Shampoo wiped down the tables, her mind still preoccupied with thoughts of Ryoga. She kept glancing in his direction as Cologne talked to him about some training in the kitchen. Shampoo tried to focus, but her thoughts kept wandering back to him, the way he looked earlier in the gym, effortlessly doing push-ups.
As Shampoo was lost in her thoughts, a customer leaving the café accidentally knocked over a glass of water, spilling it all over Shampoo. "I'm so sorry!" they exclaimed.
"It's fine," Shampoo said, brushing off the mishap with a small smile. However, as she turned to go into the kitchen to clean herself up, she realized she had started shrinking.
She quickly transformed into her cat form, her fur soft and her stature smaller. The sudden change had been a reflex, but Shampoo hated how it often caught her off guard. She scurried into the kitchen, now tiny and trying to keep her composure, but the mess of her clothes from the spill was too much for her to manage.
Cologne, seeing Shampoo's predicament, simply shook her head with a small smile. "I'll go boil more water," she said as she walked to the back to prepare the kettle.
Meanwhile, Ryoga, who had been observing Shampoo from a distance, saw the trouble she was having. He watched as Shampoo got tangled in her own clothes, struggling to find her way out from under them. He hesitated for a moment before walking over.
"Need help?" Ryoga asked, bending down to look at Shampoo, who was buried under the pile of clothes.
Shampoo mewed in frustration, unable to say much in her cat form. Her eyes met his, and she couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed at how helpless she looked. Ryoga's presence felt oddly reassuring, though she didn't want to admit it.
"Don't worry," Ryoga said, offering his hand. "I'll get you out of there."
Shampoo nodded, feeling a little embarrassed but also grateful. Ryoga gently moved the pile of clothes aside and helped her free herself. Shampoo emerged from under the clothes, her fur slightly messed up, but she was otherwise unharmed.
With a quick shake of her body, Shampoo tried to regain her composure. She looked up at Ryoga and gave him a small huff. "Shampoo not need help," she said, but it was clear that she didn't entirely believe it herself.
Ryoga smiled softly, watching her. "It's okay to ask for help sometimes."
Shampoo's cheeks flushed slightly, and she quickly turned away, trying to act like she didn't care. "Shampoo doesn't need anyone's help," she muttered under her breath.
At that moment, Cologne reentered the kitchen with a kettle of hot water in hand. She saw the situation but decided not to say anything, giving Shampoo a knowing glance. "I'll go boil more water," Cologne said, heading back to the back room with a chuckle.
Shampoo, now back in her human form, tried to shake off the embarrassment. She focused on the task at hand, but Ryoga's words kept echoing in her head. It was hard to admit, but she didn't like the idea of being so helpless, even in small moments like these. The encounter left her feeling flustered, and she couldn't help but wonder why Ryoga's presence made her feel so strange.
As Shampoo tried to move past the situation, Ryoga silently followed her back to the front of the café. Neither of them said anything, but there was an unspoken tension between them, as both were thinking about the same moment in different ways.
"Thank you...Shampoo did need help," Shampoo said, looking down to the side, her voice softer than usual. She shifted uncomfortably, not sure how to break the lingering tension between them.
"No problem..." Ryoga mumbled, his own unease evident as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He avoided looking at Shampoo directly, focusing instead on the ground. The air between them was thick with an unspoken awkwardness.
"Don't get lost again, Pig-boy!" Shampoo teased, her lips curving into a playful grin as she stuck her tongue out at him.
Ryoga's face flushed, and he grunted in frustration, trying to suppress his flustered reaction. "I won't get lost," he muttered, trying to sound confident, but his voice betrayed him. "Next time, I'll be fine."
Shampoo couldn't help but smile at his reaction, her teasing tone softening just a little. "Shampoo is just worried about you, Pig-boy," she said with a wink, her usual playful nature returning.
Ryoga, still red-faced, huffed in frustration but didn't argue. Instead, he just muttered, "I'll find my way, don't worry about it."
The awkwardness hung in the air for a moment before Shampoo turned to head back inside the cafe, calling over her shoulder, "Shampoo has to get back to work! See you around, Pig-boy!"
Ryoga stood there for a moment, watching her retreat into the cafe. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. What is it about her that makes everything so complicated? He sighed, turning to head off in the opposite direction, his mind still racing.
Inside the cafe, Shampoo found herself distracted, her thoughts lingering on their interaction. She quickly shook her head, trying to focus on her work, but she couldn't quite push the feeling of warmth that had spread through her chest after teasing him.
She smiled to herself, though she wasn't entirely sure why.