Summary: She is certain that he still loves 'her'. Can he tell her otherwise? RetasuxRyou for the curious fans! (Revised)
"Sorry, everyone! There was traffic and I tried to get he-," the flushed, green-haired Mew rushed into the cafe.
"It's okay, Retasu. Why don't you go in the back and change," their young owner smiled at her.
She blushed and nodded frantically, leaving Ryou and the rest of the Mews behind. 'Breathe in, breathe out. Calm down and bring yourself together,' Retasu scolded herself. 'You can't have him, so stop thinking of him!'
Flashback
"Shirogane, I am going to be straightforward with you. Ichigo loves you and I don't want her get hurt. So, I'm going to ask you, do you love Ichigo?"
"Yes..."
End Flashback
Her eyes began to water at the flashback.
"Retasu, are you done in there," a muffled voice asked from outside the door.
"Yes, I'll be down in a minute," Retasu replied.
She quickly took a deep breath, blinking her tears away and finally rushed out the door. As soon as she stepped into the kitchen, she heard plates crashing and the familiar voice of the blue-haired Mew yelling her head off.
"PURIN!"
"Heh, heh, oppsie," the Chinese Mew smiled innocently.
"HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I TOLD YOU NOT TO -," she was cut off by a small whimper.
"I am sorry na no da,"
"Sorry, SORRY? SORRY ISN'T GOING TO REPLACE ALL OF THESE BROKEN CHINA," Minto yelled, her face red with anger.
"Minto, I think that's enough. Purin said she was sorry and," Retasu butted in politely but Minto's glare silenced her.
Minto huffed then stomped off, blowing off the unwanted steam. Zakuro followed after her.
"Hmph! She didn't need to blow a fuse about it," Ichigo scoffed.
"I'm sorry, Retasu. I didn't mean for her to get mad at you too...," Purin whimpered apologetically.
"It's okay, Purin. Why don't you go get a broom and get this cleaned up? Ichigo and I will help, won't we Ichigo?" Retasu smiled as she looked at Ichigo.
The pink clad girl nodded and smiled back. In no time flat, the floor was rid of the broken china and was sparkling clean again. The three smiled and went back to work, unknown to them that someone was watching.
Things calmed down between Minto and Purin, and everything went back to normal. Finally, the sky grew dark and it was time to close. The Mews rushed in and out, trying to finish up as quickly as possible
"Mou, Ryou! Please give us a ride home! It's dark out and we're all tired," Ichigo whined, pulling on the sleeves of their golden-haired boss.
"No way! Walk home yourself, I've got other things to do here," Ryou replied, tugging his sleeve from her grasp.
Ichigo frowned and blew a raspberry at him. "You big meanie," Ichigo huffed and stomped off.
"Ja, na no da!"
"Goodbye."
"Bye Bye," the other Mews said before chasing after their pouting friend.
Ryou shook his head and smiled before walking in the café to finish last minute paperwork, unknown to him that there was still one more Mew left behind. He casually walked into the locker room to clean up but instead he found Retasu.
"Oh!" She looked surprised. "Hello, Shirogane. I'm just cleaning up. I'll be out of here soon," Retasu smiled.
Ryou shook his head again and smiled.
"It's late. You should be heading home. I'll clean this up," he suggested.
She shook her head and smiled gratefully.
"It's okay, I'm almost done." Retasu delicately folded the last uniform and gracefully walked around him to put it away.
After so many years, Retasu had finally gotten over her clumsiness and grew up to be a beautiful, mature young lady. However, she wasn't the only one who had drastically changed. Ryou had gotten softer, less cold. He even learned how to open up and it was all because of her.
Ryou smiled softly at her and asked, "Well, since you were kind enough to clean up and it is getting really late, why don't I give you a ride? I don't want you going home all alone."
Her heart pounded rapidly and a blush slowly crept onto her normally pale cheeks.
"U-umm, n-no, it's okay. I'm sure you have other engagements to attend. I don't want to be a bother," she stuttered and bowed respectively.
"I insist," he pleaded, locking eyes with her.
'Those eyes…' she thought, staring into his deep cerulean eyes. "O-okay," she gave in.
He smiled in triumph, making her already frantic heart crazy.
…
The car ride home was quiet and it was making the shy mew nervous. She gave a quick glance at the man beside her then blushed.
'Why does he have to be so gosh darn handsome,' she thought, biting her bottom lips.
"We're here," Ryou said, snapping Retasu out of her thoughts.
Blushing, she quickly thanked him and gathered her bag. However, she was caught onto something or rather someone.
"Retasu, wait a minute."
She looked at him curiously.
"Can I ask you a question," he asked.
She slowly nodded.
"I was wondering if you would like to go on a date with me?"
It took a minute for her to process what he had just asked of her.
"W-what," she stuttered; her heart was beating so loudly that she was sure he could hear it.
"Go out with me," he repeated, his hand now covered hers.
Her mouth opened then closed, then looked down at their joined hands.
'He can't be serious! This is a joke. He loves Ichigo. Why,' she panicked, thoughts running wildly in her head.
Retasu laughed softly.
"You're a cruel man, Ryou," she whispered, moving her hands from his.
His sat there in shock, his eyes filled with hurt.
Quickly she got out of his car and rushed towards her house. Her hands trembled as she took her keys out of her bag and unlocked her door. Once inside, she slammed it shut then slid down. Tears streamed down her face as she wrapped her legs against her and sobbed.
"Why? Why would you do that when you love Ichigo?"
Her heart was breaking.
