The gentle breeze of Tenku Park blew by the newly christened lovers. The young man, Raku Ichijou, gently smiled at the thought that he and the beautiful Chitoge Kirisaki had finally put out all their feelings into the forefront after the arduous past few days.
"We should head back. Everybody's waiting… yeah?"
Raku glanced back towards Chitoge with a soft gaze. After such a heartfelt confession between the two, he expected a little bit of hesitation. He would understand if she felt like she needed to avoid the others, Kosaki in particular.
But as usual, Chitoge knew how to defy expectations.
"Yeah, let's go."
The two silently said their goodbyes to their childhood playground and left, hand-in-hand. Before this moment, the two would have done so in embarrassment and necessity. But now, it felt right. Natural. However, that didn't stop their faces from lighting up in warmth.
Further in the distance, Raku and Chitoge spotted their friends waiting for them. Shuu Maiko was the first one to notice them approaching.
"Hey, there they are!" Instead of the usual cat-like grin that was normally plastered on his face, Shuu had a blank, solemn expression. Even Ruri's usual face held melancholy beneath her glasses.
"Chitoge-chan…" The chocolate brown haired girl, Kosaki Onodera, said softly when she made eye contact with the blonde girl. Said blonde couldn't grasp any sort of emotion coming from her friend and her words struggled to escape her lips.
"Kosaki-chan…" How could she even respond? Here she was, a girl who just came into their lives a few years ago and came in the way of Raku and Kosaki's mutual love for each that they've shared since middle school. No, even further back. They've loved each other for over a decade. And now…
Chitoge couldn't stand the tension and broke eye contact. "Kosaki-chan… um… I-" But before she knew it, Kosaki ran up to her and pulled her into a tight embrace.
As Kosaki's hold on her friend tightened, she kept whispering words of comfort into her ears as Chitoge began to cry. "It's okay."
"I-I'm sorry!"
"You don't need to apologize."
"Can you forgive me?"
"There's nothing to forgive. I'm just glad you're okay."
The exchanges continued for a good while. Even Ruri began to tear up herself at the beautiful display as Raku and Shuu looked on in silence.
They were glad that everything was gonna be fine.
"So now that that's been taken care of, what do we do now?" Ruri asked.
"Well, since the explosions seem to have stopped, maybe we should go check up on Seishirou-chan." Shuu suggested. "Knowing her, she must've had one hell of a day."
"W-Wait, Tsugumi is here?" Chitoge inquired.
"Yeah, we sorta kinda had a run-in with Claude…" Raku responded, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. "She ended up doing most of the physical lifting so to speak…"
"Claude too?!"
"It's a long story," the Yakuza heir sighed. Before he could say anymore, he could feel an erratic vibration in his pocket. Pulling out his cell phone, he saw that he had just received a text from Tsugumi herself.
Is everything all right, Raku Ichijou? I have finished my business with Claude-sama, so I can only hope you kept your end of the bargain.
- Seishirou Tsugumi
Raku chuckled and graciously replied.
Yeah, everything is fine on my side too. I think we got through to Chitoge. Thank you, Tsugumi.
- Raku Ichijou
Almost instantly, he got a reply.
Anything for the young mistress.
"Looks like Tsugumi came out all right." Raku announced. He stared at his phone for a bit longer, noticing the time. "It's gonna be a while before the next bus comes in. Maybe we should just relax until then."
The group of five came to an agreement and decided to explore the park for a little while longer, recalling the events of the day. Raku and Chitoge told how they both managed to meet up with Marika on the way to the hill where they eventually gave their long awaited confession. Everyone laughed at how even when she was supposed to be receiving treatment for a grave illness, the Tachibana girl was still able to go to extreme lengths for the desired outcome.
Kosaki had brought up the old mansion they had stayed at together as kids and how she even found the last page of the picture book they had. In response, Chitoge talked about how she had met with Raku's mother just earlier before heading out to Tenku.
"You saw my mom?"
"Yup!" Chitoge said excitedly. "My mom thought I should. Turns out your mom was the one who wrote that picture book in the first place."
"Huh, who would've thought?"
"Yeah. Turns out the whole Zawsze in Love thing was just a translation error and she got so embarrassed that she scratched it off the title!"
"No offense, Ichijou-kun, but your mom kinda sounds like a scatterbrain." Ruri stated.
"R-Ruri-chan! That's not very nice!" Kosaki interjected.
Raku had to laugh. "I can't exactly say I don't agree. Mom's always been like that."
Further ahead, the five teenagers were able to make out the hill Raku and Chitoge were just at a few moments earlier. The two lovers had to admit it was slightly embarrassing having to return so soon after their heartfelt goodbye to the grassy place, but the fond memory they formed there made it hard to ease off their excitement of their still fresh confession to each other.
"Wow, I feel like I still remember this place clearly!" Kosaki exclaimed in exuberance. "So nostalgic!"
"Yeah, and the view is killer too!" Shuu said with equal amounts of enthusiasm. "You really stayed here for a whole month, Raku?"
"Yup, sure did! That's how Chitoge, Onodera, and I all met. Yui-nee and Tachibana too. Thinking about it now, I kinda feel bad that I forgot about most of it. I remember having so much fun." The young Yakuza heir paused, his soft gaze turning towards a certain Beehive princess. "But, maybe it turned out pretty well in the end."
Chitoge looked away, her face red in embarrassment, while Raku couldn't help but chuckle for the umpteenth time at his now official girlfriend's blush. The other three gave the new couple a tender look, they too glad that the hectic day resulted in a joyous ending. However, they all knew that this brought up a bigger question.
Kosaki was the first to speak up. "Chitoge-chan… what happens now? Are you going back to Bonyari with us or…?"
The blonde sighed. "No, I'm not. I'm going back to the U.S. soon enough. I met someone using my mom's connections that can help my career take off. But I'm gonna have to take the job as soon as I can and I don't think I'll be able to stay in Japan since I'll be required to travel a lot. If I'm lucky, I could probably ask to stay for the rest of the summer break but even that's not a guarantee."
"O-Oh, I see…"
"I'm sorry, Kosaki-chan. I want to stay but-"
"There's no need to apologize, Chitoge-chan." This time, it was Ruri that spoke. "This is a great opportunity for you. You'd be foolish to pass it up."
"Ruri-chan's right, Kirisaki-san!" Shuu cried out with his cackling grin. "All of us are gonna have to go through college if we want to get our dream jobs. You can just get yours straightaway! Sounds kinda exciting if you ask me!"
Though Raku said no words, his expression said all she needed to hear from her bean sprout.
See? What did I tell you?
Chitoge's lips curled upwards and she again felt her eyes watering, but this time of joy rather than bitterness or remorse. "Thank you, guys. That means a lot."
A long silence passed between them. The beauty of the mountains came back full force as the sun began to set. Memories of times long past flooded between Raku, Chitoge, and Kosaki. Running around the plains, looking for odd trinkets in the woodlands, and watching the animals from afar. For better or for worse, they even vaguely remember the bath they all once shared as children.
And of course, they even remembered the promise.
Chitoge remembered overhearing young Raku admit that he wanted Kosaki to be his bride after saying the same thing to her. As a six-year-old, she could barely comprehend heartbreak, but she knew she felt something akin to sadness. In the end, she didn't even return the last page of the picture book and gave Kosaki the princess key, the only key that could open the locket. Looking back at it now, Chitoge started to question if she even changed since then. The same thing almost happened again (and by the same two people, no less) and she dealt with that the same way she did back then: by running away.
Raku remembered telling Kosaki that he loved her even after promising Chitoge that he'd marry her when they met up again. Thinking about it now, six-year-old him was a huge jerk, playing with the hearts of girls like that. Not to say he was much better now since he managed to make four girls fall in love with him, one of them being his own sister. Of course, if the school rumors were to believed, that number was expected to be higher, further baffling him. But if he could, he'd personally smack younger him upside the head. Chitoge didn't deserve such treatment.
Kosaki remembered her younger self stopping Raku from telling Chitoge about their own mutual feelings. Frankly, she felt awful that she tried keeping something that important from someone who was supposedly her best friend aside from her own sister. All because she didn't want to ruin her mood after Raku had chosen her over Marika as his bride. And then her mind wandered to a much more recent event.
I'll always, always be by your side, Ichijou-kun!
Kosaki didn't know why but those words felt like the right thing to say since Chitoge went missing. But in retrospect, it was just unfair. Unfair to Raku, unfair to Chitoge, and just unfair to herself. Somewhere in her mind, she must have subconsciously wanted to seize the opportunity to snag Raku for herself. She wanted to be selfish for once in her life and she ended up hurting Chitoge, one of her best friends, twice and she didn't even know it. Pursuing love was one thing. But if it meant betraying your friendship to do so, then it was far from worth it.
In order to break the tension, Raku finally spoke up.
"Hey, Chitoge? Ono- no, Kosaki?"
The two girls looked at him quizzically with Shuu and Ruri following suit.
"Yes? What is it, Raku?"
"Let's bury these damn things already." Raku said as he pulled out his locket.
"A-Are you sure, Ichijou-kun?!" Kosaki queried. "That locket is super important to you!"
"Was super important to me," he corrected. "It's honestly caused nothing but trouble for us these past few days. I think it's about time for us to move on from some silly promise we all made when were kids."
Chitoge pulled out her key and gave it a careful examination. Is she really willing to part with it? It was her only reminder of those old times. If it weren't for it, she might have never known the shared history and connection she, Raku, and the other girls used to have. But after further consideration, she removed the key's string from her neck.
"Yes, let's. There's no need for the past to hold us down any longer. The only way to go is forward."
Kosaki hesitated at first, but she too ended with the same conclusion.
"Okay. But on one condition." She breathed in and exhaled slowly, making sure she too can keep her word. The others turned to her in anticipation.
"No matter what, we'll keep going with no regrets."
Without any form of delay, the pair agreed immediately. "I already told Yui-nee that I'd see this through, no matter what. I think it's about time I live up to that promise."
Approaching a nearby rock, Raku removed the tufts of soil at the base and even had Shuu help him make the hole deep enough. For a moment, he had noticed markings on the rock that depicted his and Kosaki's names under an umbrella. His glasses-wearing friend caught on and said nothing. After everything that has happened, he knew his best friend was just laughing at the old memory.
Taking Chitoge's key as well as his locket and Kosaki's key that he kept in his pocket, Raku pushed all the dirt back into place and patted the ground to make sure it would hold. Now, there was no turning back for them.
"We should head back. It's getting dark and the buses are starting to return." Ruri said frankly.
The five nodded in agreement and walked back to the station as the sun began to set. Beautiful reds and oranges washed over the landscape, the perfect note to end the long journey that the two lovers had to endure for nearly three years. Tomorrow, it would be the dawn of a new day and life would move onward.
"Hey, Raku?"
The young man in question felt a tugging on his shirt and stopped in his tracks. "Hmm? What is it, Chitoge?"
"I, um, I just wanted to say thank you again… for everything…" The blonde's blush could rival the sun itself. "You've done so much for me and I-"
"Don't say another word. I did it because I love you. I would do it again if I had to." The boy pulled her tightly into an embrace, the warm feeling from the hug they had earlier came back full force. "Don't forget that, okay?"
Before he could react, Chitoge pulled Raku in for something they had both been anticipating for years. Something they had both built up in the mind for someone special.
It was short and sweet, but to them, it could have lasted a lifetime without them knowing. The kiss they shared was nothing short of extravagant.
Chitoge giggled. "Thank you, darling."
Raku chuckled in reply. "Anything for you, honey."
AN: Well this was a surprise. I honestly didn't think I'd be going back to fanfiction, especially for a fandom that I haven't been invested in for years. I dunno why but the sudden urge just came by me and I decided to read the entire manga as well as the chapters that the anime skipped. Nisekoi was a trip down memory lane, that's for sure.
But anyway, I have to say, despite being done for over a year now, the amount of fanart that I can find is dreadfully low. Especially for Raku/Chitoge which is a travesty considering they're canon and all. Oh well.
So just a heads up, this is gonna be a little different from how I usually do things. This will be a one shot collection, so there won't be any overarching plots, but do expect some references to previous chapters in the future. I won't be tying myself down with prompts either like I did for White Like Roses, unless I absolutely need them or if they end up working in my favor. Also, this won't be canon compliant. This chapter itself will probably the most canon compliant this story will ever get and even then I made some changes.
Speaking of those changes, I felt like I really had to change things up with this. I see many people who read chapter 228 and felt that the ending ended up being rushed due to how it was just a montage in the second half. I also wanted to address some of the things I myself had problems with during this last arc, like child Raku and child Kosaki being huge jerks to Chitoge and how even older Kosaki was being a huge dirt bag during that specific scene I mentioned. I thought the two of them should feel at least SOME remorse for what they did. In addition, I find it a hard thing to believe that Raku and Chitoge had their first kiss just a while before their goddamn wedding. There's no way that's possible, even for a long distance relationship. As funny and awkward as that first kiss was, I wasn't buying it so I had to add in an actual kiss this time.
That aside, I'm glad I'm getting back into the swing of things. I had an absolute blast writing this and I hope there will be more to come. I have a ton of ideas I wanna try to tackle so until next time!