Chapter Three

(And so the ishy plot begins)

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"So he is here? Where?" Purin continued to ask jumping up and down. "I really wanted to show him a new trick, I've perfected it!"

Keiichiro sighed uncomfortably, he really didn't know how to explain that Ryou was in his bedroom. As he opened his mouth to reply, he closed it and smiled softly. Ryou was making his way down the stares slowly, hand on the rail.

"Shirogane-san!" Purin cried with a smile and ran over to him. "Look-it! Lookit!" Once she arrived at the bottom of the stairs and saw that Ryou was watching she started. First it looked like just a bunch of jumping around with handstands, but apparently it was something more. While she did her trick, Ryou threw a small smile across the room to Keiichiro. What had been up between those two?

"Ta-da!" Purin cried as she finished, arms inthe air as she stood on one foot. Ryou clapped, pretending to be ammused.

"Ah. uh. Shirogane-san, how are you feeling?" Ichigo asked as she and the other three rambled over to him.

"Fine. I see you havn't been keeping up while I've been down." Ryou replied raising a brow. Minto held the back of her hand over her mouth as she sniggered.

"Momomiya-san has been in a daze. I think she's in love with our fallen boss." she whispered to Zakuro and Retasu. Ichigo twitched and hissed at the blue haired girl.

"Why I... I'll get you!" she said but Minto took no notice. Everything seemed back to the normal. Or, for the most part.

"So Shirogane-san, where have you been? You weren't in your room when I tried to do a trick." Purin said. Suddenly all five mews had their eyes on Ryou, and he didn't look comfortable. Nor did Keiichiro from behind the group.

"I was uh." Ryou stated and then looked at his watch. "Look at that, time to open. Keiichiro-kun do you have the kitchen ready?"

"Yes." He replied hoping none of the girls caught Ryou's little honor system mistake... However, Minto had and was looking suspiciously from Keiichiro to Ryou with those always watchful eyes. The other mews however seemed not to noice.

"Good, right, you five know the drill. Lets go." Ryou then said putting his hands together in a clap sound before starting off towards the kitchens to see the proceedings.

-

"I can't believe you did that!" Keiichiro whispered quickly as he took a cake from the oven half an hour later and put it on a plate to decorate while Ichigo ran passed picking up a tray of food for table five.

"It was an accident." Ryou returned as he leaned against the counter looking rather healthy now.

"Still, if any of them caught on we would be in such trouble."

"You know we wont get caught. They are five ho- mostly, hormonal girls. They wont care anyhow if they knew that we-"

"Don't say it." Keiichiro put a finger to Ryou's lips. He looked upset, and that was unusual on his smiling face. "Not here, not now."

"You're right. I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking."

"I do." Came Minto's voice from behind as she sat silently at a table drinking tea. Ryou turned his head to the clock and swore. Why hadn't he realized she was or would be there! It was the same time everyday, and now he'd almost gone and said something he may regret.

"You don't know anything Aizawa-san, get back to work." Ryou said.

"No, my contract says I can have my full fifteen minutes of tea time." she returned. Minto really was royally a pain in the a-

"AH! Not again!" came Retasu's voice and then a clatter moments after. The three in the kitchen sighed simultaniously.

"She's trying." Keiichiro said as he got new plates out and handed them to the green haired girl as she stummbled in and out. Through the swinging doors Ichigo was seen cleaning up the mess as usual.

"Can't you have your tea out there!" Ryou then shouted, getting back to buisness.

"No. I want it in here today." Minto replied simply with a shrug and then a long sweet sip. "Care for any? Akasaka-san? Shirogane-san? I have one cup left, though if you both want some you'll have to share..."

Ryou raised a brow and then flung open a cupboard of china wear. Minto shrugged and then Keiichiro and Ryou got the same thought.

/She definatly knew something./

-

"Goodbye everyone!" Four of the five mews called as they waved back at the cafe after closing. Minto, Zakuro, Purin and Retasu smiled before turning and walking off, Ichigo had stayed behind.

"What is it?" Ryou asked sounding highly annoyed when Ichigo had come up to him minutes after her friends departure. Ichigo was wringing her hands as she looked down, this caused Ryou to sigh and cave.

"What's wrong?" he then asked a bit nicer, but still sounded angry.

"I've had that dream again, the same one as before when you had to wake me up." she said cheeks flushed, luckly though none of them knew exactly what the dream contained. Ryou looked at her before turning away.

"And what has that got to do with me? I told you you were fine, it's normal to have reoccuring dreams."

"NOT this one."

"Well what's in it that you shouldn't be dreaming about?" Ryou turned on the ball of his foot, blonde hair fanning out slightly with the fast turn. "You're a big girl, I think you can dream about whatever it is and handle it."

"No, I can't."

"And why not? I can't help if you don't tell me." Ryou retorted once again angry, he was not in a mood to be tested. He wished right now he could just tell her to go to her room as if she was grounded.

"It's complicated... Can't you give me something?"

"No. Come here, we'll do more tests if you're so scared."

Ichigo looked a bit startled, more tests? What did that mean? Clenching her fists, she followed after Ryou as he stalked off down the steps to the research rooms.

Once there, Ichigo wished she hadn't said anything, there was a bed that looked more like a table, and a computor along side with wires attached.

Brain scan.

As the mew went to turn and run, Ryou grabbed her by the back of her collar.

"You'll sleep here tonight, we'll run tests on your brain waves and see if we can't find a problem."

"Will you be here with me, the whole time?"

"Of course." Ryou said, but had a feeling that he was lieing through his teeth as he went to turn on the computor.

"Just tell me when you're tired so we can hook you up to the monitors." he ended as the computor beeped followed by a whirrling sound and the computor was turning on, loading the information.

"Uh... all right." Ichigo said and, a few hours later she told him.

It was about nine o'clock, 2100 to Ryou and Keiichiro's clocks. Ichigo found herself dead tired, ready to collapse so Ryou didn't have a hard time putting the wires and such onto her forehead.

"Start the scan." The blonde called out and Keiichiro clicked once with the mouse, typed something in, and the computor responded with a whirll and started to scan. The two men sat there for fifteen mintes, half hour just watching the computor screen in silence.

"Think we can leave?" Ryou asked in a rough whisper to Keiichiro as he stood up. "She's not waking up soon."

Keiichiro stood as well with a nod and swept from the room, Ryou behind him who shut the door after himself.

"Do you think something is wrong?" Keiichiro asked as he started down the long hall and up the steps towards the main floor. Ryou shrugged.

"I doubt it, but it's possible we'll find something in the morning."he replied and Keiichiro nodded again. "I'm going to bed n-" But the blonde didn't get to finish his sentence as something warm pressed against his mouth.