Ichigo rushed towards the turreted pink cafe, struggling to catch her breath as she forced herself forward. She was so late! She hadn't meant to be, she had just lost track of the time, and now she was going to be in so much trouble. Dashing up the steps, Ichigo clutched her sides as she allowed herself a brief moment to catch her breath. As her pulse dropped, the girl sighed in apprehension as she pushed open the pretty pink door, her eyes closed as she braced herself for the oncoming tirade...Nothing happened.
Ichigo opened her eyes in confusion, surveying the cafe before her. Where was her lecture about being late? Where is Shiroga-Ichigo stopped that thought dead in its tracks as she realised her mistake. She and Shirogane did not share any kind of relationship anymore, other than a very stilted, formal one. Ichigo was still mad at him over his insensitive remarks, and he seemed to have taken her at her word, as he had become increasingly distant and indifferent towards her. Still, it had only been a couple of weeks, and Ichigo had not yet adjusted to the lack of telling-offs she now received.
'Ichigo, you're late,' chastised Minto as the red headed girl entered the changing rooms. Ichigo just smirked, chatting excitedly about her date with Aoyama-kun that afternoon. The girl was a ball of hyper, cheerful energy, floating around the cafe, taking orders with a huge smile upon her face. She didn't have a care in the world, she was ecstatic as her date with Aoyama had gone so well. She was fuelled by these giddy, romantic emotions throughout the rest of the afternoon, impervious to anything outside her own elated bubble.
Ryou watched her sadly as she span around the cafe wildly, eagerly describing how perfect her date had been to anyone who would listen. It had been three weeks since she had spoken so much as a word to him, and he wasn't bearing up well. He was at his wits end. He couldn't eat or sleep and his concentration on the Mew Project had pretty much been scattered to the winds. He wasn't handling Ichigo's rejection well at all, but what could he do? The girl wouldn't even glance in his direction, let alone speak to him. Ryou watched the bubbly waitress with flat eyes as loneliness coursed through his veins.
Minto eyed her boss speculatively as he stood hidden in the shadows behind a pillar, his eyes dark with an unnameable emotion. Was it just her, or did Shirogane look different somehow? He certainly acted different. He was withdrawn and moody, not yelling all the time and answering any questions with a grunt or one word answer. He also looked kind of pale, which was also very unusual for him. His once tan skin had gained a pearly pallor, a stark contrast to the dark blue smudges that seemed to be permanently etched below his eyelids. Yes indeed, Shirogane did not look well at all. Minto was not one to overly concern herself with other people's emotional states however, so all she did was shrug absentmindedly as she sipped her tea.
It had been an unusually quiet day in the cafe that day, which made Ichigo very happy indeed. She had managed to do the cleanup in less than half an hour, she couldn't believe it! No overtime and she got to leave early, could her day get any better? Ichigo wandered aimlessly towards the changing rooms, basking in the feelings of self satisfaction she was currently feeling. Her mind was so preoccupied with this gloating that she did not realise there was somebody in front her until she barged headlong into them. She yelped and braced herself as she began to fall backwards. Damn her clumsiness!
However, a strong pair of male arms latched around her waist, steadying her and saving her from her inevitable date with the floorboards. She looked up, her eyes alight, all ready to gush her thanks to her saviour, when she realised it was just baka Shirogane. She took a deep breath, awaiting his inevitable anger...but once again, nothing happened. He dropped his eyes to the floor and released her waist as though burned, mumbling a quiet 'sorry Momomiya-san' before beating a hasty retreat. Ichigo could not help but to be astonished, that was so unlike Shirogane. She was pleased that he had taken her warning seriously though; she had no time for insensitive jerks like him.
Ichigo entered the changing rooms at precisely the moment Minto decided to voice her concerns about Shirogane. 'Hey, does anyone else think Shirogane is acting weird?' She asked, her voice much louder than usual as she spoke over the top of the changing cubicles. Ichigo stiffened at the sound of her arch nemesis'' name but chose not to comment. Retasu however, obviously did not feel so inclined to do the same. 'Yeah,' she said, her soft voice betraying a hint of concern, 'I have Minto. He's so pale and isolated. I don't think he has been eating or sleeping very well...' Retasu's voice trailed off as her pity for her boss overwhelmed her. Ichigo attempted to speedily remove her uniform so she would not have to listen to her teammate's inane chatter about Shirogane. She yanked on her jeans and shrugged on her tee-shirt just in time to hear Minto reply 'Poor Shirogane...I wonder why he's acting like this...something must really be eating him...' Ichigo swallowed a huge wave of guilt as she rushed from the changing rooms and out of the cafe without as much as a goodbye.
Stupid Shirogane, she seethed, why should I feel guilty about how he feels? I really couldn't care less if he sleeps and eats or not. The redhead shook her head, frantically trying to rid her head of all thoughts about her blasted blonde boss. She stomped down the stairs without glancing back. This ensured that she didn't notice the figure partially concealed behind a pillar. The forlorn figure who had his arms wrapped so tightly around his chest it seemed as though he was trying it hold it together whilst he watched her leave, a solitary tear sliding down his pale cheek.