The chaos was neither better nor worse today, but Ichigo didn't care. After her romantic date with Masaya the day before, she felt as though she was walking on air, drifting through her shift at the café with a bounce in her step. Her dreamy state encased her in a cloud of bliss, and any annoyance simply rolled off her back.
Ichigo had spent her date with Masaya at the farmer's market a few blocks into the urban center of their neighborhood, picking out some fresh fruits and a bouquet of flowers. Though her mind wandered to the troubles at the café and her concerns about her conversation with Ryou, the date had been a much-needed respite from her stress.
After passing an order over the kitchen counter for Zakuro to deliver, Ichigo stacked a tray with the treats for one of her tables and made her way through the crowded café to the trio of young girls. They oo'ed and ahh'ed at the intricate tarts Ichigo placed before them on the fine china plates.
"Key lime, cherry confit … and the lemon curd tart," Ichigo recited, as she set down the last dish. She smiled cheerfully at the three beaming girls. "Anything else I can get for you three?"
"Well actually..!" squeaked one of them, pausing to look at her friends' eager faces. Her short blonde locks bounced and whirled as she excitedly turned back to Ichigo. "We were talking with the waiter with the green hair … named 'Quiche' I think …"
Ichigo's face faltered as she tried to maintain some semblance of a smile.
The girl continued, "...and my friend asked him if he would go on a date but he said he was with you! Is that true? Are you dating?"
Ichigo stiffened. She laughed nervously and waved her hand in dismissal. "No, no we're not together. That's silly of him to say." The dreamy haze around Ichigo was beginning to dissipate, replaced instead with a flickering flame of annoyance. Her grin had turned into something of a grimace.
Suspicious, the blonde girl looked at her friends again, then back at Ichigo. "That's weird, I was sure –"
The girl halted, eyes going wide as she started to snicker. Ichigo, eyes narrowed, turned to look behind her just as she felt a hand snake around her waist. She locked eyes with Quiche, who had quietly come to stand next to her. Ichigo's breath caught in her throat as she observed Quiche's devilish smirk. His fingers drummed lightly on the curve of her waist.
Quiche quickly turned his focus to the girls at the table.
"Ichigo been treating you well?" he asked them in his signature velvety tone. The girls nodded vigorously, fascinated with the interaction unfolding before them. Ichigo, now a distinct shade of beet red, slid to the right and out of Quiche's grasp, laughing nervously.
"Ok I'm going to go now!" she squeaked, whirling around to leave.
"Oh I see!" one of the girls declared loudly. "Unrequited love! How romantic!" The girls at the table swooned. Quiche ignored them, turning to watch Ichigo's reaction. Ichigo stopped dead in her tracks and turned on her heel. She scowled, blushing.
"Q… Quiche I need to talk to you!" Ichigo blurted out, boring holes into his smug gaze. Ears burning and neck hot, she marched towards the back room, not waiting for him to follow her, but knowing that he would.
Observing that no one was in the back room, Ichigo marched in, massaging her face in an attempt to relax. Stupid, stupid, stupid, she thought. She pictured the look on the girls' faces as they watched Quiche rile her up in front of them. Why did she let herself get that flushed in front of everyone in the café?
Quiche was just a few moments behind Ichigo. He walked into the back room nonchalantly, crossing his arms and leaning up against one of the walls to the side of the door.
"Wanted a little alone time, hm?" he quipped, still wearing that damn smirk Ichigo had come to hate. Ichigo marched to the door, slammed it shut, and fixed Quiche with a glare. He still stood a good 6 inches taller than her, but she hoped he felt small.
"If you're going to be a jerk, could you at least be more subtle?" Ichigo said in a loud, harsh whisper. "You're making me look stupid in front of everyone!"
Quiche raised an eyebrow. "Could you elaborate, kitten?"
"You can't just tell everyone we're together!" Ichigo said, the flush in her cheeks rising up into her face again. Quiche let out a snort of laughter.
"What? I'm just telling some guests the truth."
"And what would that be?" Ichigo demanded, hands on her hips.
"Just that I only have eyes for you," Quiche mused.
He watched her carefully for a reaction. Ichigo felt her face flush again, and she inhaled sharply as she realized that she had been on her toes talking to him. Their faces were close enough to feel his breath on her lashes.
"W-well that's a stupid thing to tell the guests," Ichigo muttered half-heartedly. She backed up two steps and crossed her arms.
"Stupid is in the eye of the beholder," Quiche replied, smirking.
Ichigo opened her mouth to fire back an insult when the door swung open and Zakuro walked in, taking two steps before pausing to observe the two occupants of the back room.
Zakuro raised an eyebrow as Quiche and Ichigo waited for her reaction. Finally, she propped the door open with a door stopper and crossed over to where she had set her purse.
"You should keep this door open," she said simply. "People will get the wrong idea."
Ichigo groaned in annoyance, turning to march out the door again. Quiche grinned, hands behind his head as he followed her back out to the hall.
Ichigo was on her way to the kitchen to pick up her next table's order and get away from Quiche when she heard her name. Peering out into the dining area, she saw Mint motioning for her to come over to her table. Ichigo, curious, came and sat down in the empty seat where Mint was having her daily afternoon tea.
"What was that about?" Mint asked curiously. She took a sip from her cup and set it down delicately. "The whole dining room saw you run off like that."
Ichigo sighed in frustration and hid her face in her hands. "I know, I know," she groaned, "Quiche won't lay off."
"What do you mean?" asked Mint, tilting her head to the side. Mint was the gossip queen, Ichigo knew – she could pick apart the social dynamic between any two people in a room.
"Apparently he's been telling guests we're together or something," Ichigo muttered, still resting her face in her hands. "Something about 'only has eyes for' me. It's so embarrassing."
"That'd be sweet," Mint said, sipping her tea, "...if you didn't already have a boyfriend."
"I KNOW!" Ichigo exclaimed, a little too loudly. She went back to hiding her face. "Shirogane won't listen when I tell him I'm stressed out about all of this mayhem, either!"
"Well, we all know you could use the help around here," Mint replied coolly, raising an eyebrow. Ichigo crossed her arms and shot her a glare.
"Right, like you help out around here so much!"
"I'm helping you now," Mint said nonchalantly, smirking. "Besides, I've been talking with Quiche over the last couple days and he has some interesting things to say about the chimera we battled the other day."
Ichigo perked up, scooting to the edge of her seat. "Wait, what about the chimera?"
Mint shrugged, pouring herself another cup of tea. She then took a second saucer and cup from the edge of the tray, pouring a steaming cup for Ichigo.
"It just seems as if Quiche has been having a lot of conversations with Shirogane regarding the sudden appearance of the chimera," Mint said quietly, dropping a sugar cube into her tea. She stirred it with a small, golden spoon. The delicate clinking of the metal against china mimicked the same tones as her delicate, high-pitched voice. "Quiche has concerns that this won't be the last chimera we'll see any time soon. He worries there may more"
Ichigo furrowed her brow, tying this new information back to what Ryou had spoken with her about the day before. "Does he have any idea why?" asked Ichigo.
Mint shrugged, setting down the small spoon on her saucer. "Not really. Quiche isn't stupid, though. He and Ryou seem to be on to something. Working here is simply a cover."
"Well I knew that already," Ichigo said defensively, taking a sip of tea. The dainty aroma of lavender calmed the tension in her forehead. She sighed, feeling the warm liquid ease down her throat. "How do I get Quiche to quit bothering me, though?"
Mint observed her curiously. "I'm not your therapist, Ichigo. You need to figure that out on your own."
Ichigo huffed, taking one last gulp of tea before setting the cup down with a "clack" on the saucer.
Mint flinched.
"Ok, fine," Ichigo sighed. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ears. "Thanks Mint."
"Always," Mint said with a smirk. Her eyes drifted elsewhere in the dining room. "Don't look now; Shirogane is coming this way."
Ichigo's back stiffened as she heard her name barked from behind her, "ICHIGO! What are you doing sitting down?"
"But! But I –"
"No excuses! Get back to work!"
Ichigo gestured wildly from Ryou to Mint and back to Ryou, but her boss' expression was steely cold. Ichigo sighed, stomping back over to the kitchen. She purposefully knocked shoulders with Ryou as she went.
Ichigo picked up the waiting pastries on the kitchen serving counter, setting them on her tray quickly as her mind fell back to the whirlpool of thoughts that had been brewing over the last few tumultuous days.
She now knew for sure that the aliens, no matter how unruly, were essential in getting to the bottom of the mysteries of what happened during the battle a few days ago. The mystery of what was going on with Masaya's reappearing power.
And that, Ichigo thought, waltzing out to the dining area with her next tray of desserts, ...is worth putting up with them for.