So I kinda hit a bit of a writers block for this chapter which is why it took me longer to post. I have three separate drafts of different versions i had for it, (one of which was 4 pages long, so i'll explain what that one was about in the authors note at the end XD) but ultimately this was what I decided on, so if certain parts feel a bit choppy or not expanded on as much as i could've, i'm sorry for that X_X I'm hoping future chapters wont give me as hard of a time as this one gave me, lol, but I hope it's still decent!
After Ritsu's words of encouragement sunk into Mitsuru and she assured him she would continue to live, they smiled warmly at each other before beginning to take their leave from the hot spring. Before they could, however, Okami lightly tugged on Ritsu's kimono sleeve to get his attention.
"If you don't mind, Mitsuru-san, I would like to have a word with Ritsu before you two leave."
Ritsu and Mitsuru both looked at eachother quizzically before Ritsu nodded and followed his mother a bit hesitantly not sure what he was in for this time. "O-okay."
Mitsuru stood patiently outside the resort as Okami led Ritsu back into the lobby so they could speak in private.
He felt nervous by whatever his mother wanted to speak about since usually she was very cautious and always thought of the worst case scenarios, but her face seemed anything but intimidating this time as she beamed enthusiastically.
"Mitsuru-san told me the gist of what was going on, and well.. I heard everything back there just now. Ritsu..I am so proud to see you grow so bold and capable! You've changed so much ever since this woman entered your life, haven't you?" She said with emotional tears and a smile.
Ritsu blushed embarrassedly by his mother's words, yet that feeling was greatly outweighed by the immense internal gratification at being praised by the one person who he'd always wanted to hear those words from.
"Y-you're proud of me, mother?" He said with wide eyes filled with adoration as he repeated her words to see if he'd heard right.
"Of course." She put both her hands over her heart. "You never had an easy life, so despite the fact you grew up with the circumstances you did, I always hoped the day would come when you would find the strength to realize your own self worth and purpose, and look at you now. You're finding it and using it to uplift someone you care for." She continued to look at him deeply with tears. "You've grown so much, and it.. it does my heart good. I love you so much, my son."
Ritsu's lip quivered as he was now crying emotionally. He raised an arm up to wipe away his tears. "M-mother… I.. I've always wanted to hear that from you..but.. I don't deserve your praise.. Tohru-san was the one who inspired me to live for the sake of someone else in the first place.. Without her words, I'd probably be just as cowardly and weak as always.."
Okami walked closer and gently brought Ritsu's arm down and tucked his loose hair behind his ear. "Ritsu, dear, It doesn't matter who told you those words, what matters is you've taken them to heart, and you're using them to inspire not only yourself, but Mitsuru-san as well."
Ritsu stared at Okami as he absorbed her words and began to reflect. "M-maybe you're right.. I just couldn't bear seeing Mitchan-san like that when she means so much to- '' He stopped himself as he began to blush as he recalled Shigure's sentiments from earlier. He lowered his head embarrassedly; not able to finish his sentence.
Okami tilted her head seemingly noticing his change in demeanor. "What's wrong, Ritsu?"
"N-NOTHING!" He shouted in his frantic state then tried to change the topic. "I- I mean! I should probably go! I don't want to make Mitchan-san wait for me too long! T-thank you for your kind words, mother! I will do my best to continue making you proud!" He bowed appreciatively a couple times then began to run back outside.
Okami brought a hand up to her mouth and smiled in amusement as she started to piece things together in her head. "Ritsu, no matter what, you will always make me proud."
"S-sorry for taking so long!" Ritsu said, still semi flustered as he made his way over to stand at Mitsuru's side once more.
She smiled at him, happy to see him return. "It's no problem, Ritchan-san! T-thank you again for everything today...I don't know what I would have done today without you.."
"M-MITCHAN-SAN, IT WAS NO TROUBLE AT ALL! I-I'M JUST SO HAPPY YOU'RE ABLE TO KEEP GOING!" He said as he tugged on his long strands of hair in the front.
Mitsuru fidgeted with the manuscript then looked up into his eyes and spoke a bit bashfully. "Ritchan-san..? Would you like to come with me to the writing agency to drop off the manuscript? I.. I don't blame you if you don't want to, it might be boring.. But I could show you my office if you'd like..?"
"O-of course! I would love to go and see what it looks like, Mitchan-san!" He eagerly offered as he genuinely was interested.
Mitsuru smiled at his willingness. In truth, she was mainly offering just because she didn't want to part ways for the day just yet.
As they began walking, she decided to ask something that was on her mind for a while.
"So how on earth did you manage to get the manuscript from Shigure-sensei anyways? Don't tell me he was at the house all along!" She said irritably at the thought.
Ritsu's cheeks reddened at the reminder of his encounter with Shigure. "H-he was. I am so sorry he does the things he does, Mitchan-san.."
She gritted her teeth bitterly at hearing this. "That man! I can't believe him! I keep telling my superiors about his horrible conduct towards me, but they never do anything about it, and they won't let me work for a different writer either! I guess everyone just enjoys seeing me suffer!" She exhaled loudly in her frustration then saw the sad look in Ritsu's eyes.
"W-well… everyone except you, Ritchan-san!" she smiled to try to reassure him since she didn't want to worry him anymore than she already did today.
"I am so sorry, MItchan-san.. If it were up to me, everyone would treat you with the respect and care you deserve! I tried to get Shigure-niisan to stop treating you so terribly and understand the impact of his actions, but.. I think he took enjoyment at my pleas instead.." He blushed knowing why Shigure was so amused.
Mitsuru halted in her tracks and looked at him with heartfelt eyes as it touched her to hear he went above and beyond for her. "You did that, Ritchan-san?"
He gulped as he stared at her cute expression and blushed. "Y-yes.." He continued as he was feeling anxious again. "I-I'm so sorry I couldn't do more though! I don't know if he'll ever stop! I'm so so sorry, Mitchan-san!"
She blushed at the thought of Ritsu standing up for her. "Don't worry about it, Ritchan-san. I think getting Shigure-sensei to treat me like an actual human being is a lost cause anyways, so I don't expect anyone to get through to him, but it means a lot that you tried.. Sincerely, thank you."
It saddened Ritsu to hear how she viewed the situation of her standing with Shigure, but he felt warm inside by receiving her thanks. "Mitchan-san.."
Mitsuru smiled happily as she tried to shift the focus onto a new topic. "In any case, I at least feel a thousand times more refreshed since I got to go to your family's hot spring! You really weren't kidding when you said it would help my mind relax! I really do feel more at peace now."
Ritsu smiled in return; happy to hear her visit to the hot spring had the positive effect on her he hoped it would. "I am so glad you enjoyed yourself, Mitchan-san!" He bowed politely. "Please, feel free to visit anytime, you will always be welcome by my parents and I!"
MItsuru felt a weird inner feeling of happiness at the thought of being accepted by his family.
They continued to talk about the hot spring all throughout the rest of the walk.
As they made it to Mitsuru's place of employment, Ritsu stared up at it and began wondering with a sense of excitement what it looked like on the inside. "Is it really alright for me to go in, Mitchan-san?"
MItsuru nodded. "Of course! You're with me, so it won't be a problem. Hopefully it won't take me too long to look over the manuscript and submit it." She said as she pulled her employee ID card out from her purse and swiped it on the digital card reader; causing the doors to electronically open.
Ritsu watched this and felt oddly fascinated by the security measures her building had. He followed behind her as they entered while taking in the sights with every step they took. They walked up the stairs until they'd made it to the top floor. "Wow, Mitchan-san! Your office is on the top? You must have a beautiful view!"
MItsuru smiled at this. "Yes it is! That's at least one nice thing about my job given what i have to deal with.." She joked a bit resentfully then opened the door and allowed him to enter first.
Ritsu walked in and took it all in. Her office was a shared work space with four other desks; all of which were currently empty.
"As usual, Shigure-sensei caused me to delay, so the others finished before me.." She chuckled wryly and rubbed the back of her neck.
"Hmm..I want to guess which desk is yours!" Ritsu said enthusiastically as he began walking around and tried his best to figure it out without her telling him. As he was observing the outer contents on the desks to try to help him with context clues, he suddenly noticed something which definitely gave him his answer. "Mitchan-san! I found it! Is this your family?!"
Mitsuru stood in place and watched with amusement as he tried to figure her out, then once he asked his question in a highly curious tone, she realized he was inquiring about the picture frame she had on her desk. She walked over and smiled as she looked at it fondly. "Yes, this is me with my mother and father from about 2 years ago."
Ritsu looked down at it again and then shifted his gaze on to Mitsuru. "Wow, Mitchan-san, you resemble your mother so much!"
Mitsuru giggled at his reaction. "I get that a lot! People say I inherited my looks from my mother and my personality from my father, mostly because he was a hard worker, but a bit reckless like me.." she scratched her lip embarrassedly.
Ritsu chuckled in response then continued to stare at the photo. "They look so nice, Mitchan-san!" He paused for a moment then continued in a more serious tone. "Do you think they'd approve of me?"
Mitsuru blushed a bit by his sudden question and the implications of it. "W-what do you mean, Ritchan-san? Of course they would! Why wouldn't they?"
Ritsu flushed by her reaction; worriedly thinking it was the wrong thing to say. "I-I'M SORRY! I JUST MEAN- Y-YOU HAD TO GET MY MOTHER'S APPROVAL BEFORE WE COULD TRULY BE FRIENDS- SO.. W-WOULD I HAVE TO GET YOUR PARENTS APPROVAL IF-"
Mitsuru put a hand on his shoulder and tried to soothe him for fear of someone coming in and yelling at them to be quiet. "Ritchan-san, please! It's okay, don't worry about that! I know my parents would love you! Besides, they aren't very strict, so they'd just be happy that I have someone who makes me as happy as you do!"
Ritsu blushed by this then saw how serious she looked and felt reassured. "... I hope you're right.. D-do you see them often?"
Mitsuru rubbed her arm up and down as her expression dropped. "Well.. there's a bit of a distance between my parents and I.. They live out in Hokkaido, so I only really see them for special occasions.."
Ritsu felt bad by this and worried he'd inadvertently made her sad. "M-Mitchan-san, I'm so sorry, I didn't know!"
MItsuru realized he felt responsible for her change in mood, so she quickly regained her prior excitement. "Don't be sorry! Like I said, I know they'd approve of you, so you have nothing to worry about!" She smiled as she took her seat at her desk and set the manuscript down as she started getting to work.
Ritsu tried hard to believe in what she said then let his self loathing slip out as he uttered weakly. "E-even with me being… the way I am…?"
Mitsuru perked up at his almost inaudible words and looked at him and said with a sweet compassionate tone. "Of course they would."
Ritsu fumbled with his kimono by her reassurance as he looked down at the photo again. He began to think that if her parents were able to raise someone as wonderful as Mitsuru, they couldn't be so different themselves. He couldn't help but really want to meet them someday and thank them for bringing Mitsuru into the world, but he tried not to dwell on it too long since he didn't want to let his emotions escape him and cause her to get distracted from getting her work done, so he tried to stay quiet so she could focus.
After about twenty minutes of silence, Mitsuru let out a panicked yelp as she stared down at the manuscript in horror as her hand trembled over the top of the last page.
"W-what is it, Mitchan-san?!" He walked over to see where she was pointing, but once she felt his presence behind her, she quickly covered both hands over the line in question and turned around and looked at him with a deep crimson engulfing her cheeks.
"D-DON'T LOOK! S-SHIGURE-SENSEI SCRIBBLED SOMETHING AT THE TOP TO TEASE ME!"
Ritsu swiftly covered his eyes and turned the other way to respect her wishes. "I- I DIDN'T SEE IT, MITCHAN-SAN; I PROMISE I WON'T LOOK!"
Mitsuru blushed furiously as she re-read what Shigure wrote. "Mitchan and Ritchan sitting in a tree~ G~"
She clutched her pencil and began erasing it madly while mindful not to be too forceful and cause the paper to rip. "Urrrrghhh! What is he, 12?! He's lucky he's not here right now! Why does he think my love life is any of his business?!" She clenched her teeth angrily still with a deep blush as she erased it while her mind raced.
Ritsu continued to shield his eyes, but the sounds of Mitsuru groaning in irritation began to concern him. "M-Mitchan-san, is everything okay?"
MItsuru let out an exasperated sigh as she made sure it was completely erased. "Yes.. everything is fine now, but i'm going to have to give Shigure-sensei a piece of my mind later!"
Ritsu was highly curious by whatever Shigure could've done this time, but seeing as how it caused Mitsuru so much stress, he didn't want to press her to find out. "I-I'm sorry for whatever Shigure-niisan did, Mitchan-san…"
MItsuru stood up from her desk and placed her hands gently on top of his. "You can put your hands down now, i'm finished." She said still a touch flustered from what Shigure wrote.
Ritsu did as she said and looked at her with concern; noting her expression, but again not wanting to continue to work her up over it. "I-I'm glad you got it done before the deadline at least, Mitchan-san!" He said to try to boost morale and bring her back to her usual spirits.
His efforts seemed to work as she smiled at him and grabbed the manuscript. "Thank you, Ritchan-san. Would you mind waiting here a moment while I submit this to my superior?"
"Of course!" He said as she closed the door; leaving him alone in her office for a moment. He walked back over to look at the picture frame and once again began to ponder what meeting her parents would be like.
"I.. I wonder if her parents would prefer if I.. could be more of the man Mitchan-san deserves for me to be.." He quickly put both his hands on his head as he realized what he was letting his mind think. "N-no! S-She's just my friend..! I- I'm not..- Shigure-niisan was just teasing me.. I'm not really falling in love with her.. A-am I? I've never felt this way about anyone before, so how would I know.. All I know is I can't stop thinking about her... Is- is this what love feels like…? GAHHH! N-not that it matters! There's no way Mitchan-san could ever love me in return if she ever finds out about the curse!"
He began to remember earlier when Mitsuru tried to hug him and he had to restrain her. "I want to hug her back, but i-if we continue to get so close.. She's bound to find out soon enough.. What will I do if she is disgusted to see me as a monkey.." He let his thoughts continue to taunt him as he was having this epiphany. "What will I do if Mitchan-san rejects-"
After only about a minute, Mitsuru returned. "Sorry to make you wait! Are you ready to go?" she said then noticed Ritsu appeared very distracted as if he didn't hear her. "Ritchan-san?" she walked closer and put a hand on his shoulder to get his attention.
He flinched at her physical contact. "M-Mitchan-san!" he blushed as he was staring into the eyes of the woman he only moments prior realized he was indeed in love with. "I.. I'm sorry I suppose I was just… deep in thought about something.. W-we can go.."
Mitsuru's expression made her concern apparent. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked with worry in her voice.
Ritsu struggled to look her in the eye now after this. He knew he still needed to sort out his feelings before he could even remotely tell her any of the pressing thoughts on his mind. "N-no. I'm sorry.. It's nothing." He looked at the photo one more time before they exited her office and closed the door.
MItsuru noticed this and smiled. "Ritchan-san, we should take a picture together someday! I would love to put it on my desk next to my family photo!"
Ritsu felt warm inside at her suggestion. There was something endearing about her wanting to display the image of them together on her desk. He tried to dismiss his prior thoughts from flooding his mind for the time being as he offered her a gentle smile in return.
"That would be wonderful, Mitchan-san."