~Chapter 1~

.:Such a Baka:.

*BEEP BEEP BEEP*

The dreaded noise that sounded the start of each day; Ichigo thumped her alarm clock hard with her small fist. She stretched her arms over her head and yawned, fliped the sheets off of her petite body, and staggered of into her bathroom to take a fresh shower. Soon she returned, she dried and brushed her strawberry locks, did her usual do' and pulled on a white T-shirt with a short skirt and her everyday tennis shoes with high frilly socks. Today was a work day, AND SHE WAS LATE AGAIN! "EEEEEP" She squealed and raced downstairs "MOM, DAD, I'M LEAVING" and took off out the door, not waiting for a reply. "Shirogane is going to KILL me!" She sprinted down the streets leaving a cloud of dust behind her.

After a good 10 minutes of running, she finally reached Café Mew Mew. "Alright," she sighed, wiping a bead of sweat from her now rosy cheeks. "Now…." She leaned against the pastel wall the bordered the Café , took a few moments to catch her breath, it was an incredibly hot summer day, she looked at her watch… 30 minutes late."Oh jeez… I'M DEAD!But wait a minute..Hmmmm… Maybe I could possibly slip past Shirogane and not get in trouble" She snickered to herself *stealth mode activated*. Ichigo slipped around the wall to the back door of the café that was rarely used. She slowly placed her hand on the doorknob, and ever so gently turned the knob and pushed the door open. Ichigo scuttled inside and shut the door quietly and tip-toed to the locker rooms.

"Hmmm, strawberry, nice of you to show up,"

"EEEEKKKK!" She screamed. Ichigo sweat-dropped…. Shirogane…. She was caught. The cool figure leaning against the wall swept his long blonde hair out of his aqua- blue eyes and glared down at small Ichigo.

"I…Ummm, WAIT A MINUTE MISTER! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THE GIRLS CHANGING ROOM!"

"What are you doing 30 minutes late to work, again?" He said coldly. Ichigo looked at her feet, and shifted around.

"Ummmm-" Ryou tapped his foot impatiently.

"I'm docking your pay, baka, now hurry up and get dressed," Ryou flicked Ichigo's nose and pushed the door open to exit the locker room.

"ICHIGO, TABLE 4 NEEDS MORE BANANA BERRY TARTS!"

"ICHIGO! BRING THIS LEMON PIE TO TABLE 6"

"CLEAN UP OVER HERE, ICHIGO!"

"IGHIGO HURRY OVER HERE!"

"IGHIGO WHERE'S MY ORDER!"

"ICHIGOO?"

"ICHIGO!"

Ichigo raced back and forth between tables and the kitchen, panting. "My god I've must've already ran a mile in here!" She said quietly to herself, wiping her now damp forehead. Ichigo went into the kitchen and saw Keiichiro completing the icing on a small pink cake. For a guy, he was pretty good at making girly little pastries. "Oh Momomiya-chan, may I ask a small favor of you?" He looked up at her warmly. Ichigo nodded and blushed at Keiichiro's politeness. "Could you please go to the supply closet in the basement and get a box of the rainbow sprinkles for me?" He half smiled one of his adorable smiles at her. Ichigo blushed again and muttered a quick "Hai" before she bounced off out of the kitchen and started off towards the basement, when she ran straight into a blonde certain someone.

"Ouch, Yo baka, you should really start watching where you're going" Said Shirogane in an annoyed tone, scratching his blonde head.

"MAYBE YOU SHOULD WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING! AND I'M NOT A BAKA!" Ichigo punched him hard in the arm, and it surprisingly did sting quite a bit.

"What are you doing in the hall anyway, baka? Didn't I tell you tha-"

"I'M COMPLETING AN IMPORTANT TASK FOR KEIICHIRO-SAN, NOW WOULD YOU PLEASE MOVE OUT OF MY WAY SHIROGANE!" Ryou felt a tinge of annoyance and shook it off.

"PFFFT! You and what army!"

Ichigo stamped down hard on his foot.

"YOW! BAKA!"

Ryou grunted and hobbled aside from Ichigo and eyed her suspiciously as she flicked her strawberry locks away from him and stomped halfway down the shiny, white hallway. Then she turned around and stuck her tongue out at him, and pulled down her eyelid. She giggled and turned once again, finished, and continued down the hall; Her sneakers squeaking on the polished hallway. Ryou watched her go, and smiled a small smile.

"GOD! SHIROGANE IS SUCH A HUGE JERK!" She stomped down each stair into the basement *CLUNK CLUNK CLUNK* "One day…*CLUNK* I swear…. *CLUNK* I'M GOING TO GIVE HIM A PIECE OF MY MIND!" Ichigo reached the floor of the basement and felt around for a light-switch, she found the smooth plastic knob and flicked it on, light filling the basement. The basement was really big, it held some spare tables and chairs for the café, and lots of random things. "Hmmm… Supply closet" She walked over to the door and opened it, and walked into the fairly large room, different pastel boxes lined up and stacked high against the grey walls of the closet. "Rainbow sprinkles…." She scanned the room and found the surprisingly large sprinkle box. She struggled to pick it up. "EEERRGGH, This is actually quite heavy…." She sat it down and took in a few deep breaths, and picked it up once more, only to drop it again. "WHAT IN THE HE-HOW MANY FRIGGIN' SPRINKLES ARE IN HERE?NYAAAA" Her cat ears and tail popped out in anger.

"Need some help baka-strawberry?" Ichigo squealed and turned around to see a smirking Ryou leaning against the wall, legs crossed, hands in his white-jean pockets.

"NO! I MOST CERTAINLY DO NOT! ….Wait a minute, Shirogane! ARE YOU STALKING ME!" Ichigo eyed him cautiously, scratching her head.

"Nah, your baka mumblings to yourself just actually amuse me quite a bit" He smirked.

"I AM NOT A BAKA!" Ichigo huffed and picked up the sprinkle box and walked a few steps, sticking her small pink tongue out at Ryou. *CLANK* "YOOOOWWW! NYYYAAA!" She grabbed her foot and jumped up and down in pain.

"PPPFFFFFTTTT! Want that help now?" Ryou chuckled, Baka-strawberry. Ichigo gave him a death glare, and then sighed, she was defeated. Ryou bent down beside Ichigo and lifted up the box "You really need to be more careful" he looked deep down into her big, sparkling dark eyes for a moment, his oceany-blue eyes full of concern, then he turned away from her. Ichigo blushed deeply, and touched her cheek with her hand. Since when has Shirogane actually cared about me? Ryou flipped around, pointed a slim finger at her and winked "Yeah, I don't want any of these supplies getting ruined, after all!"

"UGH!" Ichigo smacked her palm against her forehead. I'm such an idiot sometimes! They both continued upstairs into Keiichiro's kitchen, and Ryou placed the box down on the table with a small thud.

"Thank you very much Momomiya-chan!-Or uhh, Ryou?" Keiichiro looked him over, a bit confused for a moment. Ryou rolled his eyes at his dark-headed friend.

"Baka strawberry over here nearly killed herself in the basement trying to pick up the box" Ryou grinned at Ichigo.

"NYYYAAA! IT WAS EXTREMELY HEAVY JUST FOR A BOX OF SPRINKLES!" Ichigo yelled.

"Well Ichigo, It is a half year supply of it after-all!" Keii said smiling a warm smile at her. She blushed.

"If ONLY certain people were as nice as you Keii-san!" Ichigo glared at Ryou.

"Now, Now, let's calm down and get back to work… There will be a nice sweet surprise in it for you Ichigo!" Keiichiro patted her strawberry head.

"Yeah back to work baka!" Ryou said, seemingly more annoyed than usual. "…BEFORE I DOCK YOUR PAY EVEN FURTHER!"

"UGH SHIROGANE YOU'RE SUCH A JERK!" Ichigo stomped out of the kitchen, giving him a mean look before she turned the corner.

"…..You know you don't really have to be so harsh on the poor girl, Ryou,"

" You don't have to be so nice to her either!" Ryou glared at him.

"Is that a tinge of jealousy I'm sensing?" Keii smirked at him.

"NO! SHE'S JUST SUCH A MORON! I CAN HARDLY STAND IT!"

"Hmmmm, interesting…" He grinned before returning to his cakes.

"What is that supposed to mean!"

"Whatever you wish it to mean, Ryou-kun" Ryou walked out of the kitchen timidly. Keiichiro sighed and mumbled to himself "They really are more alike than they know it," He smiled.

NEXT CHAPTER:

~Ichigo shows up to work not looking like her usual self.

~Ryou is being a lot more lenient than usual.

~Ichigo is a peeper….

Oh yeah, and don't worry, the other mews will show up in the next chapter c: