They said it with a bitter tone, obviously jealous of your wealthy status and how they should've known someone as rich as you would end up with someone as rich as him."

"They don't understand," Miya snapped, but then caught her harsh tone and apologized to Ichigo.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down, Miya explained, "Coming from my lineage, my staff had been petrified of hurting my feelings. So no matter what I baked they would eat it and always force some compliments out of their mouths, just to make me feel happy. I was annoyed a little bit but satisfied they didn't dare insult me. But Kashino, he didn't hold back his tongue on criticizing my work and telling me that honesty is the only way to become better. Of course, I was hurt, but I strove to work hard to make better sweets. And I fell in love with him and for the past few years I had been trying to get his affections."

"That…that seems so sweet," Ichigo smiled happily.

Miya nodded and said, "But the point of my little story is that you can't control love. You can't control when you fall in love and how you do so. Out of all the things you do have in control of your life, love is not one of them."

"So, am I obligated to love him back?" Ichigo asked defensively.

Miya shook her head and said, "I am not saying you have to do anything. Take your time. But don't be against the concept of love."

Even after she left her friend's dorm and went to her own, Miya's words rung in her head like a little reminder. Ichigo wondered if she could ever fall in love with Henri like the way he was in love with her. Could she fall in love with him? Could they have a chance of being together? And even if they do get together, could they maintain their relationship even with the threat of Mari and Francois looming over them?

TBC…