For all the progress she's made, she's left sort of lost and unknowing of what exactly to do. How can she approach Ran, after all that has happened? It was hard enough when she was avoiding her, but how exactly should she go about clearing things up with her? This is the question that most weighs on her mind, throughout the day, and she finds it difficult to get anything done.
She's jolted back to reality when she realizes she's overfilled her cup and the hot water is pooling on the countertop. As she quickly turns it upright, her sigh is audible and worn out. This is getting to be too much. At least when they were apart, she could focus on things, because she was so concerned with distracting herself. Now, however, she's so caught up in her thoughts that she can't seem to do anything.
Hands busy with blotting up all the water with a towel, she waits for her tea to steep, hoping (in vain?) that it might soothe her somehow. Just as she's finishing up, giving it one last broad swipe, her phone begins to ring. Her tea will have to wait, apparently.
It must be work, she reasons, but the contact image on the screen is of a much older acquaintance. She should have known. News travels fast, after all. She takes the call.
"Kaede?"
"Hello! Mizuki. Sorry, I haven't called you in a while. Taking on a whole sushi chain is harder than I thought it'd be. What've you been doing?"
So she hasn't spoken with Aoi? Interesting. She decides to be honest. "Well, I... Actually, I could use your advice on something."
"Sure! What's the problem?" Her tone is buoyantly cheerful, but she pauses, and speaks in a slightly softer voice. "Is it Ran?"
She's surprised, but she really shouldn't be. It's Kaede who was trying to set them up all along. "...Yes. The truth is, something happened recently, and I'm not sure how to face her."
"What happened? I've gotta know! Did you two get together?" What's going through Kaede's head she has no idea, but her voice is amplified several degrees by her excitement.
This is exactly the type of thing she'd hoped to avoid, but it's far too late now. "Well, um, it's sort of complicated and we had a bit of an argument, but... When I woke up the next morning, she was in my bedroom."
A pause, for what feels like a very long time, and then very loudly, "You guys had—"
"Kaede."
"Sorry! But what's the problem there? That's a good thing, isn't it?"
She sighs again, closing her eyes for a moment, and then gazing out the window. "I don't know what to do. What do I say? I don't even know what we are. What if I miss the mark somehow?"
"Mizuki, you guys had kind of a weird start, so... Don't you think she's feeling the same way? I mean, when me and my girlfriend..."
"Girlfriend?"
"Oh, yeah! I didn't tell you? Me and Marie have been dating for almost a year now." She can feel her grin through the phone. It should have been obvious from the start, what with her trying to set the two of them up, but somehow Mizuki just hadn't made the connection. "Anyway, when we met I was like, her mentor? And I guess she remembered that, because when she saw me at the sushi place, she kinda got all shocked and flustered, and she started going there almost every day."
"So you approached her?" She can see where the story is leading.
"Yes! And she said she'd been thinking of me all these years. Funny, huh? She'd been on my mind too. But that's it, you know? If both people don't put in the effort, nothing will happen. Ran approached you, so don't you think it's time you tell her?"
Deep breath. She's right. "...Thank you, Kaede."
"Anytime! Oh, but I have a meeting to get to now, so I'm gonna go. Good luck!" Click.
Somewhere, in the back of her mind, lays the question of how things turned out this way. How things with Ichigo weren't to be, and how she'd distanced herself from everything and everyone in her confusion and pain, only to be pulled headfirst right back into it with a chance encounter. How a person who'd been a fellow idol, once a unitmate and then a rival, someone she understood on a level but wasn't very close with, became the person she ultimately fell in love with. It had seemed like a bad end, an offshoot turn of events nothing good could come out of, and yet somehow, for some reason...
She's happy.
–
It's the first time she's ever been to Ran's apartment, deeper into the city in a tall building. All it took was a message letting her know and an address shared and she got right into her car and drove. The building had slightly intimidated her, but… She's not going to run away anymore. That's not who she is, who she was. Ran had been right that evening: she hadn't been like herself. But that's about to change; she's going to take the wheel. If her conversation with Orihime told her anything, it's that doubting herself like that isn't good for her.
Ran's been reaching out to her all along, so it's about time she extend her own hand to meet her in the middle.
She takes the elevator up a few floors, watching as the doors finally peel open to let her out. Her heels click on the flooring as she walks through hallways, finally arriving at her door, number 38. She takes pause, just for a moment, before rapping her knuckles on the door once, twice, in a sharp knock. In the moments that pass, she feels doubt and concern, various thoughts run through her head. But as the door opens, jolting her from them, she shakes all her worries off. She came here for a reason, right?
"Mizuki-san, come in." Ran gestures, holding the door open.
She smiles gently. "Just Mizuki is fine." Ran's lips part as if to speak, but she walks in before any words can come out, and by the time the door is shut behind them, any sound beyond the hum of a heater has already died.
They sit on the chairs in the living room. It's not a very large apartment, but it's comfortable and stylishly arranged. It's very modern with a lot of smooth lines and glass. She wonders, idly, if it's difficult to keep clean. "So," Ran says, "you said you had something to talk to me about?"
"Yes." She folds her hands on her lap, swallowing. Kaede's words run through her head, and she looks straight at her. "I know it's an odd thing to ask, after what's happened, but...what are we?"
Ran's eyebrows press upward, creasing her forehead slightly. It's clear that isn't the question she was expecting. Nevertheless, she answers her bluntly and honestly, as always. "I dunno, I hadn't really thought about it. Do you want to be something?"
...Had she been worrying all on her own? "Th-Then… What was that to you?"
"That? I guess I just got frustrated with your attitude, and I mean, I am attracted to you, so it just kind of...happened. Did you have any deep thoughts about it at the time?"
"...Well, no."
She stretches her arms behind her. "If you wanna, like, date or something I'd be fine with that, but if that's what you want you've gotta spit it out. I'm not a mindreader."
Ran does have a point. No matter how well they understand each other, it's impossible for her to know everything that's on her mind. Hadn't that been the problem in the first place, when she began to ignore her texts? Of course she would get frustrated, anyone would. She inhales, exhales, and speaks. "Then, Ran," she starts, reaching out to touch her hand that laid casually on her lap, "would you go out with me? Maybe it's too soon, maybe I'm off the mark here, but…" Her eyes fall to the side, avoiding her gaze. "I think I'm in love with you."
When she looks back, the person before her doesn't flinch, doesn't retract her hand, only faces her with the same expression. And then her lips curve into a wry smile. "See? Don't you feel better that you've gotten that out?"
She smiles slightly back, a bit flustered. "I guess so."
"Mizuki-sa… No, Mizuki," she corrects herself, taking her extended hand in her own firm grasp. There's silence, for a moment, as they look at each other, hand in hand. And then, "I'll pick you up at six, tomorrow?"
Her smile widens, and her eyes crinkle, shut, bangs falling across her face. "It's a date."
