A/N: Thank you my wonderful reviewers. I had the worst time starting this chapter and I'm sorry for the wait. So now Ryou is having a different view of his employee. Ichigo can't admit she is jealous ofMint and Masaya. With no one to turn to, can Ryou help her of her envious ways? Here you go!
Disclaimer: I do not own TMM!
…Chapter five Ichigo's POV…
It was sunny out but dark clouds invaded the sky. It was going to rain again. It hadn't rained since I told Ryou that old saying, three days ago. I smiled to myself as I dangled my feet over the brick wall a couple of blocks away from my house. I had been right about it not going to rain and it made me proud somehow. For the last three days things had been finally going my way. Mint and I apologized to each other, my mom was feeling a lot better, and Ryou and I were on our rivalry friendship again.
I stretched out my arms towards the sky, "Finally everything is getting better then it was." I said to myself.
"Boo!" a monster popped out of nowhere, in front of my face.
Startled, I lost my balance and fell backwards off the brick wall and onto the grass of someone's front yard. So much for cats landing on their feet. The air was knocked out of me for a second and I rolled over on my stomach, propping myself up so I was sitting on my knees. I coughed and clutched my stomach.
"Ugh!" I moaned.
"Oops, sorry Ichigo." The monster pulled off its mask and apologized. I turned my head and looked up at Pudding. She grinned apologetically and waved slowly.
"Pudding," I coughed, "What are you doing?" I stood up still clutching my stomach. I landed on my back and my stomach was hurting? Must've been when the air was knocked out of me.
"I'm on a secret mission." She looked around suspiciously.
I walked around the wall and over to Pudding. She jumped off the wall, landing in front of me.
"A secret mission?" I asked.
"Yeah, you wanna join?" she asked energetically.
"I stopped playing secret mission when I was you age." I laughed.
"Playing?" Pudding sounded insulted, "I'm seriously on a secret mission. Plus I stopped playing secret mission when I was ten." A year ago? So she beat me by a year.
"So what's your secret mission?" I crossed my arms, cocking an eyebrow.
Pudding looked down the sidewalk and gasped. "Move!" she pushed me around the wall again. For an eleven year old she was pretty strong because she pushed me down instead of around the wall.
"Ow, Pudding!" I yelled angrily at her and crawled behind the wall all the way.
"Shhh," she hushed me and peeped around the wall, "They're coming."
"They?" I sat up against the brick wall and rubbed my scraped knee. That was what I got for wearing ripped-at-the-knee jeans.
"Mint and Masaya." Pudding replied.
"Why are you spying on them?" I asked.
"Cause," she started and then stopped, "I dunno." She finished with a shrug.
I glared at her and stood up, "Pudding, ever consider this was a waste of your valuable time?"
"I'm a kid, I play around and eat what do you expect me to do? Have a hot date?" she eyed me a second, "And this is coming from the girl who just sits up on any random brick wall?"
"I was walking before that," I said in a pathetic tone.
"Ichigo is that you?" A voice behind the wall asked. I bit the inside of my cheek and looked around the wall.
"Hey guy's." I waved and smiled sheepishly.
"What are you doing?" Masaya asked in his usual calm tone. He unhooked his arm from around Mint's waist and grabbed her hand instead. I ignored that as my cheeks started to heat up. "Don't be jealous. Don't be jealous." I told myself.
"Talking to, uh Pudding." I pointed my thumb behind the wall.
Mint and Masaya walked in front of me and looked behind the wall, "Pudding?" Mint asked.
"Yeah Pudding." I turned around. Oh god! I gasped softly. She was gone! Damn her, damn her to…
"Ichigo, do you have an imaginary friend?" Masaya asked slowly and in a mocking way. Mint giggled and elbowed Masaya.
I blushed, "No! And even if I did I wouldn't name it after Pudding."
"Oh Ichigo, he was only kidding." Mint laughed. Masaya looked away and whistled. Mint elbowed him again and they both laughed. Boy, they were a pain in the neck. Before you know it they would want me to come up with a cute nickname for them. Like "M&M" or "The Double M Couple" something with their initials. Mint and Masaya stopped laughing and turned towards me.
"Okay, we'll see you later. And I'll see you at work. Tell Pudding I said hi!" Mint giggled and Masaya wrapped his arm around her waist again.
"Bye Ichigo." Masaya said in a singsong voice. I glared at the back of their heads as they walked away. How annoying!
"Phew that was close." Pudding walked around the brick wall.
"Where were you?" I asked angrily.
"I jumped the wall at the last second. Boy was that good or what?" Pudding laughed, "They didn't notice me at all."
"Pudding, sometimes you're nothing but a nuisance." I mumbled and started walking back home.
"Hey! Hey! Wait for me!" Pudding called after me and chased me down.
… Work had always been a big thing for me. My mom said it was a responsibility and she felt like I should stick to it. But then again, whenever I asked for money from my mom she would laugh and say, "You have a job, get the money there." And not to mention work was also like a research center for the Mew Mew's powers.
I set my head down on the round table and moaned. I was tired. Again. I was working. Again. I always used to think my life was going to be the same old 'again'. Like every morning I was going to get up, go to school, go to work, deal with Ryou's nagging, fight crazy alien monsters, and oh yeah, try to get Masaya to love me.
My life, I thought was going to be the same thing everyday. That was until the Mew Mew's defeated Deep Blue and Kish, Pie, and Tart left. Then Masaya and I broke up. I wondered if it was out of revenge or desperation maybe that he went to Mint. (Not to mean that in a mean way!) But they seemed happy together and I was happy for them. Until I realized they were becoming really close and more close around me. It surprised me that Zakuro, Lettuce, and Pudding never seemed as disgusted in them together as I was. That was probably because whenever I was with Mint, Masaya showed up. Then the handholding and the casual kiss on the lips came. Just like that, as I crossed my arms and shook my head! They didn't even notice I was alive when they were together. That was where the same old saying, 'Everything and everyone in the room seemed to disappear when we were together' came from.
"Ichigo," A calm voice called and shook my shoulder lightly. I exhaled a long breath and sat up. I must've been thinking for a while because my head stuck to the table as I started to sit back up.
"Ow!" I grumbled and I rubbed my forehead.
I turned and looked up at Ryou. He raised his eyebrows and sneered, "Work is over and your forehead is all red."
"Thanks for the information." I spat angrily and stood up. I was kind of in a bad mood.
"Are you okay?" Ryou asked.
"I'm fine." I said almost shakily, still rubbing my forehead.
"Are you sure?" He asked again.
"Yes Ryou, I'm sure." I said through my teeth.
"Okay, whatever then." He started to walk away. I sighed; I shouldn't take it out on him.
"Ryou, I'm sorry." I apologized.
He turned around and grinned, "Nah, don't be. You worked late today so it's no wonder you're kind of in a bad mood."
"No, it's not the work." I went to the closet and took out my jacket.
"Oh really?" Ryou sat down in a chair.
"It's Mint." I threw my hands up in the air and let them drop to my sides. Remember when I thought my luck was really turning around? Yeah that was yesterday, today though I woke up with aches all over my back from the fall. I went to school and totally forgot about my test in English. I didn't get out of class early to go to work because I needed to retake the test. To make up for being an hour late to work I had to work late. It's 8:01 PM now. My mom, I'm sure was expecting me to come home to dinner early tonight. Well it's too late for that now.
"What happened this time?" Ryou asked.
"I was thinking again." I thought. Like I was going to tell that to Ryou. Though our friendship, I had to admit was deepening he was still same old Ryou and I knew his insults.
"Nothing." I responded and sat down in the chair on the opposite side of Ryou.
"So what's the problem then." Ryou rocked back in the chair like he always did and stared up at the ceiling, relaxing his neck.
"I…I don't know." I stuttered and folded my arms on the table.
"Huh?" Ryou looked up at me, "What do you mean you don't know?"
"Uh, I don't."
"Ichigo," Ryou gave off a soft smirk, "I think you're jealous."
That hit me like a rock. It was almost worst then when he told me he didn't like me. But I wasn't jealous! I just hated the fact that my best friend was dating my ex and now I never saw her. I had the right to hate that! I had the right to tell Mint I hated Masaya sometimes. I had the right to tell her that I was angry that I never saw her. I had the right to…
"I am so not jealous!" I retorted, standing up from the table.
"You're not? Then what's your problem with Mint?" Ryou leaned forward in his chair.
"I never see my best friend! She's off with him. And when I do see Mint, you know what she does? As soon as I leave, she makes plans with him again! I call and the phone line is busy. I instant message her and her away message is on. I see her randomly on the streets and there he is! Right there with his wonderful tanned arm around her skinny little waist!" I gave a good long look at Ryou. He stared right back.
After a moment he cracked a grin, "Sounds like jealousy to me."
"Ugh!" I groaned angrily and turned around heading out the door. A light rain pattered on the sidewalk. I meant to leave before the rain really started. I stepped out on the sidewalk and pulled up my hood.
"Ichigo." Ryou called my name and caught me by the arm.
"What? I have to leave." I said and started to jerk my arm away.
"Why don't you give this jealousy thing a break?" his hair was dripping with water. What was he even asking?
"Huh?" I cocked an eyebrow.
"Why don't you let Mint and Masaya have their fun?" He gave a funny look.
"What?" I still wasn't getting what he was asking.
"You're upset that you don't ever get to see Mint because she's with Masaya, right?" he asked. I nodded and he went on, "Then why don't you start hanging out with Zakuro, Pudding, or Lettuce?" he suggested.
"Because they have their own plans as well." I stated.
"Then," he was silent for a second, "Why don't we do something together?"
He slowly let go of my arm and I stared at the soaked boy, "Us?" I asked, "Together?"
He nodded, "As friends. It was just a suggestion since you don't have all your friends around that often. If you don't want to that's…"
"No, Ryou it's fine. I just never thought about really going somewhere with you before. But, I'd love to." I grinned.
He rose his eyebrows, unsure of my answer, "What would you like to do?"
"Huh? Oh, um I normally do anything my friends want to do so why don't you choose?" I seriously hadn't even taken in the fact that Ryou had just wanted to do something together, let alone think of a nice thing we could do together.
He smiled, "I'll call you on it later?"
"Sure." A raindrop slid down my cheek. I wiped it away and looked up at Ryou's face. He was soaked! His blond hair dangled in strands and stuck to his forehead. His clothes were damp and hung on his shoulders.
"Ryou you're all wet!" I laughed.
"Huh?" he looked down at himself and shrugged, "Oh, yeah uh, I'll walk you home if you need me too."
"I think I'll be fine but you better go inside." I pointed at the café.
He rolled his eyes, "Yeah I guess so. Have a nice night." He waved and headed up the steps.
I watched him leave for a second and turned to leave myself when I whirled back around and yelled, "Ryou!"
"Yeah?" he turned around, holding onto the door.
I ran up to him and plowed into his chest, embracing him. He seemed shocked for a second but finally wrapped his arms around me and hugged me back.
"Thank you so much for helping me." I mumbled into his warm chest.
We all have to start somewhere in forgetting and learning to move forward without regretting. I have to learn to not be envious of my best friend and ex boyfriend and to make new friends. Ryou is my starting point.
…To be continued…
A/N: Well this chapter was completely pointless…I'm sorry, this really sucked. It was kind of poorly written and I apologize for that. I had absolutely no plot line for this chapter, just to get Ryou and Ichigo together.Yeah, well school is starting for me tomorrow so it's going to be a little harder to update but I promise I will try my best. So now Ichigo has learned to start with something or someone new. Hearts are broken but can be repaired. Masaya wants to be Ichigo's friend again but what if he wants more then that? This idea may change, but I don't know yet. It's all in the next chapter, until then- KTHM