Raku Ichijou ran helplessly across the shrine grounds as Chitoge Kirisaki, Marika Tachibana, and Kosaki Onodera readied their bows. His female friends were currently deadlocked in a battle to bound their love with his. It certainly looked liked they were only going to stop if Raku was hit by the 'love arrows' or they had ran out of ammo.
The three girls let go of their bowstrings, sending the arrows to chase after Raku. However, they all missed...
Marika had shot over his head, Kosaki had failed to hit her mark by a mile, and Chitoge's bow had broken, sending the arrow flying willy nilly, barely hitting her mark as well.
"What?! My string broke!" Chitoge exclaimed.
Marika saw this and smiled at her misfortune. Her happy thoughts raced excitedly in her mind. Yes! Raku-same will finally be mine! As she pulled out another arrow, she broadcast her resolve. "This victory belongs to me!" she yelled as she loosed the bow. At the moment of release, Raku and Chitoge, as if connected by a psychic link, gasped at the same time, hoping the arrow would not hit.
On the other side of the shrine's grounds, Tsugumi and Honda were duking it out. The older woman was currently trying to psyche out her opponent.
"Perhaps you truly wish to participate in the ritual as well...? Along with the others?"
Tsugumi got nervous when Honda asked that question. It was obvious that the police detective had seen right through her. During the last few months, she had developed feeling for Raku. However, they weren't clear to her. But now, seeing as she really did want to participate in the ritual with the other girls, Tsugumi became very shaky since she had finally decided that she could have feelings for Raku, not to mention a few fantasies of him in her sleep. It took all of her energy not to tell the truth about how she felt about Raku. "Don't say such ridiculous things! I..."
Honda quickly picked up on her nervousness and attacked the young Beehive assassin again. "Then why did you take that bow?" She followed up the question with a smug look on her face. "Normally, you would use the hidden gun in your sleeve. But instead, you use a bow. Perhaps you have lingering sentiments?"
Tsugumi felt like she was getting cornered. She had to concentrate and come up with quick response or else she would be found out. "No. I just didn't want to hurt you. Ojou told me not to." Fortunately, Tsugumi had remembered Chitoge's orders in time to use in her quick comeback.
Honda picked up on the insincerity in her voice. "Really? I don't think that's the case at all because when it comes to Ichijou-san, both you and your employer have feel..."
"Shut up! Don't say anything more!" Tsugumi yelled. Raku ran by and she hoped he didn't anything from their conversation. Raku turned to look at her, making Tsugumi yelp.
Ruri Miyamoto ran up to Kosaki, upset that her friend wasn't trying very hard. "Kosaki! What are you doing?! They're going to beat you at this rate!" She said, trying to encourage her shy friend. Onodera was worried that if she did hit Raku with the arrow, Chitoge and the others might find out that she was in love with him. And seeing how hard Marika and Chitoge were trying, she didn't want to ruin their friendship if she did pin Raku and he actually fell in love with her.
Onodera reasoned with Ruri, trying to explain her actions. "B-but, if I go now, Chitoge-chan and the others will know-"
Ruri raised her brow at her friend. "You're still seriously thinking like that? After all your progress with Raku-san? If you don't do it now, you'll regret forever! Do you want that?" Ruri hoped that her reasoning might knock some sense into Onedara and get her to complete her objective.
Onodera quickly thought it over and decided that Raku was worth it. She was going to win no matter what. "I don't want that so I'll do what it takes. I'll do it!"
Ruri smiled and gave Onodera a thumbs up. "Good Kosaki. Now get him!"
Chitoge had problems of her own, but her situation was more helpless than Onodera's. She had an arrow left, but even so she couldn't use it since the bowstring had broken. But, she was determined to make it count. She had fallen for Raku, and she was going to do anything to get him as her own. And she was not going to let someone like Marika take him. I am going to win this, and Raku's love. And I'm certainly not going to lose to someone like Tachibana. I will win this for you Raku. For us!
Chitoge concentrated on those thoughts and readied herself. She put the arrow in her right hand and raised her left leg, just like a pitcher. She looked downrange and spotted Raku. Chitoge made the final adjustments and threw, using her momentum.
At the same, all the other girls fired their arrows; all of them aiming for one single point - Raku Ichijou's back. In less than two seconds, they came within one meter of their intended target. But only one hit, and when it did, it bounced the others away.
Upon impact Raku keeled over and hit the ground flat on his face, with Chitoge's arrow stuck in his back.
With that, the girls stood in great disbelief with as Raku lay on the ground, impaled. Marika was steaming, Onodera was saddened, Tsugumi was shaking, and Chitoge was shocked beyond comprehension. Their thoughts...
Marika: Damn that gorilla! She cheated using her brute strength.
Kosaki: Oh well. There's always a next time... Oh no. What will Ruri say?
Ruri: That couldn't have been helped.
Tsugumi: I'm so lucky that Ojou's arrow hit. It would've been super embarrassing if that was my arrow that hit.
Chitoge: I hit him... I did it. Yessss! Oh wait. That arrow was sharp...
Chitoge raised her arms in victory. "Yes! I did it!" Her celebration was cut short by the priestess. She wasn't entirely happy about the mess they had made. "Good grief... are you done?"
Chitoge turned around and saw the priestess standing there. "Please pick up the arrows... and pay for the bow you broke as well."
The blonde girl smiled sheepishly. "Ah yes. I'll do that."
At the scene, where Marika was readying an arrow. Raku heard her mutter something under her breath. "It's not like she said that only the first one has the effect." With that, she shot Raku a point blank range. He let out a low groan.
Soon after, Tsugumi came over too. She casually said out loud why she was there. "Nooow them, I will help Ojou with collecting the arrows." As she was picking up the arrows around Raku, Tsugumi looked around to see if anyone was looking. When she saw that the coast was clear, she took one of the arrows and jabbed Raku with it. "Oops. Sorry Ichijou-san." After doing the deed, Tsugumi ran away as fast as possible.
After Tsugumi was Onodera. She simply picked up her arrow and slowly jabbed Raku. "Sorry Ichijou-kun." She gave him a pat on the head before leaving to rejoin the others.
2 hours later...
Chitoge noticed that Raku was waking up and looked at him on the bench.
Raku shook his head and slowly opened his eyes to the young woman looking at him. "You're finally awake?" she asked.
"Chitoge? What happened?" Raku mumbled. He was still regaining consciousness from the nasty fall he took.
Chitoge smiled sheepishly. "Well, um I kinda-"
"Wait a second... you shot me!" Raku suddenly recalled the past events.
"Well, the others were shooting at you too." Chitoge said, crossing her arms.
"Well, the others were shooting at me, but you- you actually shot me in the back!"
At that point Chitoge was trapped. If she explained why she was so eager to shoot and even more successful in doing so, it would be the same as a confession. She had to get him to stop asking without revealing her feelings for him. It just wasn't the right time. So Chitoge punched Raku in the gut.
"Oww." Raku reached to his side and put his hand there, trying to ease the pain.
"Oh my god Raku. I'm sorry." Chitoge reacted instinctively and placed her hand where she punched him and tried to soothe the area. Their hands made contact and they both looked at each other.
Chitoge?" Before Raku could say anything else, Chitoge slapped his hand.
"What was that for?! You know, you're acting strange... hitting me then trying to apologize right after. What are you playing at?" Raku realized that Chitoge was acting usually and decided to question her about it. "Not to mention you still haven't told me why you shot me."
Chitoge crossed her arms, now facing her back to Raku.
"I'm sorry okay? It must've hurt. But I was really desperate at the time."
She turned around to see Raku sigh. "It's okay. I forgive you."
"I really am sorry for shooting you though."
"You know... this really isn't like you at all Chitoge. Actually, come to think of it... why were you guys so eager to shoot me in the first place? I'd heard something about benefits but I'm not quite sure..."
"Huh? We, um... well who knows? Aha haha haha." She tried to play it off. "And it's not like I wanted to shoot you anyways. I just wanted to make sure the others wouldn't hurt you badly. Cuz you know, once you're hit no one would shoot you anymore..."
When did she become so tsundere? Raku thought it over. "Wait... what sense does that make? You still made it hurt."
Chitoge sighed. "Just forget about it."
"Okay. Come to think about it, where are the others?"
"Well, last thing I remembered was that Marika was resting and Ruri and Kosaki were visiting a nearby shrine."
"Oh." Raku was kind of disappointed that Onodera wasn't there with him.
"Well... it's already the end of the school trip, huh...?" Raku said as he looked at the low sun slowly slipping behind the mountains.
Chitoge smiled. "Yeah, and when we get back, the second semester will be over. Seems like we'll be third years soon. It's been about a year and half since we became fake lovers. We're already at the halfway point."
"Halfway huh? It's pretty incredible when you put it like that." Raku said as he cupped his head.
"We've been through a lot, huh? At first I couldn't imagine doing this someone like you."
Raku raised his eyebrow. "Umm, Chitoge... that's my line."
"Beansprout."
"Gorilla."
Chitoge laughed and soon enough Raku was laughing along.
Chitoge smiled at Raku. He's so nice... and handsome. I've got to tell him... "But seriously though, I think this situation is pretty fun."
Raku wanted her to explain more. "Huh? What do you mean?"
"I mean like it's possible we wouldn't be able to talk like this if it weren't for our fake relationship, right? We've might had different relationships with Kosaki-chan and the others, too. Tsugumi might not have even transferred here. You would've been dating Marika and I might have not even transferred in the first place." Chitoge looked very serious as she spoke. This wasn't very much like her.
"Well. It's not that bad if you out it like that. But what you're really going to say next is 'if only didn't have to pretend to be dating...' right?"
Chitoge smiled at his assumption. "Not really. Now, I don't think that faking being lovers is that bad."
Raku thought her words over. Well, that's true. I've had fun with her and all-. "Wait a second. You're trying to fool me again, aren't you?! I won't fall for that again Chitoge."
Chitoge remembered that time on the beach when she and Raku were by themselves talking about 'what ifs'. She had made a mistake that day and she wasn't going to repeat it again. She knew that she loved him and this time... "It's the truth Raku. I really do believe that." She turned around and faced away from Raku. She was obviously hurt by what he expected from her.
Raku was shocked inside. He knew that Chitoge had been acting strangely, but not to this extent. It's not like she has feelings for me right? Right?!
"Chi...toge?"
"Raku. I have tell you... I... I... I lo-"
Before she could finish her sentence, Chitoge was cut off by her phone."
Chitoge picked up her phone. Who in the hell is calling at a time like this? She saw her dad was on the other end and calmed down, answering the call.
"Hey dad, what did you need?"
A few moments passed until Chitoge talked again. "WHAT?!"
Raku noticed that she was obviously distraught. "Chitoge? What's wrong?"
Chitoge looked at Raku with a saddened expression. "Raku... he says we don't have to fake being lovers anymore."
"What?!"
The next day... at the Ichijou mansion
"What's going on here old man?!" Raku yelled at his father.
Mr. Ichijou smiled. "I thought you would be happy Raku. Instead of three years, it only had to be one and a half.. Aren't you looking forward to ending this fake relationship with her?"
"That's not what I'm asking, Pops. What happened to the plan?"
"Well, it's that Adelt managed to finish whatever business he had left in Japan, and now he has no reason to stay anymore. So they're going to go back to America."
"So why does Chitoge have to go too?" Raku asked, clenching his fist in anger.
"Well. That's simple, of course. If the boss is going, they'll have to spread their resources thin to protect both your girlfriend and Adelt."
"She's not my girlfriend!" Raku snapped.
Mr. Ichijou crocked his head in confusion. "Huh. You know we were exaggerating when we said you had to be lovers for all of high school. But more importantly Raku, is why do you care? I thought you wanted this relationship to end as soon as possible. Could it be that you've changed and you have feelings for Chitoge?"
Raku sat down in a chair, confused. "No. It's definitely not that at all." I mean she's a nice girl and all, but if I did have feelings for her, I don't think she would like me back. We went from enemies to friends, but I genuinely think that she wouldn't fall for a guy like me. Raku sighed and slumped down in his seat. "That's not the point, though. I-I... just do-don't want her to go. She's a really good friend and our group wouldn't be the same..."
Mr. Ichijou turned around in his swivel chair and faced the window. "I see."
Raku left the his father's office and went over to his room to think about what was happening. Why am so bothered by this? I'm finally getting what I want- no more faking a relationship with Chitoge and I can now spend more time with Onodera. It's all I wanted for so long. But why do I feel like this? Am I in love with Chitoge? Raku slapped himself at that thought. He shook his head and laughed at his stupidity. There's no way I could ever like that gorilla, right?
But now I think about it... she's not that bad of a girl... of a person. She's,gotten nicer over the past few months. She's been hitting me less and not as verbally abusive. Could it be? I know she was going to say something yesterday but...? There's no way she could ever be in love with a guy like me. Stupid.
We've sure been through a lot though. Since the beginning of high school, we went from two people who hated each other so much to being good friends... Who knew it would turn out like this? All those experiences molded us into who we are now.
That time at the hot springs...
Her visiting me when I got sick...
When she held onto me in the shed...
When she got lost in the forest...
The play...
All our dates...
The trips with our friends...
Us snuggling together during the storm...
Me helping her and her mother mend their relationship...
Does she feel the same way? I wonder what she's thinking about all of this.
...at the Kirisaki mansion
Chitoge angrily opened the door to her father's office, startling him. "What's going on Dad?! Why are we moving?!"
Adelt tried his best to smile. "I'm sorry Chitoge, but this is what's best for both sides."
Chitoge shook her head, holding back tears. Adelt could see the effort she was putting in to not cry, so he tried to come up with better reasoning. "Chitoge, didn't you say that you wanted to end your fake relationship with that Ichijou's boy? Isn't that what you wanted all along?"
"No! That's not what- wait. Yes! I do want to but..." Chitoge nearly said how she felt about Raku. "...It's just that... I've finally been able to make lots of great friends over here."
"Well Chitoge, I'm truly sorry about that. But, seeing how you are now, I really believe that you'll be able to make lots of new friends in America. Also, it'll be good for your academics since you'll be able to practice your English."
Chitoge looked more desperate and her jaw suddenly dropped, choking back a sob.
"And don't worry. I'll make sure Claude won't repeat what happened in junior high."
"But..."
Adelt cut Chitoge off with a hand before she could protest. "And this time around, your mom will be living with us more at our new place. It turns out that Hana is also relocating to America. Since it's your mom we're talking about, she's not going to be around much. But, I think you'll be able to see her more often than you do now."
"Mom's moving to America, too?" Chitoge asked quietly.
"Yeah. She's especially been looking forward to seeing you more often. She told me that she wants to spend more time with you ever since Raku made you guys bond that Christmas." Her father said, turning around in his chair.
Chitoge suddenly remembered what happened Raku did for her and mom, and something inside suddenly knew that she had to do something. She had to tell him...
"Chitoge, I do know what you're going through. The same thing happened with me and my father. I know it's painful to leave behind your friends and family, but could you please understand?"
No answer...
Adelt looked back behind him to see his daughter running out of the office in tears.