So its a BIG day for me this Friday! Why? You guys know I'm a big fan of The Mortal Instruments series and that it's being made into a movie right? Well, two of the lead actors, Lily Collins and Jamie Campbell Bower along with the author Cassandra Clare are gonna be in a have a meet and greet located in Philadelphia! THIS IS SO BIG FOR ME AND IT'S ONLY A 30 MINUTE DRIVE FROM WHERE I LIVE! This is a dream come true for me! Im actually gonna meet the daughter of Phil Collins! (Aoi Kobayashi = Oldies music freak)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! I DONT OWN ANYTHING!

~xXx~

Reviews:

Neko-Chan2604 - I know, we all do. But don't worry, I'm gonna put her into "good" use in this story. How? You'll see! ;)

konohinamoto - It is getting interesting isn't it? ^w^

kaylaanime1492901 - It is isn't it? I honestly didn't plan for it to have this much drama. I guess it didn't seem like it when I thought about it in my head. w''

~Erupting Flames~

Ichigo's POV

"Damn that Kazunari! I should have doubted her in the beginning! I can't believe her!"

Kashino flopped himself on the chair by the window and ran a hand through his dirty blonde hair. His shirt was halfway undone, a few buttons on the bottom kept it closed. Ever since we left the shop, he went back to ranting about Asuka-chan's decision on letting Johnny and Koshiro-san work at our shop, even though he and the others learned about her past.

"Kashino," I started, though still unsure of what I should say, "...Asuka-chan's been through a lot, I'm sure she- "

"It doesn't matter!" He exclaimed. "It's our shop! That's what Henri-sensei told you right? Kazunari may be working with us, but that doesn't mean she can make all the choices! What's worse, Johnny and the Heiress both are gonna be in our presence from now on?! It's a total nightmare!"

I got up from his bed and walked over to him. I got on down on my knees in front of him and patted his leg. "That whole conflict with Johnny and Koshiro-san was over years ago. I mean sure, they're very persistent and they expect to get what they want but..."

Well, Koshiro-san at least. I know she'll never give up on Kashino. But Johnny, he told me what he needed to say:

I came to apologize for everything I've done, before I withdraw from St. Marie, before I leave the Garden, and before I work for the main Chateau Seika branch. Look Ichigo, I know that you may not forgive me, but even so, that doesn't mean I don't wanna be there for you. I know I'm no match against Makoto when it comes to you but if you ever need anything, if you ever need any help, I'll be there- as a friend.

When he told me that, I did believe him. Johnny was a good guy to me and everyone else. Despite having his "moments", he was a great friend and knew how to bring the light into the room, like Asuka-chan.

I felt the corner of my mouth tug into a small smile. Asuka-chan and Johnny, I really hope they can work things out...

"What?" I heard Kashino say.

"Huh?"

"You just smiled," he said.

"O-oh, well..." I shook my head. "It's nothing. Um, I should head to my room, it's getting late." As I got up, Kashino grabbed hold of my arm and pulled me down, only to capture my mouth with his. My eyes widened in surprise. It's not like we haven't kissed before, obviously, but to do it out of the blue like this is something I need to get used to. I made a small noise in my throat and about to return the kiss just before her released me.

"I'm sorry," he whispered and looked at me apologetically. "I just... I kinda needed that. A lot has happened."

With a clearly flushed face, I was able to smile at him before giving him a quick peck on the lips. "It's alright." I stood and walked towards the door.

"Good night," he said.

I turned back one last time. "Good night."

~xXx~

Asuka's POV

Since the weekdays were starting, we were able to come in a bit later than we do on the weekends. But of course, I come by early anyway. Right now, I was just making myself a simple breakfast, mille crepe. And instead of wearing my headphones, I decided to bring my iPod speakers instead.

"Asuka," I heard Yuca say while I was mixing the batter. "Do you think I can change the song?"

"Oo naman!" I said.

I heard her giggle as I saw her scroll through the list of songs. When I went to go heat up the frying pan, I broke into a huge grin when I heard the familiar keyboard and bass duet. I quickly turned to her to give her a high five.

"Just a small town girl," we sang. "Livin in a lonely world! She took the midnight train goin' anywhere!" We both giggled. I turned back to the oven to put in the butter and prepare the batter while I listed to Steve Perry sing his heart out.

Just a city boy, born and raised in South Detroit! He took the midnight train goin' anywhere! The song went on as I cooked.

Just when I finished the third crepe, the music stopped followed by a voice that made me jump, nearly making me burn my fingers on the hot iron pan.

"Don't you think it's a little loud?"

My heart is pounding from the fear of almost getting burned. I turned to Johnny with a tight grip on my hand. "Thanks to you, I almost got burned!"

His face became concerned. "Are you okay?"

"Gee, I don't know, what do you think?" I turned back to the oven and poured my fourth crepe. Damn, of all people to come here this early in the morning, it had to be him.

"It's 5:30," he said. "We're not supposed to come until an hour later. "

"Well, I like to come early. Got a problem? What are you doing here anyway?"

"I thought I'd come by and get myself used to my new surroundings. But I thought I'd have breakfast before I do so."

"I'm not sharing!"

"I know you're not. That's why I brought something."

I turned back to see him removing plastic wrap from a paper plate with two doughnuts. I looked into his light blue eyes. "Your Cowboy doughnuts?"

He smiled. "Glad you remember."

I suddenly turned very happy. "How could I forget!" I gasped. What am I saying?! I turned back to the oven to finish cooking up my breakfast. When I was done, I took all the cooked crepes to the counter, across from Johnny and spread the creme on each layer.

It was quiet and all you can feel is that awkward vibe. Without thinking, I broke the silence by suddenly saying, "I'm sorry. I was harsh last night."

I knew he looked up at me but my head was down, focusing on my work. "It's fine," he said. "I deserved it."

"You did, but I admit that I could have handled it better." I put down my spatula and grabbed a cutting knife. "Like, you show up at the shop, you know Ichigo-chan and Makoto-kun, you want to work here and you asked what was wrong with me? Don't you have any common sense? What did you think was wrong with me? Did you think that I would welcome you back with open arms?"

"I thought you'd understand."

My head jerked up in surprise. "What?"

"You were the one that told me a long time ago that everyone has a reason behind their actions. And I thought you'd understand why I left America."

"But to come back when I finally got my emotions settled?" I said, my voice dropping. "Up until last month when Henri-sensei asked me to come here, I've finally gotten over you!"

"I never asked to come to London out of the blue like this Asuka! And I never asked to meet you again like this, not this way! You know, I actually did plan tp come back to America for a visit, but Miya suddenly told me to come with her to London."

I frowned. "You expect me to believe that?"

Another voice answered him instead. "It is true Celeste. He even told me about it."

I looked at the little Sweets Spirit. "Maize..."

"You want to know what else he told me? He told me how excited he was to see you. Not his parents, not his friends- you.

Johnny drew in a breath. "Maize..."

She ignored him. "He told me as soon as he got back, he would invite your old friends for a party and sleepover. Then the next day, go back to Mr. Cooke's bakery and show the both of you how much he has improved. And at the end of the day, visit your dad's grave."

If Johnny had said that, I might have not believed him, but if it's coming from Maize... I swallowed before speaking. "Is this true?"

"Yes," he told me. "It's true."

I looked at him for a while before sticking my fork into my slice of crepes. After my first bite, I pushed the plate towards him and handed him the knife. He raised his eyebrows. "You're a big boy, you can cut it yourself!"

He chuckled. "I thought you weren't gonna share."

"Take it or leave it!"

He took the knife and put his own slice on his plate. He then took one of his doughnuts and slid it over to me. "Last time you ate it was for your 15th birthday wasn't it?"

I smiled shyly and took it, "Maybe." When I ate it, it tasted exactly how I remembered it: The sweet creme with bits of bitter chocolate for the filling, the fluffy yet crispy doughnut and the sweet glaze that melts in your mouth. "Mmmn," I said. "That brings back memories."

"Does this mean you forgive me?"

I nearly choked on my second bite. "Woah there! This does NOT mean I forgive you for what you've done. But, we're cool for now." I held out my hand. "Let's start out slow for now, okay brother?"

He smiled and shook my hand. "Deal! And by the way..." He reached towards my face and laughed as he wiped leftover flour from the counter on my cheek. "You got something on your face."

I smirked and flicked leftover creme filling from the bowl at him. "So do you!"

Johnny reached toward the open bag of flour and threw it at my face. My mouth hung open in disbelief. "You did not just go there!"

He reached for the flour again. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't but- "

I cut him off by throwing a handful of flour at him followed by the rest of the creme. I laughed but stopped when he stood and walked towards me with more four in his hands. "You asked for it sis!"

~xXx~

Ichigo's POV

Around 6:20, Kashino and I, left for our shop. About half way there, we bumped into Hanabusa-kun. We walked through the Garden's gates, a few shop doors were open to let in some fresh morning air. The sun was beginning to rise but it was still fairly dark so some lights were on.

"Well," I said. "Today's the day."

Kashino groaned. "Please don't remind me."

"I can feel you there Kashino," Chocolate said nodding. "We're gonna be hearing that ear splitting laugh everyday now..."

"And Johnny's annoying self," Kashino added.

"He's not- " I began but Hanabusa-kun cut me off.

"Hold on, why is our shop light on?" He asked.

"Oh, it's probably Asuka-chan," I told him. "She's an early bird and is always there before us."

I think it was my imagination when I saw a small smile appear on his face but I just shook it off. When we got to the shop, we all heard a faint scream inside.

"What was that?" Kashino said on full alert.

Again, we heard the scream followed by Asuka-chan's voice, "Johnny, stop! Stop!"

I heard Vanilla's voice next to me. "Johnny's there?"

I ran forward and burst through the doors, the boys following me. After about 5 steps in we stopped in complete shock. Through the kitchen entrance, we saw Johnny chasing after Asuka-chan and they were completely covered in flour. Even Yuca and Maize were playing along. Johnny laughed as he grabbed Asuka-chan from behind by the waist and lifted her up.

Asuka-chan looked close to tears from laughter. "Put me down! I swear put me down!"

You can see Johnny's face was red through the flour. "And if I don't?" He spun Asuka-chan a few times before they both saw us standing in the dining area. But that didn't stop them. "Hey guys!" Johnny said, trying to keep Asuka-chan from squirming free. "Morning!"

Slowly we walked into the kitchen. There was flour every where. The floor mostly, the counter and even the walls. Asuka-chan was still in Johnny's arms and though he wouldn't let go, she managed to get out by sliding up out of his arms and nearly kicked him in the face before doing a 360 degree flip and hitting the floor.

I tore my eyes away from them for a second and looked at Kashino. His face was red, his fists were clenched and he was breathing deeply. Before I could reach out to him, he exploded. "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE?!"

The two of them looked like they were trying to hold in their laughter. "H-he started it," Asuka-chan giggled pointed to Johnny. "We were just eating then he..." She laughed again.

"LOOK AT THIS!" Kashino screamed. "YOU WASTED ALL THIS FLOUR!"

"No it's okay Makoto," Johnny said casually, "We got more bags in the back." Asuka-chan laughed and slapped his shoulder.

"Why are you guys laughing?!"

"Cuz it's normal for us," Asuka-chan told him. "We did this back at our Teacher's bakery all the time. We'd got in trouble too much so we just laugh about it."

Kashino took a step forward and gripped the front of Johnny's shirt. Asuka-chan, Hanabusa-kun and I reacted and tried to pry the two of them from each other.

"Listen," he said very bitterly. "I've had to deal with you for nearly three years and you come back into my life again along with that annoying red-haired brat when it clearly pisses me off!"

"Kashino," I cried. "Stop!"

"Makoto-kun, calm down alright!" Asuka-chan said trying to push him off. "I'll pay for the flour and we'll clean it up!"

"And you," he hissed at Asuka-chan. "I am this close from throwing you out the door! Suddenly hiring them like that?! You can't make all the damn choices! I don't care if Koshiro-san made a "deal" with you, that still didn't give you the right to hire them! And you didn't even properly ask us!"

Asuka-chan wasn't affected by his rage. "I did, last night. And last time I check, you did agree."

Kashino released Johnny and walked towards Asuka-chan. He stood very close to her, looking like he was going to seriously hurt her. I quickly pulled Asuka-chan behind my back and Hanabusa-kun grabbed Kashino by the shoulder. The both of them ignored us and pushed us away. Even though Asuka-chan was shorter than Kashino, she looked just as scary as he did.

"You are not gonna fight me are you," Asuka-chan said. "'Cuz if you are, I can kick your ass in less than 5 seconds."

Kashino raised his hand but it didn't seem like he was gonna hit her, he would never do that! With the slightest move of his hand, Asuka-chan reacted and grabbed it. With a firm grip on Kashino's wrist, she jerked him forward and gave him a blow to the stomach. I gasped as Kashino fell to his knees, his arms around his belly. I crouched down next to him and put my arms around him.

"Are you okay?" I whispered.

"I-I'm fine," he stammered, trying to steady his breathing. Chocolat flew up to him with a cup of water. He took it and shot it down his throat.

All of us looked at Asuka-chan, who still had a hard look at his face. We were all so shocked and disappointed. Other than Johnny, we never knew Asuka-chan had this kind of side. I know she probably didn't mean it, but I don't know if I should be against her or not. I was going to say something but her words cut me off.

"You want me out?" She said. "Fine, I'm out!" She turned to the counter to grab her stuff and stomped towards the door. With one last look, she walked out of the shop with a slam of the door.

Short but a lot of... action. I think this is the only chapter with a little violence and I hope it's the last cuz I don't want this story to be too extreme. But I hope you're not too surprised.

I hoped you liked it! Leave your reviews and I'll see you next time!

-Aoi