"A smile from me to you. A happy crescent, like the moon in the sky."


"Hey, wait up!"

Raku Ichijou's life was eventful.

If I told you that, you might think 'Oh, you mean comparatively speaking, right?'. Trust me, I don't think this is really a matter of personal discretion. The kid had a lot going on. Between dying three days ago, being brought back to life the next day... reuniting with old friends after a decade or so, getting a job, getting kneed in the face, and spending two days in the dirt looking for some ten-year-old trinket, Raku Ichijou's life was… well, eventful.

...A few of those were my fault. Dying, Revival, and the job, that is. I don't really like to think about the first two, but working at Kosaki's shop sounded like a lot of fun.

I'd been practicing ever since that night… So I had two nights of practice under my belt. It was Thursday, and my shift was on Sunday, but that should still be plenty of time to prepare.

Yeah… it's Thursday. Today is Chitoge's second day of school… or, it was, anyway. School was over, and that meant we could search for the pendant again! Erm, most of us. Kosaki was on class duty with Itano, and Ruri couldn't skip two days of swim team in a row. Shuu had to take care of something at home— he left as soon as the bell rang. So it was just me and the new girl.

Speaking of whom…

"Hm? What's up?"

When that same bell rang, Chitoge took off like a rocket. Apparently, she was really eager to find this thing. Even now, when I'd stopped her in the hall, she was jogging in place a bit, ready to bolt at a moment's notice. Blonde ball of energy. I envy her sometimes.

"You left the classroom so fast, I didn't get the chance to give you this…" I reached into my backpack and pulled out a notebook. "Here. They're my Japanese notes. You were having trouble keeping up with the Kanji, huh?"

"O-Oh…" she fiddled nervously, "...was it that obvious?"

I shook my head. "You're fine. I just happened to glance at your paper since I sit right next to you. Don't worry, Kanji's tough."

It's true. It was the kind of thing where you throw yourself against a wall again, and again, and again, until something clicked.

Chitoge would pick it up in no time.

"Is it really okay?" she asked, "She said we might need our notes for the homework…"

"It's fine," I assured, extending the notebook, "This is mostly review from last year. Besides, you're already doing me a huge favor, staying behind and helping me look for my locket. This is the least I can do."

With a pause, and a slight hesitation… she took it and smiled.

"Thanks Raku! I'll get these back to you soon!"

Chitoge had changed.

Actually, I shouldn't say that. Chitoge has always been this way. She's a genuinely kind, sweet girl once you get to know her… she's far from defenseless though. But she only ever lashes out when she's attacked, and Raku Ichijou did a lot of that. In this timeline, she treated me like she treated any other friend. Like Kosaki, or Ruri, or even Tsugumi.

….Uh, she didn't plan on playing dress-up with me, did she? Tsugumi was her personal fashion model in the future… No, no, I'm pretty sure that honor was exclusive to the Black Tiger. Not that I'd complain either way though.

But yeah, Chitoge was a good person. Always has been. Even if her first instinct was to throw brute force at the problem.

When she first 'met' me, she was… a little timid. It made sense. Any normal person would be livid if they got their nose busted like I had. Acting as hesitant as she did, it was natural. She was doing her best to be polite. Not to mention all the people she got involved with because of that. Kosaki, Ruri, Shuu… Chitoge was among an already-established friend group. She didn't know what was 'okay' or 'weird'. Know what I mean? It was just a newcomer trying to fit in.

And she'd opened up a bit since then. Now that we were on a first name basis, the blonde seemed much more cheerful. I'd practically accepted her with open arms, so I guess she felt more comfortable being herself. I'm happy. Her smiles are nice too.

"Oh! Ichijou-kun!" called a voice, "Got a minute?"

I looked over my shoulder. Kyouko-sensei? Wonder what's up…

"I didn't get the chance to talk to you yesterday. Glad I caught you!" the teacher said, "Listen, you're on animal duty this week, right? Would you mind taking Kirisaki-kun along? Show her the ropes?"

Right… I guess we'd just left the classroom too quickly yesterday. She managed to talk to me on my first time through, so…

I looked back at Chitoge, who was looking through the notes I'd just given her. She seemed really engrossed. I turned back to Sensei.

"Yeah, sure. I'll do my best."

"Counting on you~!"


"It's huge!"

It was huge. The school garden was literally the school backyard. Half of it, anyway. Aside from the track, the two pools, and the gym, it was probably the biggest spot on campus. There were open cages, their animals out and about, surrounding a small set of planters that served as the school's 'garden'. Everything here was communal though. Students of every class from every year rotated duties in maintaining this area. But the Gardening Club liked to keep rarer, more finicky plants, so they had their own private garden in their clubroom. Raku had been there before, on Club Recruitment Day. It was nice. Homey. He liked it a lot.

Also, Saegusa-senpai just reminded him of Onodera. Not that his allegiance could be swayed.

"That's right," I remembered, "You don't have school menageries in America, huh?"

I honestly had no idea. They didn't at my high school, that's for sure.

"Not at my school, that's for sure!" Well that answered that. "When I heard you had one, I never thought it'd be this big! Only two people take care of this place?"

I know, right? Can you imagine an imaginary menagerie manager imagining managing an imaginary menagerie? Oh. Wrong Shaft anime.

"It's really not that complex," I stretched out, "We keep a manual handy for newbies like you. It's around here somewhere… Here it is."

I set the massive book upon the bench with a grunt. The thing was heavy. Each page had detailed instructions on each animal: what its name was, its species, gender, recommended feed, special needs— that kind of stuff.

"This book has everything you need to know about your duties. It shouldn't take you very long to rea—"

"Let's get started!"

A sharp turn of the head caught Chitoge with a full bucket of water on either shoulder. She marched toward the garden, intent on getting this done quickly.

"H-Hey, hey!" I stumbled over, "Be careful when you water the plants! If you rot the roots, Sensei's gonna' be pissed!"

"Hm?" the blonde looked my way innocently, already emptying a pail, "It's okay, I'll be careful! Besides, they're just plants. They can take it!"

"The planter is overflowing!"

She looked back at the now-empty bucket. "Oh. Well, now whoever's on duty after us doesn't have to water as much!"

. . .

She seemed to wither under my gaze. "...Hey, what's wrong? The faster we get this done, the faster we can look for your pendant, right?"

I sighed. This was… much closer to the Chitoge I met on my first week. Well, at least she was nicer about it this time.

The blonde dumped a whole box of feed into the goldfish tank, accidentally dropped the empty box in the water, and left it there. A nonchalant shrug of her shoulders, and she was on to the next task. I rolled up my sleeves.

Looks like the pendant-search will have to wait 'til tomorrow.


"Raku-kun!"

My head shot up at the voice, and I almost dropped the measuring cup in surprise.

"K-Kosaki!" I waved, "Hey! What're you doing here?"

It had been two hours at the very least. The most stressful two hours since… uh… that one movie. Between cleaning up after the mess and Chitoge making more of a mess, it was like being a parent. Or at least a babysitter. I don't get paid for this, do I?

...Ehh, it looked like she was having fun. It was hard to be mad at her.

"I finished Class Duties and came to check on you two!" Kosaki said happily, "I thought we might be able to look for your pendant toda— h-huh?"

As she spoke, a literal dust cloud formed in the distance. A squint of the eyes, and I could tell: the animals must've smelled Kosaki. Or heard her voice. Or seen her. Yeah, they probably just saw her. Though I would be lying if I denied that I had a bit of a 'Kosaki-Radar' myself.

"Rakuuu!"

Chitoge jogged up to me, a bag of bird feed in her hand. "Something's wrong! I was feeding the (delicious-looking) chicken, and they all just ran away! Are there any predators in the area?"

"Unless you count Shuu Maiko, no…" I blinked, "Wait, you were feeding the birds?"

"I was…" she put her hands on her hips and pouted, "Now they're gone, and I don't know which feed goes to which..." she trailed off, seeing my expression.

"...We have ostriches," I gaped openly, "Those things run forty miles an hour, easy."

"What?" she tilted her head, "What are you talking about?"

*SCRAAWW*

As the group of animals arrived to greet Onodera, I noticed the flock of birds at the mob's tail. The birds lived on the far end of the menagerie but…

I eyed my once-fake-girlfriend. "Chitoge, how fast do you run?"

"I don't know. I always win the ten-meter races in PE though."

"Yeah, I kinda' figured…"

I sighed for what seemed like the fiftieth time that hour, stretched out my back and rolled my shoulders. This girl was taking years off my life, I swear.

Chitoge shrugged off my "weird" behavior and went back to "work". If she ran faster than those birds… well, I figured there was no point trying to catch up with her. I'll just fix the damage later. Hopefully it wouldn't be too bad...

"Hello everyone! Are you playing outside today?"

Onodera crouched down, gently petting the head of one of the dogs. Ahh~ She was so good with animals. Good with kids too! I… don't really remember seeing that in the manga, so it's probably just something Raku knows. Makes sense though. I could totally see it. I know she'd be a great mom.

I slapped myself on the cheeks at the thought. Pull it together, man.

Eventually the crowd dispersed enough for the girl to make her way over. I had the decency to look sheepish for their behavior.

Despite how little they cared for him, these were pretty much Raku's children. They were all injured foundlings he brought here, and took care of. And again, despite how they treated him, he loved them all dearly.

Raku was… a lonely kid. He might have some thick skin, but the yakuza heir really just wanted friends. Someone to care for. Of course, he had Shuu, and his family, but it wasn't really the same. He wanted someone to love.

Onodera filled that void in him. If ever so slightly.

"Is something wrong, Raku-kun?"

The girl looked at me expectantly, hands behind her back, leaning forward just a bit.

"Huh?" I blinked, "Oh, uh… Sorry, I'm just kinda' out of it. Chitoge's not the greatest at caretaking, and I've been cleaning up after her for the past few hours…"

Kosaki giggled lightly into her palm. "I haven't known her for very long, but somehow that sounds like her."

I tucked my hands into my pockets with a small smile. "So what's up?"

"Oh!" she looked up at me again, "I just stopped by to check on you! If you'd finished, I thought we might search for the pendant today?"

I ran down a mental checklist of caretaker duties. Looks like we'd done everything now. I nodded.

"Good timing. We just finished actually," I trailed off… "Are you sure you don't wanna' go home though? The campus is gonna' close in less than an hour."

At that, the girl puffed out her cheeks and pouted. What the hell was this? No living thing has any business being that adorable.

"I already told you Raku! I want to help you!"

...Seeing my face, she backed down almost instantly. "O-Oh! I-I mean, if it's not too much trouble… I can just leave…"

"No, no, it's nothing like that," I assured her, "I'm just not used to seeing you so… confident, I guess? I like it."

She blushed and averted her gaze. Ahh… I should watch my words.

"Heyy!" I heard Chitoge call, "I finished! So are we done now?"

We both turned, as the girl jogged up to us with a big grin.

"Yeah! We're all done here!" I called back, as she wiped the dirt off her skirt, "Good work today. Keep this up, and you'll get it down in no time."

"Roger that~!" she cheered, hands on her hips, "Looking forward to learning, Senpai!"

Kosaki and I smiled at her enthusiasm. It was good to have her back.


Two weeks passed by in a flash.

The locket hadn't turned up at all, true to fate. Otama assured me that it wasn't my fault though. The damn thing was just tough to spot. Even with Kosaki, Ruri, and Shuu popping in to help every now and then we didn't really make much progress.

That one was kinda my fault.

"Favorite food?"

"Ramen! You?"

"Mm, probably takoyaki. Your turn."

"Okay! Um… Oh! What kinda' movies do you like?"

We'd finished our animal care duties, so Chitoge and I were "searching for the pendant" after school… something that soon became a "search" in name only. We still went out into the fields to look for it— and "search" we did! There was just a lot more socializing involved. Kosaki liked joining us, since she could get to know us both a little better. And of course, Chitoge and I were happy to have her.

Chitoge had finally loosened up about feeling guilty. For knocking me over, and making me lose the pendant and all. She'd eased up enough that we'd eat lunch in the classroom with everyone else, rather than spending the whole half-an-hour in the grass.

She was making fast friends with everyone. It was... kind of inspiring to see. She'd finally gotten the "high-school debut" she'd always wanted. It may have taken two timelines, but… Well, she still stuck to Kosaki and I more than anyone else.

Wait, she asked me a question, didn't she?

"Uhh… I can get behind anything really," I thought a little harder, "Except horror. I'm not the greatest with jumpscares."

"No one is…" she shivered, "I can't stand it. I'm not too good with anything dark or um… negative, I guess?" She pumped her fist, "I like all the action with explosions and stuff! Have you seen the trailer for 'Truck Destroyer 3'? It looks awesome! I totally wanna' see it!"

Ah, 'Truck Destroyer 3' was the action flick that Chitoge'd wanted to watch on her first date with Raku. He wanted to watch some tearjerker sob-story called 'Meowsville', but the two ended up "compromising" by watching a romantic comedy. One that wasn't particularly romantic, or comedic. But that reminds me…

"If you're not busy tomorrow…" I looked over my shoulder at her, as she parted the grass, "Why don't we see it together? We can bring Kosaki and Miyamoto and Shuu too."

!

"R-Really? Can we?"

The girl had bowled me over with sparkling eyes. I was lying against the fence, her face a little too close to mine.

"U-Uh, Chitoge…?"

Noticing her position on top of me, she pulled back quickly.

"O-Oh! Sorry…" she smiled, "I got a little carried away… I'm just excited. I've never been asked out before."

Hey, watch your phrasing. People might get the wrong idea.

"It's fine!" I waved it off, sitting up, "I'll text 'em. A Friday afternoon isn't too late to make plans, is it?"

It was a rhetorical question, so Chitoge just shrugged and went back to work. The doofy grin on her face was telling though.

Ah.

Just as I'd opened up my phone, a single drop of water had struck the screen. Then another. And another. I put the device away as it started to rain.

Taking off my jacket, I spread it out over my head like a makeshift umbrella. I stood over a crouching Chitoge, too lost in her happy thoughts to notice the weather. Hearing my footsteps behind her, she finally looked up and did.

"Wow, that came out of nowhere!" she said, as it began to pour around us, "How long's it been going? I kinda' spaced out."

"Not very long," I admitted, "Let's stop here for today."

"Aww, it's not that big a deal!" she said, suddenly standing. Startled, I took an unconscious step back. "It's just a little rain!" she smiled happily.

She skipped a few paces away and held her arms out as the water enveloped her. Breathing deeply, she took in every detail: the drum of rain upon the earth, the puddles forming in every crevice, the smell of petrichor in the air. She did a little twirl.

"See? Nothing to worry about!" she smiled at me, "Come on! Put that down and join me!"

"Not to be a buzzkill…" I muttered, "But if you catch a cold because of me, I'll be the one feeling guilty. You can't make it tomorrow if you're stuck in bed with a fever."

"Aww, you're such a party-pooper!" she put her hands on her hips and pouted playfully, "What, is the big tough Yakuza-heir scared of a little water?"

My eye twitched.

"Scare this!"

I flicked my jacket in her direction, letting all the water it had gathered fly at her. She shielded herself with her arms, laughing.

"Oh, you are so on!"

She swept her foot through a nearby puddle, hitting me in the face with a splash. Grinning, I caught more water in my jacket and tossed it at her again. She dodged this time, but I chased after her. She was laughing all the while.

I don't remember how long we played in the rain for. But it was long enough for the rain to stop. We'd sat down in the grass, too tired to care about the mud beneath us. We were still laughing. It was like some kind of infectious form of stupid— just when we thought we stopped, we looked at each other and started laughing again. My face hurt. Not from the water. I've never smiled this much before.

The two of us were completely soaked. My shirt was see-through (Chitoge's thankfully wasn't) and her ribbon had drooped completely. Her damp hair clung to her skin, as she brushed it out of her eyes. She propped up her ribbon again, and she looked at me with that same silly smile.

She really was beautiful.

"You're staring, you know," she giggled, "What, you've never seen a pretty girl in the rain before?"

"Pretty girl?" I asked, looking to the sky, falsely pondering, "Now where could I find one of those…"

She punched me in the arm playfully. "You could be a bit more considerate of a young maiden's pure heart."

"Again, young maiden where now?" I teased, "I don't think splashing a man in the face is very 'ladylike'."

"Oh, and where's the 'man' I've so dutifully wronged, huh?" she shot back, grinning, "Could you point me to him? I'd like to show him juuust how 'ladylike' I can be."

"I'm keeping you away from water guns," I sighed, "Or at least, keep them away from me. I can only imagine what you'd do with all that power."

"Conquer the world." she said simply.

I eyed her. "...With water guns?"

She propped her hands against the grass as she looked up to the sky. The clouds had parted, and the sun was showing through.

"If I had you all with me…" she laughed to herself, "Somehow, I think we could pull it off."

I grinned.

"I salute you, Commander Kirisaki."

She grinned right back.

"Well then, your first order is to call me 'Chitoge'."

"Right. Commander Chitoge."

"Just Chitoge!"

"Commander Just Chitoge!"

"No, I mean— ugh, you're impossible!"

And we burst out laughing again.


We must've been laying there for a while, because the bell rang. The campus was gonna' close in twenty minutes. I sat up with a sigh.

"C'mon, let's get you home," I offered her my jacket, "Take this with you for now. You're soaked."

"You're pretty soaked yourself," she chided, "Besides, I don't live too far."

"Then I'll walk you," I sighed, "Only to the door though. Last I heard, our 'families' were still fighting."

"We really should do something about that, huh?"

"You're right, we should."

We lay there a little while longer.

"Raku, do you believe in fate?"

I glanced at her. "Recently, I've kind of had to. Why do you ask?"

She laid back fully against the grass, and began to trace the sky with her finger. "I don't know… I never really believed in it, and I'm a sucker for fairy-tale stuff. Lately though… I can't help but feel strange."

I turned to face her better. "Strange how?"

"Like I've found what I was looking for…" she shrugged, "Something I didn't know I needed or wanted until I got it. I don't remember even searching for it in the first place, but now it's here. And it feels right. Like I've finally found where I belong."

She looked at me. "It might be a little early to say this, but I'm glad I met you, Raku. I've never had a friend like you before."

I smiled.

"Well, thank you Chitoge. I feel the same."

She smiled back, and moved to sit up—

!

She paused. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Hey Raku…" she murmured, "What does your pendant look like again?"

I blinked. "It has a gold circlet with a lock in the center, and a silver ornament beneath it," I said, tracing it in the air for her. She didn't look my way. "Why?"

"I think I'm staring right at it."

Bringing her hands up to her face, she reached out and pulled a chain from the dirt. Sparkling from the rain, there it was. What we'd been searching for.

"Raku, is this…?"

"Yeah, it is..."

She looked away.

"So I guess this means the search is over, huh?"

"I… guess so..."

Slowly, she offered it to me, refusing to meet my gaze. It dangled in the air by the chain, glimmering.

I took her hand.

She looked up.

"Chitoge…" I started, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just…" she sighed, "I'm gonna' miss looking for this thing. It was nice to get to know you. And Onodera, and Miyamoto, and even Maiko."

"It's not like everything is over…" I remarked, "We all loved having you around. You're our friend Chitoge, and that doesn't end when we all have to go home."

Reaching into my pocket, I flipped open my phone. "Wh-What are you doing?" I heard.

I showed her the screen, my message already sent.

"Making plans for this weekend. 'Truck Destroyer 3' and you're invited. Clear your schedule."

I've never seen a smile so bright.


"Raku-kun! Kirisaki-san!"

A call from behind us made me look over my shoulder. "Oh! Hey Kosaki!"

We turned to face her as she walked over. The campus had closed, so we'd been walking home in the sunlight. Chitoge had my jacket wrapped around her shoulders.

"Were you caught in the rain?" she cried, "You're both dripping wet!"

"Yeah, a bit…" I admitted, "She wanted to keep searching in the rain, and wouldn't take no for an answer."

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here…" Chitoge mumbled, elbowing me a bit, "Besides it paid off in the end, didn't it?"

I felt the familiar warmth of the metal against my chest. "Yeah, it did."

Kosaki saw the locket and smiled.

"Here, I have a few hand towels!" she said, taking a few from her bag, "It's not much, but I hope it helps."

"Thanks, Kosaki," I grinned, passing Chitoge one, "We're actually on the way home to get changed. Oh, and did you get my text?"

"I did! I responded too!" she took out her phone, "Kirisaki-san, would it be okay if I got your contact info?"

"Of course! Call me Chitoge then!" the blonde was practically bursting with excitement.

"A-Ah! Chitoge-chan then?"

The girl beamed. "Raku, you too!"

"O-Oh, right. We don't have each other's numbers, do we?"

Something told me that's not what she meant. Either way, Infrared Transmission made sharing contacts really convenient.

"Ruri-chan said she was free to go…" Kosaki tucked her phone away, "And Maiko-kun did too. Is eleven a good time?"

So it was. We all agreed to meet at the theatre it was playing at. We'd probably go out to lunch afterward.

"Huh? Oh…" Chitoge checked her phone that'd just lit up, "...Papa wants to see me. I should get home."

Kosaki and I exchanged glances.

"Actually Chitoge-chan…" the blonde looked up as Kosaki spoke, "Would you mind if Raku-kun and I walked with you?"

"There's something we wanna' tell you about," I affirmed.

The girl tilted her head, her ribbon following the motion.


I was fairly certain she'd broken something.

Chitoge's hugs were scary. Especially hugs meant for lost ten-year-old playmates. She'd heard the whole story with tears in her eyes before tackling both of us in a killer embrace. She was alright by the time we dropped her off at her place, but she promised to see us tomorrow. Not like she hadn't already. This one felt a little more determined though.

I walked Kosaki to her house, saying hello to her mother behind the counter when I did. I still had my job this Sunday, after all.

Now I was home, in my father's chamber. I was pretty sure I knew what this was about.

"The plan's in action," Issei Ichijou rumbled, "Good on you, Raku. Adelt's here wit' his daughter to finalize everyt'in."

I nodded. The man pulled aside the curtain.

"Hey Raku…" Chitoge waved sheepishly, at her father's side, "Didn't think I'd see you again so soon…"

Adelt smiled at us both. "I take it your father has informed you of your situation?"

I shook my head. "No sir. I just remember."

"Ah!" the man clapped his hands, "Astounding! Ten years is a long time, young man."

I just scratched the back of my head and went along with it.

"By the way, does your gang know you're here?" I asked Chitoge.

(*BOOM*)

"MISTRESS!"

Well, that answers that question.

A tremendous blast shook the ground, as one of the walls crumbled away. Men in suits and bowler hats filled the room, led by a very angry man in a pink suit.

"We came as quickly as we could, my Mistress!" he roared, "It seems those Shuei-gumi swine really did kidnap you!"

"C-Claude?!"

"Fear not, Mistress…" he pushed up his glasses as the smoke cleared, "As an Executive Leader of the BeeHive group, your protection is my highest priority! Your humble servant will always rescue you!"

A paper door slid open, and yakuza began to crowd the gangsters.

"Well, if it isn't one of the BeeHive's top dogs…" Ryuu growled, "You got a death wish or somethin'? Screwin' around on our turf is one thing, but now you in the belly of the beast!"

"Damn apes…" Claude sneered, "I'll show you what happens when you slight the BeeHive's precious heiress!"

The tension in the room was so thick, you could cut it with a… well, whatever. Issei cut through it pretty handily.

"Think yer' mistaken, kid…" the man spoke, "Nobody kidnapped nobody."

"Issei and I were just discussing plans moving forward. The future of our organizations!" Adelt made himself known, "That aside, my dear Chitoge gets along rather well with young Raku, and it'd positively break her heart to see you all fight..."

Glances were sent my way, then Chitoge's.

"Rather… well…" Claude was shocked. "M-Mistress, don't tell me… are you and this… filth…"

"We're not dating, no." I made this very clear to everyone, "But she and I are friends. Really good friends. And boys…" I turned to the yakuza, "I don't want any fighting between our group and hers. Got that?"

The men backed down at that, but not Claude. No, Claude was driven like a machine.

"Someone… Something like you…" he cocked his magnum, "How dare you! You think you can stand at the Mistress' side! You're nothing!"

That got everyone riled up again. The Shuei leapt to my defense instantly, and the BeeHive was more than happy to oblige them. Swords were drawn, and guns were loaded. Oh boy.

Claude aimed the barrel right at my head.

! ! !

I was terrified. Instantly. The terror of death seized my whole body. It took everything I had to not collapse into a curled up mess, right then and there. No… Not again...

"That's enough!"

Chitoge's voice echoed through the room. Everyone stopped their fighting to look at her. Everyone.

"You…" she clenched her fists at her side, "All of you…"

She glared up, fire in her eyes.

"If any of you lay one finger on my precious childhood friend, I'll never forgive you!"

And just like that, I knew everything would be alright.

As long as we all had each other.

Not even fate could stop us.