A/N: Thank-you to Tarlia, Jenn-LC and Kat for answering all my Japanese questions for this chapter (yes, lots of help!) and Jenn-LC for minor nitpicking once again! Sorry for the long wait. :(

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

Chapter 9 – The Sunshine After the Storm

Frustration. That was the word that summed it all up.

Utter frustration.

Ichigo narrowed her eyes in thought as she pulled on a pair of pink leggings and a fluffy sweater. Her re-entry into the café had been happily accepted by all the girls, but no more so than by Mint. Ichigo couldn't help but smile at her friend's reaction.

"If you ever leave me like that again, I swear I will come to your house and track you down myself! Do you know how many nails I chipped while sweeping the floor? Not to mention the running around…eugh!"

The girls had all laughed as Ichigo promised she would not subject Mint to the perils of actually doing work again, as long as Shirogane gave her a raise. Expecting the familiar retort, she looked around in surprise when it did not come and noticed, with some disappointment, that he was no longer in the room. That morning had been the last time she had seen him in two weeks.

Two weeks!

It was almost like he was avoiding her. The thought made her worry.

Ichigo grabbed an apple out of the fruit bowl on the table and called out a goodbye to her parents as she walked out the door and onto the grey path, remembering the happiness in the café when Lettuce had finally woken up over 24 hours after she had fallen. Her leg was getting better now and she had been allowed home that night, telling her parents she had had an accident while skating. Thankfully they had believed her.

She turned right and continued on. She almost couldn't believe she was doing this, but here she was. Walking towards the café on her day off. She wouldn't have done this, if it hadn't been for her dream. It had been so vivid…Ichigo frowned as she remembered the vision from last night.

-----

Ichigo was alone, in a dim hallway. A plain white door stood ahead of her. She stood alone, wondering where to go.

"Come into the light, neko-san."

The voice came from behind the door. She knew the voice, but in this long hallway it echoed ethereally, displaced in her memory. Her feet began to move of their own accord, carrying her along.

"Hikari ni kuru…"

"Who's there?" she whispered, reaching for the door handle.

"I need you."

-----

Ichigo let out a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. The dream had been so realistic that she had actually felt the door handle in her hand and heard the echoing as if she were in the chamber. The only thing she hadn't experienced was seeing who the man behind the door was. But in her mind she already knew.

She walked into the empty café, her shoes clicking on the shiny linoleum as she walked up to the hallway from her dream. This time though, the doorway was on her right. It was Ryou's room. She was about to reach for the door handle when she heard muffled voices. There was more that one person in there. Ichigo tried to make out what the voices were saying but she couldn't hear through the wood. She raised her hand and knocked, suddenly feeling slightly foolish.

There was a pause, and then footsteps and the door opened a crack to reveal a set of brown eyes. "Oh hello Ichigo," Keiichiro's voice said, the surprise evident in his voice. "What a pleasant surprise."

"Good morning Keiichiro-sama. I'm sorry for popping in so unexpectedly."

"Oh, that's fine," Keiichiro said lightly. He sounded troubled. Before she could say anything further, he turned around and muttered something to the other inhabitant of the room, who muttered something she didn't hear. He turned back quickly and opened the door wider, stepping out neatly before closing it after him and smiling at the redhead.

"Won't you come downstairs and have a cup of tea? Ryou will join us in a few minutes," he added, noticing her eyes lingering on the door. A sparkle gleamed in his eyes but he said nothing, choosing to walk down the stairs instead.

Ichigo nodded and walked back downstairs slowly. She watched as Keiichiro began to prepare the tea and pulled cakes out of the cupboard. Something felt amiss. "Is anything wrong, Keiichiro?"

Keiichiro glanced at the girl. Of course she knew. She had the senses of a cat, after all. "Not quite Ichigo," he replied gently. "It is just that today is the anniversary of Ryou's parents passing."

Ichigo covered her mouth in shock. She hadn't even known they were dead. Ryou never talked about his parents and no one had ever asked. Ichigo had just assumed they lived elsewhere in Japan.

"I know you probably didn't know about this," Keiichiro continued softly. "Ryou never talks about it, except on this day. All of his emotions seem to come out on this day only. It is his day of release."

"I – I shouldn't be here," Ichigo whispered, walking backwards.

"Ichigo, don't leave," Keiichiro said in a soothing voice. "I asked Ryou and he's fine with you being here. I think he needs someone else to be here with him." He sighed. "Please stay."

"Yeah Strawberry, after you went to all the trouble of coming in the first place, why would you leave now?" Ryou's sarcastic voice rang out as he descended the stairs. Ichigo immediately noticed his eyes were slightly red and blinked to stop her own tears.

"I just thought you might want some privacy," she muttered.

Ryou swallowed heavily but shook his head. "No, it's fine."

Ichigo looked up at him, her eyes brighter than usual. "I'm sorry to hear about your parents…I didn't know."

"No one does," he whispered.

"But now I do," Ichigo whispered back mindlessly, looking into his eyes. She was used to seeing his eyes as closed vessels, blocking off the emotions held inside but today she realized she could see his loss and loneliness. This day was hurting him, but this release was his way of accepting their death.

Unconsciously, she reached for his hand and was pleasantly surprised when, instead of the reaction she would have been expecting, Ryou put his hand in hers. She was far more surprised when he suddenly pulled her towards his chest and held her close. She wrapped her shaking arms around him slowly, holding him and feeling the pain emanating from within; his heart racing; the deep breaths, his chest rising and falling; the lone tear which slipped down his cheek and fell onto her head. She felt it and held him, hoping that this pain would help him find peace.

Sometime later, the tea had been finished and Keiichiro had ducked down to the lab, muttering something about surveillance cameras, leaving Ryou and Ichigo at the table. Both were more relaxed in each other's presence than they had ever been. Ryou was still holding Ichigo's hand and telling her a story from his childhood, about the happy times he had had with his parents. She listened with a smile on her face, genuinely interested in what she was hearing and laughed when he told her the more amusing aspects of his childhood.

"They sound like wonderful people Ryou," she said honestly, before realizing she had called him by his first name for the first time. However he didn't appear to notice and smiled at her.

"They were," he responded with a sigh. "I miss them a lot…but I take comfort in the fact that I'm following in my father's footsteps and hopefully making them proud."

"I would think that you are making them proud," she said with a small grin. "After all, how many people can say they're helping to save Tokyo from destruction?"

He laughed.

For a while after, there was amicable silence between the pair, each comfortable in the silence and their own thoughts. Then Ryou reacted. He sat up slightly, regarding her with an almost curious look. "Do not be insulted if I ask you this Ichigo, but why did you come to the café on your day off, no less?"

Ichigo let out a nervous laugh. "I could tell you but it'll sound silly."

"Try me."

The challenge in his voice was back, but she would not argue this time. She smiled weakly. "I had a rather odd dream…"

Seeing that Ryou was giving her a blank look, she continued on hurriedly. "Someone was calling for me…he needed me to come into the light." She realized this sounded so foolish. "The dream seemed so vivid that when I woke up, I felt I needed to be here, I can't explain –"

Ryou silenced her by holding his finger up to her lips. "It's ok Ichigo. I understand." He was looking into her eyes again, those blue orbs burning into her vision. "I'm...glad you came."

Was he moving closer? Ichigo couldn't speak for fear of dislodging the finger pressed onto her lips.

"Did you know who the person was?" he asked her softly.

She nodded and he removed the finger.

"Why did you come, Ichigo?"

The question was different this time.

"Because you needed me."

"I need you."

Her eyes fluttered closed as their lips met; soft, tentative, testing. Then he moved back. Without thinking, she moved forward and closed the gap between them once more, placing her lips on his; kissing him gently, sweetly, carefully. One of his hands moved to support her face as the other rubbed circles into her palm. Together they deepened the kiss as their long-suppressed emotions were finally released. Longing. Wanting.

Needing.

Slowly, they broke apart, their hearts beating a little faster. Ichigo opened her eyes to see Ryou smirking at her. Smirking!

"Cat got your tongue, Strawberry?" he said playfully.

She hissed at him and suddenly the mood between them was the same as it was before. Yet they both knew nothing would be the same again.

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