A/N: This chapter is slow and short, but it will be used to set the story at the right time frame. I apologize for any dull moments it may bring and overall, I apologize for the lack of Ichigo.

I anticipate that the fun shall begin starting next chapter but before that, I wanted to ask if you, the readers, find a relationship between Keiichiro and Lettuce very wrong. I know, he's old for her and all, but their personalities match ok, in my opinion. I won't do it if you think it's not a good idea.

Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews.

When The Cat Was Away

Chapter 1: Good Riddance.

Keiichiro Akasaka looked at his watch and sighed, even as he started to prepare the dough. Ryou had slept in again. Some years ago, he would have had to drag Ryou from his computer; Keiichiro couldn't help but to smile weakly at the memory. Ryou was somewhat of an insomniac and a workaholic, even if sometimes he could distract himself with his exercises and computer games, but lately the young genius spent most of his time locked in his room. Keiichiro had the distinct feeling he slept most of that time.

It had been like this ever since the project had ended and the team had disbanded. Keiichiro had been overjoyed with the success of the project, but then he realized they had not make plans ahead. They had thought of nothing but the task at hand.

For a while, the girls kept coming to work as usual, wanting to maintain the feeling of unity, but then Ichigo had left to study abroad again with her boyfriend and Zakuro had accepted a part in a movie that would be filmed in the United States. Without Zakuro's influence, Mint had stopped coming more and more. They barely ever saw her now. It was just the four of them now: Keiichiro, Ryou, Retasu and Purin, who kept working at the café.

Since the first girl had left, Ryou had been spending more time locked up, without talking even to his best friend. It worried Keiichiro. Ryou wasn't the sort of person to openly talk about what he had in mind, but he was generally more open with him.

Keiichiro tried to do the best he could to cheer his friend up. He and Retasu spent hours cooking together some sort of dessert that Retasu would then bring to a distracted Ryou. Keiichiro knew how Mew Lettuce felt toward her former leader, but her natural shy nature never allowed her to confess her feelings and Ryou never seemed to notice anything other than friendship. It was too bad, thought Keiichiro to himself, that girl was the best thing a guy could ask for.

'Beep, beep, beep,' screeched the timer. Keiichiro turned it off distractedly.

The first cakes were ready and the girls would be arriving soon. No, he corrected himself. Retasu would be arriving soon. One of Purin's brothers was sick and she would have to stay home to take care of him, he remembered. This meant they would need Ryou to help as much as possible. It couldn't be helped; he'd have to call him now if he wanted Ryou to be in working condition by the time they opened.

'Ryou.' He called as he knocked on the door.

'Come in.' Answered his friend.

Keiichiro opened the door slowly. Ryou was laying on his bed, fully clothed and with a book in his hand. So he wasn't asleep after all, thought Keiichiro. The book seemed new, but thin. Thinner than most of the books Ryou usually read.

'What's that?' Keiichiro couldn't help but ask. Ryou lifted his gaze to meet Keiichiro's and turned his hand, so that the brunette could read the cover of his book. It was a novel. Keiichiro couldn't believe it. In all the time they had known each other, Ryou had shown love for art in the form of music, but never had he enjoyed reading literature.

'It's a work of fiction.' Ryou explained, with a small smirk in his face. 'But it's based on the theories on artificial intelligence of Dr. Jaap van Vliet. It sounds interesting.'

'I see.' Replied the brunette, with an amiable smile. There was silence.

'I was thinking…' said Ryou in a quiet voice, '…you never told me what your own research was.'

It had been a tiring day, thought Retasu. The café had been packed the whole day. Shirogane-san had complained a lot during work, which was a bit frightening. Akasaka-san said that, in spite of all the comments he made, Shirogane wasn't really angry, just slightly annoyed he had been pulled away from his precious books.

Akasaka-san and Retasu spent a lot of time together lately, and she had learned to trust him when he made a judgment of the sort. They would often cook together in some new receipt or just have light conversations. Most of them would go around Ryou, but sometimes they would talk about other things. Akasaka-san was a true friend, like the rest of the people that worked in the mew project. Between him and Purin, they were doing all they could to help her have quality time with Ryou. She was immensely grateful for all their good wishes.

There was one main problem in their plans, though. Ryou knew her feelings. He had never said anything about it, and he had never rejected her, but she knew. There was something about the way he smiled at her, full of gratitude and pity, when she brought him a small new dessert she and Keiichiro had worked on.

Retasu was just walking to change into her normal clothes, when she bumped into Keiichiro.

'Akasaka-san! I'm sorry!' She apologized while flushing.

'Don't be.' Replied he, 'I was just looking for you. Would you please help me cleaning the kitchen? I'd ask Ryou, but you know he gets once he's at his computer.'

'O- of course!' She agreed happily.

Cleaning the kitchen was not exactly one of Retasu's favorite assignments, but she did like being of help. Keiichiro had already started cleaning the counter and the oven, so it was just logical she should wash the dishes. She was doing just that when a sudden shiver ran up her spine. There was something cold grazing her skin. She raised her hand instinctively and realized she was bleeding profusely. Her face went very pale. This was bad.

Keiichiro must have noticed something was wrong, because he turned to her and asked; 'Is anything wrong?' and then his gaze met her bleeding hand. He frowned in concern.

'I'm so sorry!' She said. He was beside her in a blink.

'No need to apologize.' He stated, still frowning and looking down.

'I'll clean the floor after this.' She said, freaking out. What was making Akasaka-san frown all that much? Was he mad at her?

'I wouldn't dream of you doing such a thing.' He let out a sigh. 'There, with this bandage, it'll heal more quickly. Just remember to change it regularly.' He said and smiled kindly at her.

Retasu blinked, looked at her hand and then blinked some more. When had he washed her hands and bandaged her wounds? He had obviously done that, since the texture of the bandage was very, very real as was the feeling of two warm hands grasping lightly her own. Retasu blushed.

'Th- um… thank you, Akasaka-san.' She stammered.

'You don't need to thank me.' He said softly. He still hadn't let go. What was going on here? Was this man eight years older than her…? No. That couldn't be it. That shouldn't be it. But what if it was?

As if reading her confused thoughts, Keiichiro suddenly let go of her hands and coughed loudly.

'You know, I was thinking about sending a dessert to Ryou with you.' He said. Ryou, that's right. Keiishiro couldn't possibly like her, because he was always helping her get together with Ryou. 'But I feel guilty to ask you that now.'

Mew Lettuce smiled warmly. 'I'll do that gladly.'

Ryou was printing his personal documents when there came a knock on the door. 'Come in.' he instructed.

A very shy Retasu entered his room, holding a small cake. 'Um… Akasaka-san asked me to bring you this.' She explained in a shy voice.

'Thank you.' Said the boy, standing up and taking the tray from Retasu's hands.

'I didn't make it. Akasaka-san made it, I just helped a little.'

'It's delicious.' He said, after trying it, with a kind smile on his lips. Retasu felt very proud and happy that she could make food that could make others smile like that. 'I'll be missing this.' He sighed to himself.

'Are you going somewhere?' asked Lettuce, and before she could apologize for the blunt question, came the answer she hoped she wouldn't hear.

'Yes.'