"Ichigo Momomiya … will you marry me?"
Time seemed to slow to a halt around Masaya and Ichigo. Ichigo had waited for this moment ever since she was a little girl, dreaming about finding romance and true love. Here she stood in the middle of her favorite childhood park, on a perfect spring day, in a moment she had dreamed about over and over again. She could hardly believe it was real – she just didn't expect it to happen so soon.
The ring was perfect: a classic princess-cut diamond set in a white gold band. Its crystal clear gem glinted in the sun and sparkled in Ichigo's eye. For those few precious seconds, the whole world disappeared around her. Everything Ichigo had been worrying about dissipated – her focus was as clear as the diamond in the ring.
Ichigo inhaled deeply, holding her face in her hands and feeling happy tears welling up behind her eyes. Her eyes moved from the brilliant diamond to Masaya's expectant gaze. A smile spread across her face as she nodded quickly, struggling to find her voice again.
"Y-yes!" she finally exclaimed. She gasped as the word left her lips.
She had just said yes. She was engaged to Masaya Aoyama.
Masaya smiled broadly, happiness dancing in his eyes. He quickly slipped the ring from the small ring box and slowly, gently placed it on Ichigo's hand. Ichigo gasped at how it fit nearly perfectly. The mere look of the ring on her finger put her throat in a knot.
Ichigo was momentarily distracted by the sound of onlookers clapping around them. She looked up in surprise and realized that some of the visitors of the park had seen the proposal, and were cheering them on. Masaya stood up next to Ichigo and wrapped her in a tight, warm hug as the people in the park around them voiced congratulations.
"I love you," Masaya murmured into her hair. Ichigo sighed deeply into his shirt, feeling her heart flutter and her shoulders relax.
"I love you, too," she replied softly. She broke from the hug smiling up at her new fiancé. She felt like she was floating in a sort of daze, giggling as she glanced down at the ring again. "It's beautiful, Masaya."
"I hoped you'd like it," Masaya said, resting his hands on her waist. "I've been carrying it around in my pocket for about a week or so. I just wanted to wait for the right moment, and I woke up this morning thinking … I had to make the right moment happen."
Ichigo had to quickly hide her surprise at his admission that he had been waiting to propose for a week. When else had he been hoping to propose? The charity gala, maybe? Their date yesterday? Ichigo didn't have time to think on it long – a middle-aged woman approached Masaya and Ichigo, smiling.
"Congratulations, you two! Do you want me to take your photo?" she asked in a kind, sweet voice. Ichigo smiled warmly, nodding.
"Yes, please! Thank you!" she replied quickly, glancing up at Masaya for confirmation. He nodded, opened his phone camera, and held out his phone to the woman. Ichigo posed with Masaya, thanked the kind stranger, and tried not to let her mind wander too far down the path of wondering if she had been inadvertently ruining her own chances of a proposal for an entire week.
Masaya had been wanting to propose to her this whole time, and Ichigo had spent so much of her time trying to convince herself that she was still committed to him. Ichigo did her best to swallow familiar feelings of guilt and self-deprecation in what was supposed to be one of the happiest moments of her life. She looked down at Masaya's phone as he showed her the photo of the two of them together. They looked happy, perfect – Ichigo smiled and glanced up at Masaya, wanting to lose herself again in the moment.
"I'm a little underdressed, aren't I?" Ichigo laughed. "I wasn't expecting this at all, or else I would have worn something nicer!"
"No, you look perfect," Masaya insisted. Ichigo relished in the compliment, leaning up against Masaya's shoulder affectionately. He put his phone back in his pants pocket and sighed, smiling. "Want to walk around a little more? We have lots to talk about, huh?"
Ichigo nodded. "Yeah!"
She took Masaya's hand in hers and they began to stroll through the park again. Ichigo kept glancing down at the ring, tilting it so it glinted in the bright afternoon sun. It felt like such a heavy weight on her finger – Ichigo didn't usually wear much jewelry, except for the bell choker she often wore around her neck.
Ichigo and Masaya began to slowly tease apart the details of what they would do next, now that they were engaged. They both quickly agreed that they were very, very young by most people's standards – so not everyone would take well to their engagement. Masaya admitted that he had not spoken to Ichigo's parents before planning the proposal. Ichigo cringed at the thought of telling her parents. They agreed to keep the engagement secret from both of their families, at least until after Ichigo had graduated high school.
They had circled the entire perimeter of the park before Masaya asked about who else they should tell. "I'm guessing you'll want to tell your friends, though, right?" he asked with a smile. "We can go see who's working at the café today if you'd like."
Ichigo lit up at the thought of telling her friends about the news. She was especially eager to see if Lettuce and Mint were working, so that she could assure them that everything was okay with her and Masaya. Their worried texts had gone unanswered on her phone.
"Sure, let's go!" Ichigo agreed cheerfully, swinging Masaya's arm playfully as they held hands. A creeping worry began to gnaw at her: there was a chance they would run into Quiche. And he was unlikely to be excited with their big news. Ichigo shook the thought out of her head quickly, trying to maintain her excitement at the thought of showing off her ring to her friends.
The walk to the café seemed to take no time at all as Ichigo and Masaya held hands and chatted about what was next in their futures. Ichigo, mood lightened by the engagement, readily accepted Masaya's offer to help her with applications for universities in London. Ichigo's previous worries about moving abroad felt momentarily distant from the hazy bliss of her new engagement. Masaya insisted to her that she would be able to get into a university close to where he was doing his work-study program. Ichigo wondered to herself if Masaya had ever seen her abhorrent grades.
"What program do you think you'll want to apply to?" Masaya asked cheerfully. The café was just coming into view around the bend, its pink and red exterior standing out like a girlish beacon in the green foliage of the surrounding park.
"Well," Ichigo started hesitantly, "I've always thought about pre-med? Nursing, maybe? I don't know, I've always known I want to help people. I think that would be good."
Masaya smiled, squeezing Ichigo's hand reassuringly. "That sounds wonderful! I agree, I think you would do really well as a doctor or a nurse."
Ichigo nodded, forcing a wide smile up at her boyfriend. In reality, the thought of picking a career now was beginning to make her feel sick. What if she just wanted to serve cakes for a while? Hang out with her friends, live with her parents? She knew the thought was naïve, but it didn't stop her from returning to the idea simply staying in Tokyo for a while. The familiar fear of moving abroad quickly soured her hazy bliss, and it made her feel sick to her stomach.
You don't want to be away from Masaya any more, she reminded herself. Especially now that you two are engaged.
Ichigo squeezed Masaya's hand as they approached the bright red, open doors of the cafe. He looked down at her with a warm, happy smile. It was infectious; Ichigo found it hard to be anxious when Masaya fixed her with his comforting gaze. She pushed her anxiety to the side and sighed.
"Ready?" Masaya asked her. Ichigo nodded.
"Yeah! Let's–"
"Oy, I thought you were sick with food poisoning!"
Ryou's angry voice ripped through the calm moment like a knife. Ichigo startled, cringing as Ryou marched up to the couple with a tea towel still tossed over his shoulder. He looked annoyed as Masaya and Ichigo stopped in the doorway of the café.
"Feeling better now? Coming in to work after all?" Ryou continued, crossing his arms. "It's still an hour before your scheduled shift."
"Shirogane, listen, I can explain!" Ichigo sputtered, waving her hands in front of her dismissively. "I uh– I was feeling sick earlier but I'm much better now!"
"So you think you're going to waltz in for ... a date?" Ryou challenged, eyeing Masaya warily. "Nice to see you, Aoyama, by the way" he added, nodding to Masaya. Masaya nodded cordially in return, observing the argument unfolding in front of him with curiosity.
"Well I actually–!" Ichigo started confidently. She faltered in the way to deliver the news of the engagement, tripping over her words. "What I wanted to tell you was … uh…"
"Woah, what is THAT?" came a high-pitched voice from behind Ryou. Pudding darted out of the café and snatched up Ichigo's hand. The blonde mew gasped loudly and slapped her other hand to her face in shock.
"Big sis, are you … ENGAGED?!"
Ryou looked like he had been slapped in the face. His eyes widened in shock when he saw the ring on Ichigo's hand as Pudding held it up to the light. Ichigo grinned anxiously. She heard the café go quiet behind her. It seemed like the café patrons were listening in.
"I uh… yes!" Ichigo said finally, inhaling sharply and straightening her back. "Aoyama just asked me! We're engaged!"
"Whaaaa–!" Pudding exclaimed, dropping Ichigo's hand and bounding into the café. She wasted no time making an announcement to the whole establishment: "Hey! Big sis Ichigo is engaged!"
"WHAT?!" came a shrill voice from a table to the left, behind Ryou. Mint darted out in an instant, snatching Ichigo's hand to inspect the ring. She was in plain clothes, most likely dropping by as a visitor rather than working. Her deep brown eyes darted from the ring back up to Ichigo, then back to the sparkling gem. "Ichigo, congratulations! The ring is beautiful!" She grinned excitedly and wrapped Ichigo in a hug. Mint was soon joined by Zakuro and Lettuce, where the four girls took turns hugging and congratulating the happy couple. They all fawned over the ring with a chorus of "ooohh"s and "wow"s.
"Wait, Aoyama, how did you propose?" Lettuce asked Masaya shyly. "If–if you don't mind me asking…"
Masaya beamed, reveling in the jovial atmosphere. "Not at all! It was a bit spontaneous. We just went for a walk in one of Ichigo's favorite parks, and I just sort of … asked!"
"Uncomplicated," Zakuro remarked with a nod. "I respect that."
Ryou sighed dramatically, a smile creeping up his face. He pushed his blond hair out of his face with one hand and shook his head. "Well, Momomiya, you're making it awfully hard for me to be mad at you," he joked. Ichigo grinned up at his amused expression. "Congrats," Ryou added, tilting his head to one side.
Ichigo beamed up at the crystal blue eyes of her boss. "T-thanks!" she sang, glancing down at the ring once more.
"Wait, can I see?" a girl's voice rang from inside the café. Ichigo leaned to her left and peered into the dining room. The entire café was alight with excitement as its patrons craned their necks to watch the scene unfold in the doorway. It appeared they had an audience.
Ichigo giggled and led Masaya into the café, to the table of the curious middle school girl.
"Sure!" she chirped, holding out her hand for the girl – a café regular, Ichigo realized – to take a look. The young girl gasped at the ring in starry-eyed wonder. Her friend seated across from her craned her neck to stare.
"Wowww, so pretty!" she murmured. "I wanna get engaged!"
Ichigo laughed. "Well, maybe when you're a little older!" she said cheerfully, grinning. The irony was not lost on Ichigo that she was not that much older than the girl in front of her. Funny thing for me to say, being a 17-year-old fiancée, she thought.
She looked up and saw that half of the café was out of their seats, wanting a look at her sparkling new engagement ring. Ichigo complied with the onslaught of questions from guests, recounting exactly how Masaya proposed, how she had reacted, and what she thought the ring would look like. Masaya stood nearby the whole time, placing a reassuring hand on Ichigo's back and obediently responding to questions about the engagement when asked.
"Hey, didja really have to cause a scene in the whole stupid café?" came Tart's voice to Ichigo's left. Ichigo glared over in his direction as Tart set down a table's order: two strawberry milkshakes.
"Don't be such a sourpuss, Tar-Tar!" Pudding chirped off to Ichigo's right. She bounded over to Tart with a skip and a twirl. "Ichigo and Aoyama just got engaged! It's a big deal!"
"What does that even mean?" Tart replied gruffly. "All I see is a tiny piece of jewelry."
"It's uhh–" Lettuce started, peering over at Tart and Pudding from Ichigo's side. "It's also called a… betrothal? Does that sound more familiar?"
It looked like a lightbulb had gone off in Tart's head. He snapped his mouth shut and nodded slowly, frowning. "Hmm, yes. Ok I get it now. That is…really important." He paused, tilting his head to the side and catching Ichigo's curious look in his. "I uh– sorry old hag."
Ichigo couldn't help but laugh at the strange apology from Tart. "Apology accepted," she replied with a grin. Tart looked annoyed at having to apologize. He slunk back to the kitchen with his serving tray under one arm, and Pudding hanging off the other.
The small crowd around Ichigo had mostly dissipated by then, with café guests returning to their seats, still buzzing with excitement. Ryou approached Ichigo and Masaya just as Ichigo finished apologizing to Lettuce for calling in sick to her shift.
"Hey Momomiya, you should probably take off," Ryou said with a smirk. "It's a big day and all that. You two should enjoy it."
Ichigo beamed at the rare show of benevolence from her boss. She nodded enthusiastically, clutching Masaya's hand tighter and leaning a head on his shoulder. "Ok! We will! Thank you Shirogane!"
"And congratulations again," Ryou added, his glad eyes glancing between Ichigo and Masaya.
Ichigo looked up at Masaya happily. "Ready to go?"
Masaya nodded, "Sure, how about that ice cream I promised you earlier?" Ichigo giggled and pulled Masaya towards the bright red doors.
They were just to the entrance of the café when Ichigo heard the jarring sound of a plate connecting with the floor towards the back of the café. Ichigo, startled, glanced back into the café. She saw Pudding's head poking out from the back hall leading towards the kitchen.
Pudding spotted Ichigo looking back in her direction. She mouthed the word "go", shooing Ichigo away with one hand. Ichigo didn't understand what was happening until she heard the sound of a glass connecting with the wall in an ear-splitting crash.
The dishes weren't being dropped — they were being thrown.
"Uh, we should go," Ichigo said hurriedly to Masaya, pulling at his hand towards the exit of the café. Masaya hadn't yet connected the dots as he furrowed his brow, turning from the commotion in the kitchen and following Ichigo out to the bright, breezy park outside the café. Ichigo quickly swallowed the sour feeling of distress itching at her throat.
"What was that about?" Masaya asked, glancing back towards the café as they headed towards the main path through the park. Ichigo bit her lip.
"Hm, I'm not sure," Ichigo replied quickly. "Tart can be awfully clumsy with the dishes."
She caught herself mid-lie, wondering to herself why it had spilled from her lips so quickly. In reality, she knew exactly what was going on. Tart and Pudding had left to go to the kitchen – and two minutes later, someone was throwing dishes against the wall. She was sure that Tart and Pudding had found Quiche and told him the news. What else could it have been? Ichigo wondered to herself why, even now, she was still protecting Quiche from Masaya's judgement. Maybe it was a habit, a defense mechanism she had developed over the past week and a half. She rationalized to herself that this had to be the case. A twisted, knotted feeling sat like a weight in the pit of her stomach. She clenched her jaw and did her best to put the last two minutes out of her mind.
Ichigo quickly changed the topic. "So, where are we going for ice cream?"
Masaya seemed hesitant to change topics at first. He took an extra few moments to respond, and Ichigo wondered briefly if he picked up on her white lie.
"Hm, I was thinking the place on the corner by the hair salon. The one that does all of the cookie toppings. How does that sound?"
"Mm, yeah! Let's do that!" Ichigo agreed cheerfully. She swung Masaya's hand back and forth as they walked. She found herself grasping for a new topic quickly, feeling uncomfortable still after their exit from the café. "Everyone seems really excited about the engagement! I'm glad Shirogane wasn't too mad."
"Yeah," Masaya replied, smiling, "it was quite the welcoming party, huh?"
Ichigo giggled, nodding. "Pudding made a huge scene of it, that's for sure! That's what she does best."
Masaya laughed lightly along with Ichigo. "Do you think all of them will be bridesmaids? The mews?" he asked.
Ichigo stiffened at the question. Her gut soured unexpectedly as she found herself suddenly fearful of the thought of making real, tangible wedding plans. Despite the obvious meaning behind an engagement, Ichigo could scarcely picture herself as a bride without feeling an anxious grip on her lungs.
"Yeah I think so!" Ichigo replied finally, swallowing her nerves. "We're all such good friends; I don't see why not."
"Makes sense," Masaya remarked. He gave Ichigo's hand a squeeze and looked down at her as they walked. "You seem anxious. Your hands feel hot."
"Well I– I..." Ichigo started, stuttering. She stopped, heaving a deep breath and catching up her words to her thoughts. "I guess it's just a lot to think about for one day! I mean, I started off my day feeling really nervous about us. Well, like, what you would say, that is. After everything."
Masaya nodded. "What a day, huh?" he said softly. He paused for a beat. "You know, I meant what I said earlier. This past week and a half has been really difficult, but I think it says a lot about us that we were able to work through it. That we're here, together."
Ichigo sighed. Masaya was right. Their relationship seemed bulletproof, virtually impenetrable after everything that had happened in such a short period of time. Ten days somehow felt like a lifetime. Now, she knew the only person who could mess it up was her. And Ichigo had no intention of messing it up again.
"I feel the same way," Ichigo murmured. She leaned her head on Masaya's upper arm as they walked. "I'm lucky."
"No, I am," Masaya said softly. "Lucky that I get to spend the rest of my life with such a wonderful girl."
A sense of warm, calm energy washed over Ichigo as she breathed in the musky scent of Masaya's cologne. She felt safe and warm with her head on his arm. Life felt simple in that moment. "I love you," she sighed.
"I love you too," Masaya replied. He planted a gentle kiss on her head. "You're my cat, and I can't wait until we're living in the same city again."
Ichigo smiled up at her fiancé lovingly. "So when is your–"
Ichigo was interrupted by a jarringly loud screech from the sky above them. It sounded like some kind of sea bird. She immediately craned her neck to look up, squinting into the afternoon sun. Masaya gripped her waist protectively as he watched the sky.
"What was that?" he asked.
"I have an idea," Ichigo murmured. A chill crept up her spine; the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. She reached for her mew pendant in her bag.
Ichigo saw the shadow before anything else. A giant black shadow appeared over the crest of the trees, followed by a massive grey chimera that looked like some kind of mangled seagull. Its beady red eyes scanned the ground as it let out another ear-piercing shriek. One of Ichigo's worst fears was coming to life: a chimera attack while she was alone, with Masaya. She felt like she was going to be sick.
"Ichigo, get to cover!" Masaya cried, pushing Ichigo towards the cluster of trees to their left. Ichigo grabbed Masaya's hand and ducked under the closest tree, watching the chimera circle above them. The bird's chest swelled and its neck craned back. It wretched, then spat a tire-sized glob of what looked to be some sort of acid. The attack landed towards the center of the park, narrowly missing the park patrons as they ran for cover. Ichigo gasped as she heard the terrified screams of the civilians trying to get away from the spreading liquid.
"I'm going to transform!" Ichigo yelled, glancing back at Masaya. "Stay here until I can get it under control!"
"Ichigo, you can't!" Masaya called back at Ichigo as she stepped out of the cover of the trees. He reached out and grabbed her wrist. "Your teammates aren't here yet! You'll get hurt!"
"I can't just sit here!" Ichigo insisted. She knew she had to fight. She knew she had to protect the bystanders in the park, even though she knew her chances of defeating the chimera on her own were slim.
She lifted her mew pendant to her lips. "Mew Mew Ichigo, Metamorphosis!"
Ichigo felt the warm, pulsing energy of her transformation wrap her body in her costume as the wildcat genes took over. She opened her pink eyes and quickly summoned her strawberry bell. Her power thrummed through her veins and instilled a rush of much-needed confidence.
Ichigo looked over her shoulder at Masaya. He had his fists clenched at his sides, worry clouding his features as their eyes met. "Aoyama, promise you won't leave the cover of the trees until it's safe," Ichigo said.
Masaya looked hurt. "Ichigo, I want to protect you. I don't know if I can transform," he replied. "Please be safe."
Ichigo nodded and turned back to face the park where the chimera circled above. She hadn't the slightest idea of how she could fire an attack on a chimera in the sky, when she couldn't even fly.
As if to read her mind, Masaya called from behind her: "All you have to do is buy time! The mews have been able to get to you quickly – you just need a few minutes. I'll call the café on my cell to see if I can reach them that way, too."
A terrifying thought crossed Ichigo's mind. The only reason the mews had been able to get to her so fast was because of Quiche, and his ability to sense when she was in distress. Would he still be able to warn the mews that she was in trouble? Would he care?
Ichigo clenched her jaw and began to run towards the center of the park. The creature flying overhead let out an ear-piercing screech that felt like a knife in Ichigo's sensitive cat ears. She cringed, grimacing and squinting up into the sun.
Please get here fast.
(A.N./
Thank you as always for all of the amazing reviews! Please drop a line and let me know what you thought of this chapter, predictions for future chapters, etc. Cheers!)