A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviews, you make my day!

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Chapter 4 – The Downtown Café

Ichigo ran along the street, one hand on her head to prevent her hat from flying away with the wind. She was late yet again. After double and triple checking that all her work was done at the café (she didn't want to lose any bit of her pay!) she had left, anxious to get to the Downtown Café and find out what Masaya wanted to talk to her about. She remembered his face as he told her 'it's kind of important' and her anxiety worsened. Did she want to hear it?

Finally, she arrived at the café and scrutinized her reflection in the window, trying to fix her hair into a more organized state before she entered. Through the window, she could see Masaya sitting alone in a booth, sipping on an iced tea and staring at the television above the door. He had not noticed her yet. Smiling slightly, she walked into the café and looked around her, taking in her surroundings. It had been a while since she had come to the retro café, but not much had changed. The walls were a pale blue, throwing sharp contrast to the high back, red leather booths with oak colored tables, which were fixed against two of the café's walls, giving the place the appearance of an old style diner. The third wall consisted of the counter where more chairs were dotted and two girls sat gossiping over mugs of hot coffee. The café was otherwise empty. Ichigo walked past them to the booth in the corner and plopped down opposite Masaya who looked up from his drink, an unusually morose expression on his face.

"Hi Masaya," Ichigo said, her smile wavering at his serious expression. "Sorry I'm late, had to finish off some work."

"I figured," Masaya replied, sounding rather tired. He cleared his throat. "Ichigo, I'm sorry if this seems forward but I have wanted to talk to you and I don't think it can wait." She swallowed and nodded; she already knew this. "Would you like something to drink first?"

Ichigo shook her head, feeling her insides form a little knot of nerves. "I just want to hear what's wrong," she said quietly.

He nodded at her, his expression softening a bit, his voice wavering as he spoke. "Ichigo, I know you have a lot of commitments. I understand that working in the café takes a lot of your time." He sighed. "But sometimes it feels as if your life revolves around the café…like there is something there that you are hiding from me. I tried to be understanding, but I can't deal with it anymore, Ichigo!" His voice had become louder and more confident. Ichigo's eyes widened.

"What are you saying, Masaya?" she asked hesitantly.

He bowed his head, before looking up again to meet her anxious eyes. "You're a wonderful girl Ichigo, but when you're not around I don't know if I love you anymore." He took a deep breath. "I don't think we should continue seeing each other."

Ichigo gasped. She couldn't help it. She was surprised. The pit of her stomach seemed to drop. She had had a feeling that Masaya would break up with her someday - they had been fighting more often recently. But preparing herself for a breakup was one thing; having it happen was quite another. She took a couple of gasping breaths and said the only thing that came to mind.

"Is there someone else?"

Masaya scratched the back of his head. He suddenly looked very uncomfortable. "Not really," he replied hesitantly.

"What does that mean?" Ichigo asked.

"I like someone else," he replied slowly. "But I haven't said anything to her or anyone else."

Ichigo relaxed slightly. Somehow, being the only one so far to know his secret made her feel a bit better.

He sighed. "Believe me Ichigo, I would never cheat on you. I never wanted to hurt you," Masaya said with a pained expression on his face. "I just wanted you to know the truth."

Ichigo nodded, but couldn't stop her eyes from filling up with tears. She ducked her head quickly and attempted to regain control of her emotions. She heard Masaya ask for the bill and some shuffling. When she looked up, Masaya was finishing the remnants of his drink, while fishing in his pocket for his money.

"I should go, Ichigo," he said softly. She nodded. He put the money on the table and got up to leave, but stopped beside her.

"You don't really need anyone to tell you this, but you're a great person when you're not so busy," he said softly. "I know one day you will make someone happy and someone will make you even happier. I'm sorry that person wasn't me." He shot her one last smile before he left the cafe.

Ichigo stared down at the table, her vision blurring up with the returning tears. "I'm sorry too," she whispered. "But somehow, I don't think it would have been you." She felt a couple of tears slid down her cheek and absently wondered why a small part of her suddenly felt…liberated.