Chapter 5: Pop CDs, Straight-forwardness, and Zakuro

Zakuro, being an actress, leaned closer to Ryou and said seductively: "Well, what is it?"

"Ahh...Fujiwara...I..." Ryou stuttered.

Zakuro leaned closer. "You what...?"

"How'd you know what was going on up here anyway?" Ryou asked, trying to change the subject.

Zakuro broke out of her acting binge and went back to her cool self. "Well," she started: "I came up to the café area to get something. Then I heard Ringo singing really loudly in English. I thought it was pretty good for someone who's never even spent a day in America, so I decided to stay a little longer and listen from the café area. Then I heard you cursing in English, so I decided to come up here."

"So I see..." Ryou said nervously. He still couldn't believe Zakuro got all...you-know...on him, even if she was just acting. "What are you here for again?" he asked uneasily.

"You need help."

"Right...uhhhh..."

Something caught Zakuro's eye. The pop-model regally made her way to the desk and saw all the things the other girls had previously made: Ichigo's designer stationary and Minto's lovebird drawing. Then she glanced at the floor area next to the door and saw the clipboard. She walked over to it, picked it up, and read the letter attached to it. After she had read the letter, it all became very clear to her. She set the clipboard down on the desk with the other stuff. "You have a crush, don't you, Shirogane?" she inquired calmly.

"M-maybe..." Ryou stuttered. "W-what if I do?"

Zakuro looked puzzled. "Is something the matter, Shirogane?" she asked sympathetically, a rare thing for her to do. "You don't sound like yourself."

"Nah...I-I'm fine..." he lied.

"Shirogane, there's nothing wrong with liking somebody."

"W-whaaa?"

"Look at all the guys who fall head over heels for me."

"That's because you're a celebrity. And she's...well...she's not..."

"True. But still. Who is it? C'mon, you can tell me."

"N-no... it says who it is in the letter..."

"C'mon, we've been working together for over a year now, and you can't trust me enough to personally tell me who you like? If you ask me, that's sort of pathetic."

That did it. That one little line. Ryou couldn't stand being called pathetic, especially by a celebrity. "It's Midorikawa, OK!" he blurted.

A sly smile formed on Zakuro's face. "Strange..." she mused, "I don't know anyone by the name of 'Midorikawa'. What's her first name?"

Ryou could see that the pop-model was trying to trick him; Minto had made a similar comment about surnames and first names earlier. "I can't call her by her first name," he pointed out. "I barely even know her...personally, I mean..."

Zakuro giggled. "Don't worry. I know who you're talking about."

Ryou folded his arms.

"Well," the wolf-girl continued: "I hope you know that she feels the same way about you as you do about her."

"What?" The blonde boy was shocked.

"Remember that day last winter when you two were on that boat looking for Mew Aqua?"

Ryou nodded. Of course he remembered.

"Well, that day when the Kimera-anima knocked you into the water, she dived off the boat not to defeat the alien, but to save you."

Ryou sighed. He wished Zakuro's memory wasn't so good. He also wondered how she knew all this. Only he and Lettuce were on the boat that day. Zakuro was...somewhere else.

"And remember the party boat? Well, you gave her the courage to save the baby that was being drowned by the alien. She wouldn't have dived off the boat and made such a daring rescue if it wasn't for you."

Now Ryou really wished Zakuro's memory wasn't so good. "Big whoop," he said sardonically. "I bet she would've dived after that Aoyama guy if he was knocked in the water."

"But she wouldn't have kissed that Aoyama guy."

"What!"

"Enough about that," Zakuro said coolly, but was interrupted by Ryou.

"Whadya mean she wouldn't have kissed Aoyama? Where are you going with this?" the blonde boy demanded.

Zakuro sighed. "When she saved you, she kissed you; and then the Kirema-anima was defeated by the aura of light that was made by her affections towards you," the wolf-girl explained. "Anyways, I'm trying to get a point across here. She feels the same way about you as you do about her."

"Oh."

"Well, let's get on with this," Zakuro continued. "I'm assuming Ringo was trying to get you to put on a show for Lettuce to impress her, eh?"

Ryou nodded irritatingly. "Yep," he said.

"Well, I don't think that's necessary. Why don't you just tell her the truth, without all that fancy stuff?"

Ryou blushed. "I couldn't possibly do that," he admitted.

"I always knew you aren't very good at admitting your feelings, Shirogane," Zakuro observed.

"Humph."

"Well, repeat after me: I..."

"I-I..."

"Love..."

"L-l-love..."

"You."

"Y-y-y- I can't do it!"

Zakuro sighed. "C'mon Shirogane, you can do it."

"No I can't."

"Let's try again. Repeat after me: I...love...you."

"I-I-I can't do it!"

The pop-model moaned. "Well, apparently that won't work."

"Umph."

Suddenly, Zakuro's face brightened up, a rarity for her. "Why don't you give her this?" she suggested. She pulled out a CD from her waitress uniform pocket and handed it to Ryou.

"What's this?" Ryou asked.

"What does it look like? It's my newest hit album: 'Only You'."

"So?"

Zakuro sighed. "Think of it as a Japanese-version of what Ringo just sang, except more mature and in-tune."

Ryou eyed the wolf-girl suspiciously. "You want me to give her a CD full of love songs?"

Zakuro glared at the boy. "What's wrong with that?" she demanded.

Ryou took a step back. "Nothing's wrong with that..." he said nervously.

"Will you give it to her?" the pop-model inquired. "Because I'm practically giving you a 5000 yen CD for free."

"Y-yeah, yeah...sure...I'll give it to-" Ryou started, but was cut off.

"Shirogane-san!" a very chirpy voice called out from the now-open doorway.

Ryou and Zakuro turned around to find that the voice belonged to Berry.

"Shirogane-san, where are the coffee mugs you wanted us to coun-" Berry started in a cheerful tone, but stopped when she saw that Ryou and Zakuro were in the middle of a discussion.

"Oops...I'm sorry..." the French-Japanese girl said softly. "Am I disturbing you?"

Zakuro turned her attention away from Ryou and walked over to Berry. She ushered the younger girl into the room and said to her in French: "No, you're not disturbing us; we were just finished. Actually you came just in time,"

"Really?" Berry replied, also in French. "What do you need me for?"

Zakuro bent over and whispered in Berry's ear: "Shirogane has a crush, and he needs help expressing his feelings for her."

"Oh, I see." Berry giggled gleefully.

Zakuro turned back to Ryou. She said to him in Japanese: "Well, I'll just leave you two alone for now. I need to check on the other girls." The wolf-girl winked at Berry and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

Upon Zakuro's exit, Ryou turned to Berry and questioned her angrily: "What was that all about?"

Berry folded her arms. "You'll see," she said to him, this time speaking in Japanese.