Prologue

She couldn't bring him back.

Like a helpless and hopeful little girl, she began to rub the rock like there was no tomorrow. Its pure white shimmer had died out a long time ago, and now, she stood at the edge of the universe without the hope of escaping. It wouldn't take too long for her to succumb to the endless depths of the timeless void; to become a microscopic part of the endless universe she had believed to be broken due to her own youthful mistake.

With her rich golden locks swaying against the tangled strands of time, her sky blue eyes grew wet with tears, glistening like an ocean of pure sorrow.

"Raku." She called out, with her voice gradually weakening in the darkness.

"Please, don't leave me here."

"Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs." - William Shakespeare

Chapter 1

"Darling." She loved calling him that. Well, It was the only name she could call him whenever they're seen together as a forged couple. Even when saying it aloud, the butterflies in her stomach would flutter vigorously like that of a carrion of rabid moths. Well, speaking of odd bodily reactions, the heiress looked extremely feverish during the past few weeks, blushing uncontrollably when around him. The poor lad would valiantly rush to the pharmacy to buy her some medicine, despite the fact that she never even needed it in the first place. It frustrated her, and yet, aroused her, despite never admitting to that. Yes, Chitoge Kirisaki was a blossoming girl in love.

Clad in her newly bought blouse and a pair of unfitting sneakers, Chitoge sat with Raku on a park bench during one of their many scheduled fake dates.

Her cheeks reddened the moment she blurted out that one word. Her lips tingling, as if the words were something too weird or embarrassing to say; it was casual; heck, she'd been calling him that for over a year since they first played out that act of false love to mitigate the conflict between their families' criminalized factions. She paused for a moment, her eyes shifting away from his gaze.

"What is it, Honey?" Raku Ichijou asked, his eyebrows raised with concern. "I'd hate to be corny and all, but is there something bothering you lately?"

"D-Don't state the obvious, idiot." she replied. Damn, that was extremely rude. Her stoic tone, the narrowed look in her nervous eyes and the commonplace insult she sprinkled at the end made it look like she hated his company; and it would probably turn him off if he misinterpreted what she blurted out in response.
Damn it, Chitoge! Stop messing around! She thought to herself as she took a quick glance at his clueless face, a few of her fingers lightly touching her lips.

Well, I hadn't noticed it yet, but Chitoge looks really cute today. As those words traced their way through Raku's thoughts, he desperately wanted to hit his head against the nearest tree.
What the fuck, man? Why the hell are you complimenting her looks all of a sudden?! This isn't like you. Shouldn't you be thinking about Onodera at a time like this?!
Yes, this certainly wasn't like him. Although it was normal for boys his age to openly and secretly compliment girls, he didn't want to go womanizing those around him. (Despite the fact that he unknowingly created a harem of his own, much to the displeasure of the male populace of Bonyari High.)

"What're you looking at?" Chitoge asked nervously.

Pulling back to reality from his inner monologue, Raku replied, "Nothing, I was just thinking about... stuff."

"What kinds of stuff?" She persisted, her eyes narrowed, unsatisfied with his vague answer. "Surely there are a lot of things worth thinking about."

"Well, it's about school." He quickly responded. Honestly, if something completely random were to pop out of his head, why wouldn't it be about school? After all, that's where they've spent most of their precious time together.

"Wow, look at you. The ever promising student." She chuckled nervously, her words dripping with sarcasm, as if he wasn't smart enough to talk about such things, intentions aside. "Honestly, that has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

"Hey, just because I look like an absolute tool to you, doesn't mean that I can't talk about my education." He spoke the words in the gentlest way he could, not yet understanding why he did. Sure, he's was used to talking back to her with aggression, and so did she. But Claude wasn't around to watch over them, so he didn't have to put on the act of being the kindest boyfriend the world has ever seen.

"Yeah, I know. It's just that..."

"What?" Raku asked sheepishly. "You've been staring at me like a weirdo."

Chitoge's cheeks flushed ever so slightly. "I-Is school really what you're thinking about?" She continued, as she turned away to hide her heated face.

"Chitoge, you really are my best friend." He stated as he gave her a warm and calming smile.

Best friend? She thought as her heart slowly sank. Stupid ass beansprout. Ruining everything with two simple words. When will you ever stop calling me that!?

"Darling." Chitoge spoke up as she slowly leaned closer to Raku. His eyes lightened up, as if he has gazed upon something extremely odd, yet amazing at the same time.

"Claude's not watching, Chitoge. You don't have to embarrass yourself by calling me-"

"I don't care if he's watching or not!"

Her voice amped up a hundred times than usual, as if she was mad at him about something gravely serious.

"What's with that voice of yours? I'm just trying to give you some air to breathe." He said, his heart skipping a few beats. Damn it. She's too close. And she smells really good too... He thought as his cheeks faintly flushed. Why am I nervous!?

"Listen up, stupid beansprout. I can call you "darling" whenever... and wherever I want, i-is that c-clear to you?" She asked with an authoritative demeanor, despite being on the verge of choking on her own words as she said them directly to his face.

"E-Even if it's just the two of us together? Isn't that a bit, you know...weird?" He asked with his eyes widened with curiosity.

Chitoge's heart skipped a beat as she began to think about her response. It was a "yes" or "no" question, but an answer like that would be too vague and subtle. She needed to make the answer socially acceptable for him to...dismiss?

Did she really want that to happen? For her words to be dismissed as a simple act of friendship? Sure, they were friends, 'best friends' to be exact, but she didn't want them to stay just that was forever. She wanted to tell him how she felt; even promising herself before the gods at the shrine that she would be able to be aggressive and obvious when around him. Were those vows for nothing? Would she just cower away when there was a clear chance right in front of her?

She wouldn't allow that, never in her life. But if she hadn't backed down at all, they would've been dating for real, right at this very moment.

"Even if we were the last people in the earth, I would still call you that." She blurted out, her heart rapidly beating.

"What?" Raku blurted out, like that of a deaf man being unsure of what he had just heard.

"Idiot! Are you deaf? Don't you realize how hard that was for me to say?!" She yelled with frustration, as she pulled away from him.

"Why?" He asked, curiosity tweaking.

In that moment, Chitoge's thoughts were completely scrambled. And now what? Could she drop the bomb? By telling him that she's was flat out, extremely in love with him? Doing such a thing would be incredibly reckless and stupid.

And what if he said 'no'? It would break her heart into little pieces. If that would be the fruit of her actions, then how could she even consider speaking the words in the first place. But one possibility resonated along with the strings of her still beating heart:

What if he says 'yes'?

She needed to take the shot. Sure, the chances of being accepted are indeed slim, but it would be extremely satisfying to hear him speak the lines she's always craved for a long time; hearing the words, 'I love you too" would be an impossibility being realized. If those words fell upon her ears, there wouldn't be a way to keep her from smiling; day or night; 24/7.

Without a further thought, she began to speak; to say what she really wanted to say for the past few months. As her delicate lips pursed and gaped, her thoughts began to race away like wildfire.

"Raku, do you remember the time when I asked you that question at the beach?" Chitoge asked sheepishly, scratching nervously at the back of her neck.

"Do you mean back when we were by the seaside at night? The day you stopped talking to me."

He remembered. She thought, as her eyes slowly lit up. "So, c-could I ask that question one more time?" Her tongue slipped as she said it, as if the words weren't intended to be mentioned in the first place.

"Sure". He smiled, but the look on his face could say only 'clueless'.
Crap, it's too late! Chitoge probably thinks that I remember everything that happened on that trip! Raku thought, a thick bead of cold sweat trailing down the side of his face. How can I possibly-

"If we were really dating now, w-would it work out?"

She said it. Her heart pounded; she avoided his gaze, worried what his first reaction might be. Maybe if she would be brave enough to look, he would be smiling heavily now. Such a possibility wasn't worth dismissing.

"C-Chitoge..." The clueless beansprout began to blush heavily as he realized what she had asked."Chitoge!?" He repeated, the strands of his dark blue hair abruptly standing up like that of having goosebumps.

"What? W-Why are you repeating my name all of a sudden?!" She exclaimed as her body began to shiver with chills of excitement. "Just answer my question!"

He didn't know what to say. He felt like a steaming teapot with a few gashes of smoke streaming out. Before he could help himself, Raku began smiling uncontrollably.

Why is he giving me that dumb look? W-Wait! W-Wha...What!? Was he smiling just now?! I wasn't expecting this! Time out! Time out! The golden-haired lass thought as she anxiously awaited for his reply. M-Maybe I should leave it at that. Yeah! This is probably the best reaction I could handle right now. Maybe I should just tell him to tell me another ti-

"It would." He muttered under his breath.

Wait! Am I really hearing this?

"Well, having your best friend as a partner would be awesome, don't you think?" He added, beginning to chuckle, as if it was the aftermath of some elaborate verbal prank Chitoge apparently played on him.

"Why aren't you taking this seriously!?" She yelled with a glint of fury, vigorously shuffling her golden locks with her soft delicate hands out of sheer frustration. "Am I really only a best friend to you, stupid beansprout!?"

What the hell is up with her today? Raku thought as he grew silent after enduring her rather inexplicable outbursts.

"Is being my best friend the worst thing in the world, Chitoge?" He gazed into her eyes with a rather saddened look on his face.

"No! That's not the point." She replied almost immediately, with her hands still tightly grabbing both of her now ruffled-up locks. "I...I have someone I like!" Chitoge whispered, her face heavily flushed and the tone of her voice being nervously unstable.

"Didn't you tell me that a few months back?" Raku shuddered as he remembered getting extremely agitated over her words. Chitoge nodded slowly, her eyes wandering down towards her shoes.

"Darling...maybe I should say what I mean a little louder?" The gangster heiress gently asked.

"What're you talking about? Your tone is already loud enough for me to-"

"I think I'm in love with you, Raku." She smiled as she said those words gently, knowing that he would probably throw her away once he heard them.

"Chitoge! Whoa, I know you like to mess around with my head, but I don't think that's a good way to do it." He laughed nervously as he shook his head frantically.

"I'm actually serious!" She exclaimed as she began grabbing his arms tightly with both hands, leaning closer to him as she did. The young lad was definitely in a pinch. How could he respond to Chitoge's extremely peculiar words, while having another girl on his mind? Should he play along? No, he wouldn't do that; that would be extremely stupid. If he was really her best friend, he couldn't hurt her with more lies. All I can do now is be honest, even if that means spouting some hard truths.

"Expectation is the root of all heartache." - William Shakespeare

With a huge gasp of air, Raku began to respond. "I'm really sorry." He said as his face began to redden. "I don't think I could say the same, Chitoge."

Chitoge could've swore that her heart stopped beating for a few moments after having the misfortune of hearing Raku's honesty. Sure, she considered rejection a possibility, but she wasn't as prepared for this as she thought.

"Why?" Her innocent blue eyes started to tear up, as she gradually loosened her grip on his arms. "Am I not good enough for you, idiot!?" She couldn't control herself. The act of suppressing tears of sorrow was too much for her.

The air around them shifted into dead silence, with only the muffled sound of Chitoge's sniffling breaking it. Peering into those sky blue eyes, now overflowing with streams of salty tears, Raku felt something inside him wither and die. It felt so wrong for him to tell her that so soon; despite his intentions, he'd ended up hurting her more than he'd thought. Well, who the hell is he kidding with, anyway? Every girl would react that way, regardless of whether it was in front of him or not and he knew that; He knew that truth, and in spite of that, the beansprout went on and did the deed without thinking twice.

Why did this particular situation felt so different for him? Something in his heart urged him to take those words back; to tell her that he loved her; that he cared for her and that he wanted to spend the rest of his days with her. But the image of a fair skinned brunette crept back into his mind, holding him back from doing so.

"Don't listen to what I've just said." he suddenly muttered, causing the weeping blonde to flinch, with her watery eyes lighting up. What are you saying, Raku? he thought to himself as he absentmindedly muttered those words. "I've probably given you my answer too soon without thinking it through", he continued, subconsciously questioning his actions.

"What do you mean by 'thinking it through?'" whimpered Chitoge, who was wiping her tears with her delicate hands.

"It means that..." he suddenly trailed off, leaving the perplexed heiress confused.
"It means that I'm not sure about what I feel about you. W-Whether I like you...or not." he continued.

"Liar. That's just another way of saying no." she barked, with her wet, shimmering cheeks lighting up once more.

"I'm telling you the truth here, okay?" Raku responded almost instantaneously, as if there were a lot more flaws in that statement for him to defend.

"Stop trying to make me feel better, idiot. It hurts more if you lie to me like that." Chitoge said, with her face avoiding the beansprout's gaze.

"D-Do you want me to prove it to you then?" he raised his voice as loud enough to break the ongoing void that is the silence around them.

"G-Go on, then!" she smirked slightly, with the tears in her eyes drying out. "If what you're saying is true, then you'll have to make up your mind and tell me your answer right this instant!" Chitoge continued, the tone in her voice growing more desperate by the minute.

"Why do you always want to rush things? Besides, they're my feelings, so it would probably take days, months or heck, even years to figure them out." Raku replied. "It's not that easy to make up, you know?"

"Huh? Well then, Mr. Feels, let me show you how easy it is to tell you my answer!" Upon uttering those words, the yellow haired heiress suddenly stood up from the bench they were sitting on, planting the rough rubber soles of her sneakers firmly on the neatly trimmed ground beneath her.

"What are you doing, Chitoge?" he asked, with his eyes widening with perplexity.

"I'm going to say it again. Right to your face, right now." she smirked as she said it, as if it was something really entertaining to do.

"You do realize that we're in a park right? Anyone could come barge in any minute, and plus, this is totally embarrassing." Raku couldn't help but feel extremely weirded out. It was too good to be true for a girl like Chitoge to be confessing to him in public, but for the sake of the common good, couldn't it wait?

"I know that." she replied, as if it wasn't really that of a big deal. "Please, Raku. This could possibly be my only chance."

"W-What do you mean by-"

"I love you, you stupid-ass beansprout!" she yelled, as if they were the only people left in the entire world. But of course, anybody could hear such words spoken so loudly in the face of the public, and it just so happened that a fair-skinned brunette, clad in her flawless white sundress was hiding behind the grove of trees.

"Chitoge-chan..."

A/N

Well, I've put a lot of effort in cooking up this one. I hope you guys liked the first chapter. I know it may be dull and too rushed in some places, so please bear with me. I don't usually like asking it, but I could use a couple of reviews here and there, and please tell me what you want to see in the next chapter in order to make things more interesting.

Update: I'm pretty sure some of you have noticed some minor changes in the first and upcoming chapters. Say hello to my new editor, Firesparq! He'll be the one in charge for correcting some of my grammatical errors, writing mistakes and what not. And I'm extremely thankful for the wonderful job he's done.