Disclaimer: Doesn't own Tokyo Mew Mew. I can say this: eat your heart out, whoever wrote Sailor Moon. TMM has got you SO beat!

Warnings: First shot at a Ryou/Ichigo thing, and at a TMM thing in general. Sappy romance ahead.

Note: Japan is a little peculiar to us Americans; girls are eligible for marriage at 16, which is our 15. They say they're a year old when they're born over there. And please note that arranged marriages are still the mostly excepted thing.

Bad Luck Kitty

Kyuuubi Tenshi

I'd known it from the moment I laid eyes on her. She was cute, sweet and vengeful. I knew that this was exactly like the animal I'd fused with her. And I had been most certain that that vengeful side of her was going to get to me one of these days. I'd liked her from the start, after all.

That, in itself, was a sure sign of bad luck.

Or maybe it was bad karma. I do tease her an awful lot, and I never give her a raise, even when she begs, pleads, and even bribes me. I make her mad just so I can see her ears and tail pop out, and then make fun of her because of the lack of control. Then when I want to embarrass her, I do it just enough so the ears pop out, and then I pet and scratch them gently, evoking a purr, before she completely freaks out about the sound. To put it simply, my favorite past-time would be playing with her ears. Making her mad is the best way to get access to that particular past-time. Shoot, once I'd even kissed her just for the heck of it so she'd get stuck a cat and I could play with those fuzzy black appendages all I pleased.

Yup. Definitely bad karma.

"Shirogane-san, can I please, please, pleasehave a raise?" she begged me again. I stared at her for a minute, pretending to think about it. She looked like the vaguest spark of hope had just made its way into her eyes, when I answered. And the answer was a surprise to everyone, including myself.

"On one condition." She looked like she was going to have a fit out of pure joy. But soon enough, a smirk was plastered on my face, which made her falter.

"I have a specific word in mind. It shouldn't be too hard to guess. Say it, and I'll give you a raise."

Out came the ears. The tail soon followed. I cocked an amused eyebrow in her direction as she fumed at me for getting her hopes up. Retasu timidly pointed out that I hadn't said 'no', but the poor girl was blown up at. Ichigo stormed into the locker room, and we soon heard the muffled thud from the closing back door.

Thank goodness I'd thought to soundproof the café. Surely she was swearing up a storm.

I chuckled, and headed out the front door. I knew she was in a bad mood that day anyway; it was, after all, the first anniversary of the day she and Aoyama had broken up. He'd said he thought they'd 'out-grown' one another. Merely to be polite, she'd said she thought so too. Then she'd cried her eyes out at Café Mew Mew for a few good hours, and had a slumber party in the upstairs den with the other four Mews. They said it was to celebrate her moving on. I'd asked Keiichiro about what he thought of it, and he had said that it was safer to keep a close eye on Ichigo that week, just in case.

Surprisingly, that was the only time I went a whole week without being mean to her even once. The Mews, save perhaps Zakuro and Keiichiro, were baffled.

They were going to have another sleepover that night in the den, just like a year before. The girls hadn't said anything about the reason, nor had we asked. Keiichiro had said, one night, that he thought the girls knew something more about Ichigo's behavior than we did, and to trust them.

For some reason… I had slipped a short note and a check to her in her locker. It wasn't that big; only three times her normal salary times two paychecks worth. How much is that…?

Today, she'd seemed a little out of it. Usually, our arguments help her forget about whatever's bothering her, and for a while the only thing on her mind is how much of a jerk I am. I suppose I can live with that, though sometimes it hurts.

Okay, so it always hurts. Can't help that.

I was wondering what to do for her. It seemed like I always had to keep her happy; inside, I freaked out when something dampened her mood. Okay, so a raise wasn't a major issue today; and I knew that Keiichiro was already planning on burying them under new delectable sweets. Zakuro had secured tickets for the five of them to the Candy 5 concert tomorrow night. Minto had bought her a kitten with Retasu and Purin. It seemed that I was the only one who hadn't done something yet. I always did something; I wasn't about to stop now.

Mou… it really is inconvenient to love that kuroneko.

A couple strolled passed me, their arms linked and the young woman laughing at some corny joke her boyfriend had spouted off. Well… I suppose boyfriend wasn't the right word; I could see the engagement ring on her finger quite plainly. She wasn't anymore than 17, I was sure. It was one of those moments when I wondered what would become of me; if I would wake up one morning, walk into the café and hear Ichigo telling the other girls about an arranged marriage to some handsome gentleman from a foreign country that was perfect in every way. She liked those types… the gentle, sweet ones. Not the… would they say bad-boy? Whatever they called me, I wasn't it. I wasn't looking where I was going, and accidentally bumped into someone. A lady; I was sure there was something familiar about her… "I'm sorry, ma'am!"

"Oh!" she suddenly looked up at me, surprised, as though she recognized me somehow. "Are you, perchance, Shirogane Ryou?" On the off-chance that I was more surprised than she, I stared at her blankly. It seemed of non effect to her, but for that moment of silence I was finally able to register the person. She looked just like Ichigo. She sighed, appearing relieved that I recognized her. "Ichigo is upset at the moment; she didn't say anything to make you angry with her, did she?"

Ok. So I was officially lost. Was there something I was supposed to know and didn't? Apparently, this showed through to her. Quickly, she took me back to their home and explained the entire situation. I was shocked at first. Then… okay, it's official.

I have serious mental problems.

"And I can't believe they'd do that to me! At now of all times, especially!" the red-head vented to her companions. Suddenly, having a small problem retaining her anger, slightly due to the fact that none of them answered, she planted her face in the over-stuffed throw-pillow from the sofa and screamed. When she did look back up at them, all were looking behind her with wide eyes. And the only reason she looked was because Zakuro, too, was staring.

Imagine her surprise when she turned to see Ryou in the doorway. Her face turned a brilliant shade of crimson, and she turned away hurriedly, slapping the pillow over her head just as her ears popped out, though she could still do nothing about the belled tail which also made its appearance. But… the blush could not be settled simply by looking away. The image of his face… intense azure eyes, soft blonde hair, and that serious look… they were branded into her mind, and a continuing loop of sight to play before her eyes upon their closed, dark lids. Her eyes, when they opened to stare into the empty space before her, were as frightened as the Mews had ever seen them. And then she heard his voice.

"Ichigo, may I speak with you in private, please?"

She flinched at his calm tone. Slowly, hesitantly, she stood, turning to walk towards him but never allowing her eyes rise to meet his. The silence was oppressive as he led her to his room, and out onto the balcony beyond, a little relief given by the cool evening breeze and sleepy singing of nightingales and mockingbirds. He stood, hands braced on the biting concrete with his back to her for a while. The blood roared in her ears; even if she was a little clueless sometimes, it wasn't to the point that she couldn't see that something had happened.

"She told me."

Ichigo's head shot up to look at him, but he still looked towards the horizon. His hair shifted and swayed in the winds, its strands dyed silver beneath the heavenly bodies.

"Somehow I… I always wondered what I would do. I thought… one of these days, I'd walk into Café Mew Mew and hear you talking about the perfect gentleman that you'd been betrothed to… to think, that… you're mother and father knew me, and chose me, just when you mentioned my name only once…" he turned to her, his eyes shining with something wild and completely different from anything she'd ever seen. He smiled at her softly. "It made me know the perfect thing to get you."

"Get… me…?"

"Of course. I always… always, have wanted you to be happy, kuroneko-chan," he murmured, moving to her side and presenting her with a small, red-velvet box. Her eyes shot up to his, a strange look on her face at the peculiar new nickname.

"For you, my betrothed, my beloved. Koishii…"

He removed a shimmering opal and ruby ring from the case and slid it onto her left-hand ring finger. He moved closer to her, his lips almost brushing hers, and he heard her murmur.

"I'm sure glad you fixed the Kitten Syndrome. I'd really hate to ruin the moment right now."

AN: Bleh, sappy fluff. And not even that well written. (sighs) Either way, this was one of my earlier TMM fics, and I wrote this six months or so ago. I've improved, since then. Enjoy and REVIEW.