Me: H-Hello... everyone... S-Sorry I'm late...

Kashino: Where the heck have you been?!

Me: Gyah! I... I... was at home...

Kashino: WHY HAVEN'T YOU BEEN UPDATING?!

Ichigo: Don't be harsh Kashino.

Me: I-I'm sorry. I have hobbies too you know! I've been addicted to a thing called Diamond stitch. Plus I have LOT of school work and ever since PAASCU visited the school our teachers have been giving us a ton of homework related to giving creative output. (posters, slogans, symbols, essays, satires, etcetera, etcetera.)

Ichigo: I know how that feels.

Me: And the feeling that after you worked so hard on it until 1 AM then the next day they tell you it's due next week.

Ichigo: *hugs* I feel you Berry-chan!

Both of us: Cry... sob... cry... sob...

Kashino: *sigh* Idiots... Yami does not own Yumeiro Patissiere.

~ Chapter 5 ~

"Did you miss me?"

Annoyed, the Sweets Princes closed the door behind them. Before they did, Kashino peeked inside, he told his classmates.

"Don't you there open this door..." He said harshly. The class with Ameya-sensei nodded. "Good."

They watched as Ichigo stood there, Rick's hands still on her shoulders. She felt awkward but she still tried to act hospitable. "O-Of course Rick. We haven't seen you in a while." She lied. She didn't lie about missing him, of course she missed her friend, the lie was that they haven't seen him in a while. In fact, it's only been a few weeks since they last saw him during the World Cake Grand Prix.

For Rick however, that was a few weeks too long.

"That's my Ichigo!" He hugged the girl once more. He rubbed her cheek against hers. "Ichigo..." He whispered into her ear so the others won't hear him.

Ichigo was startled. "W-What is it Rick?" She whispered back.

"I have a secret."

Curious, Ichigo asked, "A S-Secret?"

"Yes." Rick took out a deep breath on Ichigo's ear. She shivered.

Rick chuckled. "Ichigo, I...

... love you."

Ichigo turned bright red. She let out a scream of disbelief in a whispery voice. What happened to the playful and cheery Rick? How come he's so... so serious?¸She thought. Rick giggled. He leaned in for a kiss on the cheek. Ichigo was know a fresh shade of scarlet, which was weird. She didn't used to blush before right?

Rick finally let go of her. He turned to the door. As he walked, he looked back and gave Ichigo a small wink. "Let's keep it a secret, okay?"

Ichigo jumped in surprise before she nodded. "Sure... Rick..."

Rick waved goodbye as he faced forward, Ichigo waved back, with a dazed smile on her face.

"Hey you! Come back here!" Kashino yelled, waving his fist in the air.

The door closed.

The Sweets Princes, who were completely ignored, circled around her.

Noticing how "red" she was, Andou touched Ichigo's cheek. "Are you okay, Amano-san?" ((A/N: What a lame excuse...))

As Ichigo's cheeks started to burn, Andou quickly moved his hand away. "Are you sure your cold is gone? You feel rather... warm."

Ichigo touched her cheeks, praying that they'd cool down. She shook her head. "Y-Yes. My cold is gone Andou-kun. No need to worry."

Andou looked at her doubtfully, but since they just made up earlier, he decided to let it go. "Whatever you say, Amano-san."

"Oh, Ichigo-chan." Hanabusa interrupted. "What did Rick mean by 'Let's keep it a secret okay?', ?" He asked, doing the most mocking and yet surprisingly accurate impression of Rick.

Ichigo flinched. She played with her fingers, not knowing what to say.

"Um... oh it was nothing!" She denied, flapping her hand in the air. She decided to ask another question.

"Hanabusa-kun. You and Rick are kind of alike right?" She asked.

Hanabusa stared at her, looking rather offended. "What do you mean by that?"

Kashino snickered. "I guess it's because both of you are narcissists."

Hanabusa glared at Kashino. Ichigo cut in before they fought again. "T-That wasn't what I meant. I was just thinking that what if Rick told me he..." She paused. Should she say it?

The three boys became alert. "Told you what?" Hanabusa asked.

Ichigo shook her head. "Never mind! Let me rephrase it." She tilted her head slowly, her lips form a cute pout. She rubbed her head with her finger, like she was thinking really hard. She put that finger in the air. "Light bulb!" She cheered.

The Sweets Princes blushed.

How cute..., All of them thought.

Ichigo didn't notice them as she asked,

"If someone with Rick's attitude told me that he loved me, should I believe him?" The way she asked this was just like asking, "The saleslady at the mall told me that this garbage bag looks cute on me. Should I buy it?" Totally dense.

Kashino reacted first. "W-W-What's with t-that q-question?!" He stuttered. "D-Did that jerk c-c-confess to you?" He asked, embarrassment totally showing on his face.

Ichigo flustered. She covered her red cheeks, her intention of hiding them obviously failing. "W-Well... I w-wouldn't say he c-confessed but..."

"He did?!" Hanabusa yelled. Ichigo looked the other way. She nodded from behind. She's not good at lying.

Kashino rolled up his coat's sleeves – which was tough since it would roll down again — and cracked his knuckles and every joint in his hands, maybe even his wrists.

"I'm going to kill that playboy." He announced. He was about to dash out the door when the loud squeals and shrieks of fan girls entered his ears. He winced and covered them.

Every girl in the classroom – except Ichigo – were crowding by the window, watching many more screaming girls down by the main building drowning out the noise of a helicopter flying.

Flying right towards their classroom window.

Ameya-sensei demanded everyone to go back to their work stations as she went to the window. The girls hesitantly followed. As she opened the very big window, she felt a large wind blow against her face, causing her to close her eyes. She held her hat tightly so it won't fly away. As she opened her eyes, she saw a boy. He seems to be in the age of 14. He was wearing the St. Marie Academy official uniform. His face had a serious tone. He was somewhat good-looking. His bright golden hair was simply beautiful even though it was getting messed up by the wind from the helicopter's blades. His eyes were in a deep shade of blue, they were looking at a certain brunette like an ocean ready to drown her.

"So handsome..."

"I want him to go out with me."

"What's his name?"

Various questions and comments filled the room. The boy was getting more popular by the second.

Ameya-sensei didn't care about outer appearances though. In fact, she was completely irritated.

"Who are you and shouldn't you be in class this hour?" She sternly asked.

The boy did not answer. He just took out a white card with words written in black ink:

I want Amano Ichigo.

Ameya-sensei almost fell out of the window. "What the hell?! You disturbed my already disturbed class to see Amano-san? Can't any of you wait until class in over?!"

The bell rang.

The boy finally spoke.

"Class is over. So...Can I take her now so I can leave?" He asked, his voice so innocent yet so cold.

Ameya-sensei was stumped. She sighed in defeat.

"Amano-san!" She called. Ichigo quickly ran to her. She didn't see the boy very well from afar, but when she got a closer look, her eyes widened.

So sparkly...

She was star-struck. ((A/N: I just need to point out that star-struck and love-struck are two totally different things.))

The boy giggled at her reaction. He knelt down inside the helicopter and leaned to grab Ichigo's hand. He kissed it gently.

"Hello, my princess." He greeted, lifting his lips from her hand.

Ichigo's cheeks, which just returned to their normal color, were tinted with splashes of pink again.

"P-Princess?!" She stuttered, clearly flattered.

The boy nodded. He stood up, pulling Ichigo to the window. He kicked the metal in front of him that rolled into a short pathway. It clung itself onto the edge of the window. The boy leaded Ichigo to step on the pathway. She was about to protest when she stared into his eyes, those deep sapphire blue eyes.. They seemed so familiar to her, like she could trust the owner of this eyes.

And she did.

She took one step, the pathway shook a little. She panicked and slipped.

Everyone in the classroom was to frozen to move.

Eh?! No way... I'm going to—

The boy pulled Ichigo and she fell on top of him. The pathway fell off the window and onto the floor, almost hitting an innocent passers-by. Almost. Ameya-sensei exhaled a sigh of relief.

Ichigo's eyes were still closed because of the fright. She slowly opened them. The image of the boy filled her line of vision. Their lips were only

Centimetres

Apart.

She quickly pushed away and stood up, which was a bad idea since she was just in front of the OPEN helicopter door.

"Hey!" He shouted as he pulled Ichigo's arms.

This time Ichigo fell to his side. The boy sighed. He stood up to finally close the door.

Ichigo sat up, still quite dizzy. She looked at the boy, running a hand through his hair.

She blushed in embarrassment. "I-I'm sorry." She apologized, rubbing the back of her neck. The boy sat beside her and felt the pulse on her neck.

"Your pulse is beating really fast." He pointed out. "Probably because of the shock." He stared at Ichigo's face. "You're all sweaty." He reached into his pocket. "Here." He grabbed a yellow handkerchief and wiped the sweat of Ichigo's face. Ichigo sat there, not reacting. Once he was done, he stood up and lead Ichigo to the main chairs of the helicopter. They took seats next to each other and were greeted by a tall red-haired woman wearing pilot gear. "Hello, you're Amano Ichigo right? I'm Maggie. The pilot of this ole' helicopter."

Ichigo nodded in reply. "N-Nice to meet you." She said.

Maggie laughed as she turned her attention back to the sky again. "Seriously though, you gave me a real good scare there. Good thing this boy's reflexes are better than an in-raged bull who just saw my red hair."

Ichigo didn't get her metaphor so she just nodded. A question came into her mind.

She turned to the boy. "By the way, I never really asked what your name was."

The boy smiled. "I never thought you were interested."

Ichigo shook her head. "That's not true! Why wouldn't I be interested in the complete stranger that came to me in a helicopter and almost caused me the fall into my doom?" She asked sarcastically.

The boy snickered. "Okay fine. My name is Luke Henry Herme. You can call me Luke or Henry. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine Sir Luke or Henry-san." She joked, faking a bow. "Why are you here anyway Luke or Henry-san? I've never seen you in school before."

Luke or Henry-san.. wait.. that's too long. I'll call him Luke instead.

Luke turned red and turned to the window beside him. "I-I just transferred." He said. "I came from the Paris campus and the Chairman asked me to come here." He explained.

"The Chairman did?" She asked.

"Well, not really." He admitted.

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked.

"Let's just say the he's the reason why I'm here. Well..." He paused for a moment before he started talking again. "...other than you."

Ichigo blushed. "W-What?!" She exclaimed, almost falling off her seat.

Henry held his jaw with his hand, trying to hide his reddening face. Which did not work.

"I-I mean, I came here to meet you. You're the first middle schooler who won the World Cake Grand Prix so I wanted to meet you." He coughed. "I am somewhat... impatient. So I went to your class as soon as I got to Japan. Sorry. I just wanted to be your friend."

Ichigo's POV

I am the luckiest girl in the world.

I have a cute and funny boy in front of me who's willing to fly to Japan, all the way from Paris, just to be my friend.

What more can I ask for?

After a few minutes of silence, I smiled at him. I reached out my hand.

"Congratulations." I said. He looked at me, confused. "What are you congratulating me for?"

I giggle. "Congratulations for a mission accomplished."

Seeing that he still doesn't get it, I say,

"We're friends now silly!"

His eyes grow wide. "Really?" He asked. I nod happily. He looks at me, his eyes sparkling.

"I'm really happy." He says.

I didn't know what made me say the next two words, but I'm glad I did.

"Me too."

He tells me later on that he's was just taking me for a ride on a helicopter around the school. I don't think that was a good reason to practically kidnap me from class though.

I accidentally sat on Luke-kun's lap (I decided to call him Luke) so I could see through the window. I said that we could exchange seats and he agreed. He then scooted to my former seat as I watched in awe out the window. The school looks so small from up here. I could see the rose garden, the statue of the Queen, the main building, even the dorms. The students look like teeny tiny ants. The sight got me a little dizzy though.

I felt something tug inside my apron's pocket. Something flies out.

"Good morning Ichigo..." It yawned.

"V-Vanilla!" I covered my mouth. That's right, Luke can't see her.

Luke looked at me worriedly. "Is everything okay Ichigo?"

I nodded quickly and grabbed Vanilla. I turned to the window and let her go.

She looks pissed and sleepy. "W-What's your problem Ichigo? And more importantly, where are we?" She whispers.

"In a helicopter." I whisper back.

"What?!" She screamed in a whispery voice.

My shoulders felt heavy. I turned to see the weight was coming from Luke's head. He was smiling.

"So you have one too." He said.

"W-What?" I tilted my head.

A small purple butterfly pops out from behind him. The butterfly transforms into a... into a...

"Sweets Spirit?!"

He has one too. His Sweet Spirit has turquoise-colored hair and dandelion yellow eyes. He looked quite pale. He was wearing a white polo under a lavender vest and black slacks. He had a spoon similar to Vanilla's.

Vanilla examined him closely, before giving the spirit a tight hug.

"Mousse-senpai! It's you!" She cheered.

"Wait. You know each other?" I asked, pointing at the two spirits.

"Yes, he was my upperclassmen and a very close friend of mine. His name is Mousse." She introduced, still clinging to Mousse. "He specializes in, of course, mousse, but he is also an expert in creams and making various kinds of cakes."

"Hello Ms. Ichigo. It's a pleasure to meet you." He bowed. He looked kind of tired as he flew towards me.

"Nice to meet you too, Mousse." I said, shaking his hand with my finger.

Then, Luke-kun and I talked a lot in the past minutes while Vanilla and Mousse tried to catch up. Break time was almost over, like 10 minutes left, so he landed the helicopter at the back of the school. As soon as it landed Luke helped me down.

"Thanks for the ride Luke-kun." I smile. He smiles back as he says, "No problem Ichigo."

That smile...

"You know what? I get a feeling that we've met before, Luke-kun. I feel really safe and comfortable when I'm with you." I couldn't help but blush. I didn't deny it though, it was the truth.

He blushes as well, or are my eyes playing with me?

"You think so too? We might've met before but we might've forgotten it." He laughs, scratching his head playfully. "Actually, I believe that if the bond is strong enough, even if that special person changes their name, appearance or even their age, the feeling and atmosphere created when you're around that person never changes. In fact, it may serve as the only thing that will help you truly recognize that person, no matter how much change he/she has went through."

I didn't understand him at first so I just smiled. "That's pretty deep." I joked.

I started to walk to the cafeteria. However, Luke-kun insists that he would take me to the cafeteria then escort me to my classroom. I wanted to protest but he wouldn't give in.

Maggie had to leave before the school gives her a ticket for causing ruckus during class. She waves from inside. "See ya' Amano Ichigo!"

I wave back. "Bye Maggie-chan!"

Before she flew off, the speakers sound.

"All contestants of Amore Destinia and Amano Ichigo, please go to the front of the Chairman's office right after this announcement. I repeat, all contestants of Amore Destinia and Amano Ichigo, please go to the front of the Chairman's office right after this announcement."

Eh? I wonder what they need.

"Sorry, I have to go." Luke and I say at the same time.

"Huh?" We say in unison once more.

Luke lets me speak first.

"I need to go to the Chairman's office." I say. "Didn't you hear the announcement?"

He nods. "Yes I did. Well then, let's go together." He declares.

I shook my head. "N-No need. I can go there by myself." I insisted, waving my hands as a sign of protest.

"Why can't we go there together? A-Actually..." He turned red. "I need to go there too." He lied. Well, at least I think he did.

"H-Huh?" I don't seem to understand him. "Why do y—?

"Ichigo. I lied. I didn't come here just to be your friend." He admitted. That was the first time he has ever used such a serious tone.

"W-What?" I asked, dumbfounded. He lied? Then what was the real reason? With that look on his face, I'm pretty sure I'm going to find out the real reason a little too soon.

I played with my fingers.

I have a really bad feeling about this.

Annoyed, I scratch my head vigorously.

"Wah! I don't get you! If you don't want me to be your friend than what do you want from me?"

He looks at me guiltily. I'm feeling a little guilty as well.

"I'm sorry for lying to you Ichigo. I just didn't want to say it. The real reason I came here is..." He hesitates. I give him a stern look, hoping that it would force him to say it.

Unexpectedly, it works.

"...The real reason I came to Japan is because...

...I'm a contestant of Amore Destinia."

End of Ichigo's POV and...

...End of Chapter

Me: That's enough for now. (Stretches her fingers)

Rick: Hey Berry! I thought you were going to give me more scenes in this chapter!

Hanabusa: And I thought that the contest starts at this chapter as well.

Me: It was... but I couldn't think of any more scenes for Rick so I'll just move him to the next chapter. Writer's block you know. Besides, I wanted everyone to meet Luke Henry Herme (I'm pretty sure you know who he is) before I start the contest.

Hanabusa: You completely ignored us in this chapter!

Me: Only half of the chapter. Actually, I think I'm starting to like Luke. Maybe I should make this into a IchigoXLuke story...

Rick and Hanabusa: NO!

Me: Fine! Sheesh! I'll think about the contest first.

RATE AND REVIEW PLEASE!