'Six years today...' thought Ichigo. 'Six long, hard years alone... without Kish...' she sighed. So much had happened since that fateful day. Everyone had changed since the last battle... and the alien's departure. The most noticeable differences were in pudding, lettuce, and especially Ichigo.
Pudding, though still hyper and careless, would 'travel' into quiet moments y herself. She would sit and stare at the wall for about 30 seconds, then become normal again. At first, this happened about 3 times every hour, but now, they had lessened. All the Mew Mews knew what she was thinking about, but no one wanted to bring it up. But every once in a while, Pudding would glance up at the sky.
Lettuce was much the same way. She became almost unbearably quiet unless she was welcoming someone to the café. The only two people she opened up to were Ichigo and Pudding. They knew she was wishing for a love she didn't know she wanted, and Pudding and Ichigo understood this. No one else could really relate (except for Mint, but no one knew about her fancying Ryou).
Ichigo was the worst off but the least noticed by the other Mew Mews. Though no one could see it, she was exhausted emotionally and physically. She hid it well from the others, always smiling and acting normal. She refused to let anyone know how much pain she was going through, so she pretended to be fine. She pretended to be cheerful, but her eyes had lost their sparks. She pretended to eat, but she was really stuffing food into napkins and throwing it away. She pretended to have constant energy, but in reality, she got little sleep and worked herself until she was dizzy during the day. She admitted it to herself she was dying without Kish.
All the Mew Mews had just finished a grueling rush period at the café. All were exhausted, so they all pulled chairs from the nearest table and sat down. The day had gone well so far. Those who were still in school had had good days. Pudding had only "disappeared" once today, and Lettuce had talked more to everyone. Ichigo was "normal". Suddenly, she felt so... tired. She collapsed into her chair and closed her eyes. 'I'm so tired... I need to take a ... long... nap,' she thought as she blacked out.
Ass soon as she fell, Ryou was at her side. He checked her pulse. "Good, she's still breathing, just unconscious. Lettuce, call an ambulance! She needs to get to a hospital so we can see what's wrong with her."
Lettuce ran for the phone, dialed, talked for a minute, and hung up. "They're coming. They'll be here as soon as they can."