The memories that were once so clear have been diluted by tears.
My heart knows no song but the pain of what I have lost.
I wake each day praying that solace will soon come to me.
I'll keep on waiting...

TOMORROW'S SOLACE

-- Ch. 01; Act. 01 - How to invent a fairytale. (version. Ichigo)

CRASH!

The sound of shattering china echoed throughout the walls of Cafe Mew Mew, followed by a desperate wave of apologies. Retasu Midorikawa had just broken another set of dishes. Nobody seemed at all surprised or startled, not even the customers. This was normal.

I let out a small sigh, rubbing my forehead with the back of my hand before I dropped the rag I had been using to wipe down a table. I hurried briskly to the kitchen while trying to think of something comforting to say so that Retasu wouldn't worry herself to death over the mess on the floor. I had to think especially hard because most of the things I'd normally say had already been covered last week. Retasu deserved better than a repeat of the same discussion we'd had yesterday.

"Hey, do you need some help, Retasu?" I asked in a perky tone.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry, Ichigo-san! I really didn't mean to!" Retasu was repeating, going into a deep bow and then shooting back up again - grabbing for the broom... knocking over the dustpan as she did so.

I was laughing nervously as I bent over to pick up some of the bigger pieces, "Retasu, you really should calm down. It's no big deal! Besides, Shirogane has plenty of money. One more set of dishes won't break his bank."

'Of course,' I thought silently, 'an occasional raise for his hard-working employees wouldn't break his bank either.'

Retasu tried to relax, but it was obviously not working. Additionally, her face had turned a much brighter shade of pink at the mention of Shirogane.

"Y-yes... I s-suppose, but, uh... that's actually the third set I've broken today."

I forced down a giggle. It wasn't funny really, but Retasu tries so hard. She's the sweetest girl in the world. It's just too bad that she has a crush on Ryou Shirogane, our jerk of a boss - who is definitely not the sweetest guy in the world. But to each her own, I guess.

"I wouldn't worry about it," I said again, dumping the pieces I had collected into a trashcan.

"But..." came the other girl's shy protest.

"It'll be fine!" I added confidently, pumping a fist in the air.

"Ah... right..."

I returned to what I had been doing while Retasu swept up the remaining fragments of dishes. Minto, who had been sitting calmly at a back table all this time, had her finger hooked around the delicate curve of a teacup handle. She raised an eyebrow slightly at me as I returned to my job, a smug grin on her face all the while.

I finally muttered under my breath, "You're not helping. As usual..."

"Did you say something, Ichigo?" Minto inquired lightly. Like Retasu's breaking of dishes, this was also normal. Even the stuck-up tones in Minto's voice and the grin on her face were all normal. Predictable. Urgh, annoyingly expected!

"No, nothing..." I grumbled further as I rubbed down the table even more furiously than before. At least Shirogane was out of town. If he had been present, then he and Minto would have teamed up and taken turns teasing me. They always know how to get on my nerves! I hate it!

Just then, the cafe doors swung open to reveal a blond girl and her boyfriend wheeling inside on rollerblades. The blond just looked exhausted, but the other had a huge grin on his face.

"Hey ladies! What's up?" the ever-energetic Tasuku Meguro called into the cafe with a spirited wave of his arm.

"Nothing really," Mint sighed, being the first to answer, "Berii, how about joining me for tea?"

"No thanks," the blond answered in a drained tone, "I just want to get the rest of these cakes delivered so we can go home. Besides, my dad's going on a date with Takako this evening and I want to make sure he at least looks presentable."

"C'mon Berii," Tasuku started, putting an arm around her shoulder, "Your old man will be just fine. He can take care of himself - and he's a very interesting person. Why don't we two go do something ourselves this evening?"

Berii flushed, shoving the boy's arm away, "Tasuku, can't you ever be serious?"

"Of course I can!" he pouted, "But really, I'm proud of him. And of you too. I'm glad to see him finally moving on with his life."

Berii gave a sigh, fingering her locket unconsciously, "Yeah, ever since mom died he's been trying to play both father and mother. I think this'll be good for him."

I smiled. I absolutely love romance, whether we're talking real life relationships or chick flicks. All of this talk was reminding me of my wonderful boyfriend - Masaya Aoyama - whom I just so happened to have a date with this evening. I could feel my cheeks turning a deep red. Yes! I have my Aoyama-kun! I love love!

"Well, we're all rooting for him!" I announced with enthusiasm. Retasu had returned from the kitchen and was listening politely to the conversation at hand from the back of the room.

"Thanks," Berii replied with a sweatdrop, "But who ever heard of picking girls up at the fish market?"

"Well..." I was laughing nervously again, "My dad gets pretty geared up about sushi, but he and mom actually met each other when they were still in high school."

"My parents met in school as well..." Retasu offered, "They were both in the same Sociology class."

Minto, who hadn't contributed anything about her parents, finally set down her teacup, "It kind of makes you wonder how Ryou's parents got together, doesn't it?" She added a little more softly, "Isn't that why he's overseas at the moment?"

"I believe so..." said Retasu, looking sympathetic.

"Um, I guess..." I answered, blinking, "Probably just two rich people meeting at some fancy and completely boring party, though. I mean, Shirogane's famous for them."

"Oh, my..." Minto scolded, "How incredibly uncreative, Ichigo. Even my parents had a more romantic beginning than that. You act as if so-called rich people spend every waking moment planning parties and social events."

'I was thinking...' I thought furiously, 'That they spend all of their time drinking tea and ordering people around...'

It was clearly obvious that Miss Minto was bored from what escaped her mouth next, "Hmm... perhaps Ryou's mother was a fill-in maid. The usual maid at the Shirogane household had fallen ill with pneumonia. When she met the master's son she may have fallen desperately in love with him. And vice versa... the master's son fell hard for this sweet innocent maiden. Maybe they secretly met in the gardens on the night when he was supposed to be engaged to the daughter of a foreign diplomat... and he whisked her off to a beautiful city like Paris to declare their love by holding a grand wedding..."

Well, that did seem a bit more romantic. I was officially interested in filling in this blank.

"Maybe his mother came from the wealthy family and his father was a washed-up drunken scientist who needed a good word from them to formally publish an experiment!" Tasuku added, another grin spreading across his face before Berii smacked him lightly on the shoulder.

"Oww!"

"They must have been very kind people. Ryou seems to treasure their memory dearly" Retasu commented softly, "N-not that I was trying to pry..."

"I kind of agree. Doesn't he keep a photograph of them in his room?" Berii inquired cautiously.

"Hey, Berii! How do you know about that...?" Tasuku cut in, glancing at her suspiciously.

"It's nothing like you think it is!" Berii shot back, her face growing dangerously red, "Akasaka-san sent me up there to ask Ryou-san about ordering new silverware; that's all!"

"Yes! I've got it!" I shouted above everyone else. I had finally devised the perfect, PERFECT love story. I beckoned for the others to lean closer, "I bet it's like this! See, his father had been in love with his mother for a really long time but he never told her. However... his mother decided she wanted to become a nun because there seemed to be no good man in her life. So he had to dramatically storm the abbey gates and--"

"I have a better idea..." came a tired voice from behind us.

"Not now! I'm getting to the best part!" I snapped, my eyes lit with the flames of determination. The others in the room had grown eerily silent around me.

"I-ichigo-san..." Retasu started.

Finally coming to my senses, I stiffened and spun, finding myself face-to-face with none other than Ryou Shirogane himself. The 17-year-old scientific genius (and whatnot) did not look particularly pleased at me.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? You weren't supposed to be back for another day!" I shrieked.

"What are you doing?" he inquired, his voice echoing in the dead quiet of the room, "Talking about me behind my back?"

"Uh... n-no..." I stammered, quite embarassed, "Well you see, Berii's dad has a date tonight, and we were talking about how our parents met one another, and... well, we started trying to... guess how..."

I didn't need to finish. Shirogane's jaw had tightened visibly, and even I knew that this was bad news.

"So you thought you'd fill in the gaps and make up what happened between my parents," he concluded in a sharp tone. I felt rather guilty (and was totally ready to blame Minto for starting the conversation). Not many things can get to our moody half-American leader, but this was obviously an exception.

"Um... so... would you mind telling us, Ryou-san...?" Berii asked cautiously. This probably wasn't the time for that either.

Shirogane closed his eyes, having dropped his luggage on the now clean cafe floor. He looked even more exhausted than Berii had when she arrived. When he opened his eyes again, the look he had was distant.

"They met at the flower shop," he answered them shortly, "Where my mother worked. Papa was a Japanese exchange-student. Now... I see two cakes still left on the counter. Hurry and deliver them so we can clean up and you all can go home."

Shirogane hoisted up the suitcases again and began his trek up the cafe stairs, leaving us to silently watch him depart.

"Ah... poor Ryou-san... I shouldn't have asked..." Berii said in a hushed voice.

"It's all right. Ryou's a big boy. He can take care of himself," said Minto as she handed over the two cakes to Tasuku and Berii, "Well, looks like the fun's over. We should finish up here."

"Alright..." came Retasu's quiet voice.

I was honestly thinking about what Shirogane had said. I wasn't focusing on how cute the idea was, but how my employer had said it. I wondered to myself if Ryou was crying right now. Didn't Minto say he had gone to America for the anniversary of his parents' deaths? Akasaka-san had told me all about it a long time ago. I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him, even now. I mean, I've almost lost someone really important to me, and it hurts a lot. Considering these were the guy's parents, and great people from what Akasaka-san had said, he must suffer a whole lot more than he ever lets on.

I gazed up the steps, considering going up them for a moment before shaking the idea away.

"Nah. Shirogane would probably rather be left alone for awhile..."

-- Ch. 01; Act. 02 - When the fairytale ended. (version. Ryou)

That's what Ichigo thought anyway. My cat senses picked up her words easily, even if she had merely whispered them. The truth was, being alone was the very last thing I wanted. It was the last thing I had ever wanted. I hit my fist lightly against the wall before tossing a tissue at a small metal trashcan by my computer desk - and missing. This was the side of Ryou Shirogane that I refused to let them see, and never would.

"You never should have died," I muttered bitterly under my breath, "If someone had to be sacrificed, it should have been me, but you shouldn't have died..."

"Ryou..." I didn't need to look up. I knew exactly who it was.

"Keiichiro." The brunette had a sympathetic look on his face. I hate that, but at least this was coming from someone who could understand. Someone who had been there. This wasn't, I reminded myself, coming from a total stranger who knew nothing about me.

"Welcome back," he said softly.

I laughed - it was very fake, and something my guardian would clearly be able to distinguish, "I would say it's great to be back if I actually felt that way. But here I am. Have there been any more letters?"

Keiichiro folded his arms infront of him, shaking his head, his ponytail swaying from side-to-side, "No, just that one."

I took it from its resting place near the inkjet printer, examining it for about the third time, "What does the Japanese government think that it can do if Chimeras keep attacking? The military can't take things like that out so easily, and it would just attract even more attention. Other countries might grow suspicious of the increase in military activity as well."

Keiichiro frowned, "What are you going to do, Ryou?"

"I wish I knew..." I sighed, sitting down on the edge of the unmade bed, purposely averting my gaze from the headboard where the last trace of my past stood framed next to a digital alarm clock.

"You shouldn't keep punishing yourself, Ryou... The professor and Elizabeth, they wouldn't want-"

"I know that!" I interrupted, my arms shaking a bit, though I hoped he wouldn't notice, "I know they wouldn't, but I just..."

Keiichiro sighed. He probably figured that by now, he too, had crossed the line, "I'll bring you a glass of hot chocolate, alright?"

With that, Keiichiro turned and disappeared from the room, leaving me to my thoughts again.

Staring at the letter, I slowly began to rip it apart. It felt good: shredding that piece of paper between my fingers. But even I knew that it would solve nothing. The government was telling me to cease all actions regarding the Mew Project. I knew well enough that what I was doing didn't sit too well with some of the public, but what were they doing? I didn't see anyone else out there trying to make a difference, or even making suggestions. Even now, most people don't know that their planet had ever been in serious danger. Some people believe that the entire attack was just some hoax to promote a magical girl anime series that appeared on television afterwards. Kicking off my shoes, I sank down into bed, not bothering with changing clothes or taking a shower.

"I know I shouldn't punish myself," I grumbled, staring at the ceiling, "but I just... don't know what I should be doing anymore. I feel so lost..."