Author's Note: Hi! Here's the next chapter! Read and review, please!
Impatient Girl – Mmm, soda… well then, tell your sister that she's a moron!
Amme Moto – Here's the update!
Stargazer920 – CHEATER! Too bad the Camp Mogisca trip was postponed to April 1… so, how was Natasha's party? I've never been to Embassy Suites before…
AnimeLuver28 – Yeah, I kinda figured…
Mew Suika – Yes, you were supposed to guess who the cousin was. Yes, you're supposed to read the Author's Notes. And no, I don't want your ice cream. I like my own better!
(My disclaimer was in chapter 2)
Cherries and Pears – Chapter 4
The next morning, Sakura woke up to Nashi's shaking her awake.
"What is it?" Sakura yawned. Nashi grinned.
"Hurry up and get dressed, Sakura onee-chan! Ichigo-chan is taking us to Café Mew Mew, where she works as a waitress!" Nashi announced happily. Nashi wore a pale green t-shirt under a khaki jumper, a pink headband in her shoulder-length dark blonde hair, and white sneakers.
"Really? That's cool," Sakura hopped out of bed. "I'll get ready and meet you and Ichigo-chan downstairs for breakfast."
Nashi nodded and bounced out of the room. Sakura looked at the clock placed on her desk and saw that it was around eight o' clock. She got dressed in a pink t-shirt that had a picture of a white Siberian tiger on it – it was her favorite type of animal – and black shorts. She pulled on her greenish-gray hiking shoes and bounded down the stairs to the kitchen.
"Good morning, Sakura-chan! How did you sleep?" Aunt Miyuki asked her, setting a plate of eggs and bacon in front of her.
"Fine, thank you," Sakura answered, eating her breakfast. "Where is Nashi-chan and Ichigo-chan?"
"Why, they're in Ichigo's bedroom waiting for you," Aunt Miyuki replied. "so you'd better hurry up."
Sakura did in fact finish her breakfast quickly. She tied her hair up into a ponytail with her favorite red ribbon and put on her locket, which she had taken off her neck last night so that she could sleep better.
"Thank you for the breakfast, Aunt Miyuki-san! It was delicious!" Sakura told Aunt Miyuki. "I'll see you later!"
She then hopped off her stool at the counter and ran back upstairs for Nashi and Ichigo. When Nashi and Ichigo saw that Sakura was ready to leave, Ichigo led the two sisters out of the house and down the road.
"Café Mew Mew is this way," Ichigo said. "It's in the very center of the park."
The girls entered Tokyo Park and walked and walked and walked and walked and walked and walked… (5 minutes later) and walked until they reached Café Mew Mew. Ichigo winced as Keiichiro, Ryou, Zakuro, Mint, Lettuce, and Pudding all marched up to the girls in the doorway.
"…Uh, hi everyone," Ichigo greeted nervously. "I'm sorry I'm late. These are my cousins, Sakura and Nashi. They'll be living with me from now on, so-"
"Why are you so late?" Ryou interrupted angrily. "A good employee is always on time, and you're very late!"
"Hey, that's not fair! You should know that's not always true!" Sakura confronted Ryou. "A good employee can be late a lot! It only depends on the effort they put into their work, not what time they start!"
"Sakura, it's not a very good idea to argue with the owner of Café Mew Mew," Ichigo whispered to Sakura. Sakura grimaced.
"I don't care who he is!" Sakura said. "He's being unfair to you and needs to be put back into his place!"
"Ichigo's correct there! It's a very bad idea to mess with me!" Ryou spat, balling and raising his fists to strike Sakura. Sakura stepped backwards in fear.
Keiichiro stepped in between Ryou and Sakura and lowered Ryou's fists. Sakura let out her breath. Keiichiro scolded Ryou for have such a sensitive temper and attempted to apologized to Sakura, but Sakura backed up stubbornly from him.
"Don't try to apologize to me!" Sakura persisted.
"Yeah, she's already got too much of a big, bratty head!" Ryou remarked. Sakura threw a death glare at him.
"I meant that you should apologize to Ichigo-chan, not me!" she hissed.
"I will not apologize to my employee!" Ryou spat furiously. "She's made enough mistakes already, and I will not tolerate her any more!"
Ichigo stepped back, her eyes welling up with tears. Ryou had hurt her feelings.
"Now look what you've done, you jerk!" Sakura yelled at Ryou, pointing at the trembling Ichigo. Ryou immediately showed an expression of remorse on his face, and although it was very distant, Sakura noticed it.
"…Just get to work," he ordered Ichigo. "As for you, Sakura, I'm going to have to tell you to leave Café Mew Mew."
"Great!" Sakura replied. "Anywhere is better than where you are!"
Ryou glared at her and ushered her out of the café. Sakura turned to face him and blew a raspberry at him. Ryou blew one back at her and slammed the door in her face.
Sakura marched off through the park, mumbling about how much of a jerk and baka Ryou was. Sakura followed the path to an open enormous field covered with soft green grass and scattered with several daisies here and there. From the field, there was a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean and the sky speckled with fluffy clouds. Sakura found this scenery somehow extremely comforting and soothing. Sakura made her way to the middle of the field and lied down in the grass. She stared upward at the sky and attempted to recognize shapes in the clouds.
Meanwhile, back at Café Mew Mew…
"Ryou, that wasn't really necessary," Lettuce suggested gently. Ryou glanced at her with a 'what-do-you-know?' look and turned from the group.
"But Ryou, what you feel isn't always as important as what other people feel," Zakuro said wisely.
"Yeah, I have to put all of my feelings behind me in order to take care of my little siblings," Pudding agreed cheerfully. "It's a normal every day thing."
"Ryou, it was pretty mean," Mint said straightforwardly.
"Ryou… I agree with the others that it was wrong to treat Sakura-chan the way you did, but Sakura was also wrong in the way she acted," Ichigo tried, placing a calm hand on Ryou's shoulder. "Sakura-chan may be upset about her and Nashi-chan's parents, but she didn't need to take it out on you."
"What's wrong with your parents?" Lettuce asked Nashi, who immediately clung to Ichigo while trembling with built up tears.
"…They were recently killed in a car accident last week," Ichigo explained. "That's the entire reason they're living with me in the first place. They had nowhere to go. Their parents are both dead and they're both very sad."
Ryou's face instantly contained remorse, and this time it was very obvious. Everyone who was part of the Mew Mew gang knew that Ryou had lost both his parents in a house fire five years ago. Ryou sighed regretfully and went upstairs to his bedroom (him and Keiichiro lived inside Café Mew Mew, on the second floor).
Author's Note: Not to worry, fellow Ryou fans! We all know that he's not that mean! You'll see later in the story! Mr. Blue Button is ready to get clicked…
