One Last Rose for His Memory
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"Baka! I did not drop those dishes!" Ichigo placed her hands firmly on her hips.
"Well no one else was certainly in here…" Ryou folded his arms and turned his head away from her with shear confidence. "Just admit you did it already."
"I am not! Because I didn't do it! Nya!" Ichigo yelled as she crossed her arms and turned her head away from him with her eyebrows scrunched up and her head held high.
"Just shut up already and clean up your mess Strawberry." Ryou stated and began to walk away from her, and out of the kitchen.
"I refuse to clean it up! You can't make me." Ichigo stuck out her tongue towards Ryou's back.
"Well then," Ryou turned back towards her with his hands on his hips and his eyes closed with his head still up high. "I guess you can forget about that raise."
Ichigo's mouth fell down to the floor.
"Poor Ichi…" Lettuce peeped. All the other mews were watching as Ryou and Ichigo went back and forth arguing; face it, it was better than television.
"Well, Ichigo should just clean it up." Mint snubbed her nose.
Keiichiro paid no attention to them as he just finished washing up the dishes for the day while humming a tune to himself with a bright smile.
"You can't do that!" Ichigo yelled at him; her fists were clenched and hung down in front of her as she bent over with anger written all over her face.
"Oh— but I can." Ryou opened his eyes with a smirk on his face, shining straight through to Ichigo, lighting up her fire even more.
"Err…" Ichigo's fists tightened up with every moment passing by; her fists began to turn red because her nails began cutting in through her skin. Ichigo said nothing as Ryou exited the kitchen with the other mews. Ichigo muttered under her breath as she grabbed the small broom and pan and got down on her knees to sweep up the broken glass from the plate.
"Ichigo-san, please forgive Ryou, he doesn't mean to be like this; he's just being… well Ryou…" Keiichiro scratched his head as he patted Ichigo on the head. Ichigo watched him as he exited the room, leaving her to clean up the mess.
"Ryou…" Keiichiro called as he swung the door open from the kitchen, walking out.
"Hm?" Ryou stopped in his tracks, folded his arms and turned his head, waiting for Keiichiro.
"When are you going to tell her Ryou?" Keiichiro asked him. Ryou turned his head closed his eyes. "There's only a couple days left until Aijou Dei…" Keiichiro explained to him.
"I know." Ryou stated as if it were no biggie; he unfolded his arms as he turned his back towards him. "— I'll tell her then."
"But, how? Are you just going to come out and tell her?" he asked with curiosity peeking through his voice.
"I have an idea." Ryou stated and walked off.
"Ryou, Ryou…" Keiichirou lightly shook his head with a smile.
x X x X x X x
"Finally… done." Ichigo finished sweeping up the last big of glass from the broken plate and picked herself up from her knees. She took her open, left hand and dusted off the bottom part of her dress from being on the floor. She walked over to the bright pink trashcan, opened up the lid, and slid the broken glass from the pan, into the can. Ichigo sighed as she walked over to the corner and sat the broom and dustpan back where she had gotten them…
"Aijou Dei is coming up…" Mint brought up, standing in the main room of the café.
"Love Day! Na no da!" Pudding smiled, "Aijou Dei is a special day, for every guy to do something special for a girl that's closest to them…" Pudding held up her hands, entwined with each other, near her bosom— with vibrant happiness flowing from them.
"Every guy must do this, or it's said that he'll never be able to love…" Mint smirked. Zakuro sat over on a chair, and said nothing in this conversation.
"Do you think Shirogane-san will do it?" Lettuce asked in a sheepish tone while staring at Ryou from a distance while he was staring out the window.
"Who do you think he'd do it for?" Mint asked; "It'd be a total joke if he did something for Ichigo…" Mint laughed a little under her breath.
"Yawn." Ichigo swung open the door while walking into the main room of the café. She walked over to the other mews and grabbed her jacket.
"Leaving already Ichigo?" Mint asked in a rude manner.
"Before I have to clean up something else I didn't do…" Ichigo stated while heading over to the door. Ryou stepped out in front of her just a few feet from the door.
"Did you clean up your mess?" He asked with his hands resting fortuitously in his pockets.
"I told you, I didn't do it, nya!" Ichigo yelled; "But I cleaned it up because I'm a good person, unlike you." Ichigo snubbed her nose, almost as if she were trying to mock Mint; she slid her jacket swiftly over her arms as she headed out the café door.
Ryou smirked as she slammed the door behind her.
Ichigo stared down at the ground while she was walking. I can't believe Aoyama-kun is on vacation for the week… Aijou Dei is coming up, and I knew he would've done something extra special for me… well at least I hope… Well, I guess it is summer, and he deserves a vacation. Ichigo sighed. I just miss him so much already… Ichigo lifted her head up and stared at the capacious, cerulean blue sky filled with full, puffy clouds that watched over Ichigo as she headed home…
x X x X x X x
Aijou Dei
I can't believe Aijou Dei is finally here… yet, why am I so unhappy? Ichigo thought as she repeatedly wiped a table over until the paint partially pealed off.
"What's wrong with Ichigo-san?" Lettuce whispered to the other mews.
"Remember?" Mint folded her right leg over her left as she sat down on a chair drinking her tea, "Masaya left to America for a week… now she's all alone on Aijou Dei."
"Well you're alone too Onii-chan, and you're not sad, na no da." Pudding commented. A throbbing vein appeared on Mint's forehead as she just slightly drank her tea.
"Are you trying to wipe a hole through the table— Ichigo?" a voice entered into Ichigo's ears and knocked her out of her thoughts. Ichigo looked up as she heard heels tapping against the café floor, headed towards her.
"Oh." Ichigo lifted up the rag and placed it back down on the side of the table while she sat down in a chair. Zakuro stood in front of Ichigo as she sat there staring up at her.
"What's wrong Ichigo?" Zakuro asked with that same cold voice, but it had a slight comfort within it that made Ichigo feel placid around her.
"Nothing." Ichigo slightly turned her head away from her.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Zakuro began, "Just remember that you don't need anyone to make you feel special… but never think that you're alone. Love can come from unexpected places, Ichigo." Zakuro stated her last words of wisdom as she made her way back over to the mews. Ichigo bowed her head and stared down at her shoes…
"Huh?" Ichigo noticed something. Something red was protruding out from underneath her chair. Ichigo reached her arm down and pulled it out. It was— a rose. Ichigo turned it around, examining it. Its stem was a pure green that made it look like it came from a golf field; its focal bud was a bright ruby red that just drew your eyes towards its beauty. "It's— flawless. It doesn't look like someone dropped it… it's almost as if—" Ichigo paused, "Someone put it there purposely…" Ichigo stared back down at the floor where she had first saw the rose…
"Girls!" a familiar cheery voice was heard coming from the café. Ichigo looked up, with the rose still at hand, and saw Keiichiro coming out from the kitchen. He grasped a wide tray at hand with a big, off-white cover over it. Ichigo stood up and placed the rose gently in her apron as if she never found anything; she headed over to Keiichiro who was standing over by the other mews.
Ichigo found herself standing next to Mint as Keiichirou smiled at all of them.
"As you girls know, it's Aijou Dei, and I decided to do something special for all of you." Keiichiro placed his hand over the cover of the tray and then—
"Voila!" Keiichirou uncovered a silver tray that contained little mini sized cakes shaped like pink hearts. They had, of course, pink icing with white edible beads outlining the heart's shape— fluffy, chocolate cake was concealed inside.
"Yummy!" all the girls, except Zakuro, yelled in unison. Everyone grabbed their little cake and began taking bites out of it; Ichigo did the same. Ichigo chewed up her bite and swallowed it with an 'mmm!' right after. Ichigo shifted her eyes to another part of the café; Ryou caught her eye as he stood at the end of the hallway with his arms folded. He noticed Ichigo staring at him and walked away into the hallway…
Keiichiro smiled as he watched the girls enjoy their pastries.
"Oishii, Akasaka-san." Ichigo smiled at Keiichiro as she finished the rest of hers off. Ichigo watched for a moment as the other girls kept eating theirs. She sighed and she made her way into the kitchen to grab the broom to sweep the main room of the café; no one else was about to do it.
Ichigo swung open the kitchen door and turned to the left to pick up the broom.
"Huh?" Ichigo noticed something sitting right behind the broom. Ichigo picked up the broom with her left hand as she stared at the item in front of her.
"Another rose?" Ichigo carefully picked up the rose with her right hand and grasped it. It was just as gorgeous as the last one. She gently slid it into her apron on top of the other rose. These roses aren't just a coincidence… could someone be giving these to me for Aijou Dei? Ichigo thought. She discontinued her thoughts as she brought the broom back into the main room and began sweeping…
x X x X x X x
Lettuce and Pudding waved to Keiichiro and Ryou as they exited the café; Mint and Zakuro followed close behind them. Ichigo grabbed her jacket and prepared to leave as well.
"Thanks again for the pastry, Akasaka-san." Ichigo smiled. Keiichiro just smiled as he watched Ichigo leave the café…
"Sigh…" Ichigo stared back up at the sky.
Drip.
"Ooh." Ichigo crinkled her nose as she felt a drop of rain fall on it, "It's about to rain. Maybe I should put up my hood." Ichigo reached back and began to pull up her hood over her head. "Huh?" something fell right before her eyes. Ichigo finished pulling the hood over her head and stopped walking for a moment as she peered down to the ground. Another rose lay in front of her presence. "Did someone put that in my jacket?" Ichigo bent down, picking up the rose, and stared at it. The rain began to pick up and started to come down harder and harder. "The rain's really pouring down, I should hurry home." Ichigo took one last glance at the rose before placing it in a small compartment in her jacket, if she didn't the rain would make it start to bleed.
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"Do you think she's almost home yet?" Ryou asked Keiichirou solemnly.
"Maybe." Keiichirou replied with a slight smile, "Are you going to deliver her final rose?"
"Yeah." Ryou stated with no motion in his voice, "I'll probably take your car."
"That's fine." Keiichiro answered, "Have you thought about what you're going to tell her after you hand her the rose?"
"He…" Ryou smiled a bit, "I haven't really planned anything… I think it'll just flow when it comes time."
"I see." Keiichiro laughed a bit.
"I should probably leave in a moment…" Ryou sighed, "The rain's picking up and I don't think it's going to stop just for me…"
x X x X x X x
The rain doesn't look like it's going to let up. Ichigo thought as she took a glance up at the dark gray sky. Her shoes mashed against the softness of the mud as she took her first step on the solid ground of the concrete of the sidewalk.
Ichigo folded her arms across her bosom as she continued walking in the rain. Her ankles were about soaked from the splashing puddles and continuous rainfall. I wonder where all these roses are coming from… Ichigo thought, I wonder… do you think that— Ichigo looked up at the street and noticed a red car turning around the corner.
"Shirogane-san?" Ichigo blinked as she stopped in her tracks. She watched as Ryou turned his head around in the car; Ichigo immediately caught his eye… "Shiro— no… no! Watch out!" Ichigo's words echoed through her own ears as she watched the rain fall in front of her. Everything seemed to go in slow motion, from the beeping of the car horns to the fall of the pounding rain.
Ca-thump…Ca-thump…
Ca-thump…
Ichigo felt her heart beating out of her chest. Everything happened so quickly…
Erk!!!Swish…
Boom!
"Shirogane!" Ichigo ran… she ran as fast as she could; "Shirogane!!! Shirogane! Shirogane…" she could hear her own voice weakening with each call of his name.
The corner was too sharp. He got distracted by just the look of Ichigo's eyes… the road was too wet; the pole was too close… Ichigo's eyes were perhaps too much…
Ichigo ran up to the, what looked like, a crushed car. Ichigo opened the car door quickly as the wind ran against her face, pulling off her hood. Ichigo stood there in the rain, speechless at the gruesome sight. It stuck cleaning to her memory… his smile through the drowning rain just before he turned…
"No…" Ichigo fell to her knees in the middle of the road as citizens stopped to observe the sight as sirens were heard in the distance heading their way. Ichigo's face was drowned completely in her tears as the rain continued to fall, soaking her hair in its moistness. Ichigo couldn't bare looking inside the car anymore, until— something bright caught her eye. Ichigo looked at the passenger seat that was right there in front of her. There lay a rose with a note attached to it. Ichigo eyes continued to water as she reached for the rose inside the car. Ichigo held it in front of her face. She opened the small white note attached to the end of the rose and read it: I will always love you, until the last rose dies… Ichigo dropped the note onto the cold, moist, black top and she clenched the rose within her hand. The rose… it wasn't real… it was— fake…
OWARI
Please review!!! I love writing stories like this... so romantic, yet so dramatic...