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“When I first saw you, I thought you were perfect,” Ichigo whispered, fingers flicking at the bell of her collar absently.
Aoyama froze, holding his net still. River water seeped through as the pile of litter made itself visible. Cleaning the river… was not most human’s idea of a perfect date, he supposed. “Did you?”
Ichigo shook her head. “You’re the number one student in our grade, and the best at sports, and the most popular guy in school, and when you took off your helmet in kendo, you just looked so cool glistening with sweat! You’re the only undefeated member on the team! Brains and brawns and looks—literally the perfect guy! It was love at first sight, and I bet everyone at school would say that!”
Feeling distant, he flashed a practiced, charming smile, almost as a consolation. “…I’m not exactly what you imagined, huh?”
She shook her head. “Nope.”
“Sorr—”
He bell chimed as she closed the distance between them and kissed him breathless before he could even get out the apology. Ichigo met Aoyama’s eyes as she pulled away. “You’re way better. I love you so, so much more than I ever could have dreamed I would.”
His cheeks flushed pink, and he could hardly find the words to muster a proper “…Thank you for loving me.”
Ichigo grinned a very cat-like smile, and in a burst of light, she was in her Mew Mew form. “Hey, let’s compete!” she called out, using her enhanced abilities to leap across the river, dragging her net along and coming up with empty tin cans and plastic waste. “Whoever cleans up the most litter gets to decide where we stop and eat afterwards!”
The sudden competition was partly to alleviate her own embarrassment at saying something so cheesy—if she hadn’t found an excuse to transform then and there, she could feel a full transformation into a cat about to turn on, and even now, she was blushing bright red. But Aoyama just grinned and flashed into his own transformation. Long black hair billowed behind him, tips dyed pink, because he was no better at hiding his flustered blushing than Ichigo. Regal blue robes shimmered in the daylight as he floated up. “You’re on.”
He was looking forward to whatever restaurant she’d pick out for them.