Chapter 4
After an hour of shopping, Fuutaro and Ichika left the department store wearing their new clothes and with this new clothes, they should be able to avoid any unwanted attention especially the police. It's already mid-afternoon when they left the department store, most of their time are spent on the arcade, playing games. There are only some hours left before evening arrives and school are over, so Ichika thinks to herself that she needs to act fast since there's not much time left for today.
As they left the department store, Ichika told Fuutaro that they will be going to karaoke for the next stop. Karaoke had been on her mind since they're about to leave the arcade. But unfortunately, her plan had to be delayed for a while because of the police incident. For now, there's no more obstacle blocking them for having fun and she's gonna make sure this karaoke session with Fuutaro gonna be fun and enjoyable.
"Hey, Fuutaro-kun. Let's go to karaoke!" Ichika eagerly said to Fuutaro. "I don't know why, but I wanted to sing right now!"
"Karaoke, huh? I can't remember the last time I went there." Fuutaro wondered whether he ever been to karaoke or not. "But it's worth a try, I never sing before."
"Ehh? Don't tell me, you never go to the karaoke?" Ichika wondered about it. "Hehe… You're really a not-social person, Fuutaro-kun." She giggled and teased Fuutaro at the same time.
"It's not really like that. I'm not a fan of singing and I don't see any reason to sing can make my studying get any better." Fuutaro flatly responded to her the reason he didn't like singing that much.
"Geez… You definitely need to lighten up a bit." Ichika responded with a sigh. "Singing can make your mind and heart more relaxed, but sometimes it can make you more energetic. I bet it can help with studying too." She explained with a grin at the not so interested Fuutaro.
"Hmm… Is that so? Then, let's test that theory of yours once we're arrived at the karaoke!"
"Hehe… Then let's go!"
Both of them then walked to the karaoke place and after some time of walking, they arrived at their destination. Before Ichika have a chance to pull out her wallet to pay for the karaoke, Fuutaro already anticipated this and he quickly pulled out his wallet and paid for the karaoke session that they're going to have. Ichika is slightly surprised by Fuutaro action, she looked towards him and there's a semi-serious expression in his face.
"Ehh…?"
"I'm paying this time. You have pay enough, Ichika."
"Hehe… Thank you!"
The karaoke employee then guide them to one of the available rooms. Both of them then entered the room and they sit down as soon as they entered. Fuutaro then looked around the room, it's not a very big room but it can hold maybe 4 or 5 people in here, the seat is quite comfortable to sit on, the room is pretty cold, and there's a karaoke machine and the TV in front of him. He then looked at Ichika, browsing the song list on the touchscreen and asked her if she decided on what song she's going to sing.
"Ichika, you know some good song to sing?"
"Hmm… There's a song that I like, but I can't seem to find it…" Ichika mumbling, still browsing the song list. "Found the song! I'm going to sing this song, it's called "Kizuiteyo - One Love".
"One Love… Huh? Never heard about it."
"Ehh… But this song is pretty popular for the youth like us. You sure you never heard of it, Fuutaro-kun? This song still airing frequently on the radio and net."
"Well, I don't follow the current song trends, so I don't know a thing about it."
"Hehe… You're surely hopeless, Fuutaro-kun." Ichika responded with a weak sarcastic-laugh. "Anyway, here I go! This song is pretty good and I'm sure you going to like it!" She picked up the mic and the melody started to play.
"Kimi e to utau one love,
Watashi ni hi wo tsukeru,
Tsubomi no mama de wa irarenai kimochi,
Hajimari wo tsugeru no (let's start!)"
Ichika then started to sing and much to Fuutaro surprise, her voice is very good and beautiful to hear. Fuutaro is stunned and impressed by her singing, her voice is in tone with the melody, the timing for each lyrics are perfect, and she seems to enjoying herself on singing the song. Seeing Ichika singing, it made Fuutaro gasped and his heart thumping faster because of her cool and enthusiastic aura radiating from her and add that voice of her is beautiful to hear. The same feeling resurfaced in his heart and mind again, as he's still confused about this feeling.
"This feeling again…"
"Why does it feel like this?"
"It always happened when I'm seeing her happy and smiling."
"Could it be…? That…"
"No… No… That's impossible. It must be something else…"
While still singing, Ichika looked at Fuutaro for a few times and winked at him, which made him flustered. After few minutes, the song is over and Ichika finished her singing. Fuutaro then smiled and give her a clap on her performance, which made Ichika happy. She took a seat and drinks some water to relieve her thirst.
"Hmm… That feels good." Ichika said feeling refreshed from drinking.
"Not bad Ichika. Your singing is very good." Fuutaro complimented her singing.
"Thank you!" Ichika smiled and blushed from Fuutaro praise. "So, did you like the song? Is it good?"
"Yeah, it's pretty good. I might need to search it in the net and save it to my phone."
"Hehe… I knew you will like this song. I guess your music taste isn't bad too."
"With a voice like that, you could go for a career in singing." Fuutaro said, suggesting another career than acting. "You ever considered a career to be a singer?" He asked Ichika about the career choice.
"No, thank you." Ichika responded, shooking her head. "I prefer acting more than singing. I like acting since I was a kid and it's also a way for me to express myself."
"Hmm… Is that so? I say you can be a good singer, but if acting is your choice, that's good for you." Fuutaro said. "By the way, how's your work going?"
"It's very good for me recently." Ichika said with a smile. "You remember earlier when I said that I was on the TV for the preview on the upcoming movie that I'm gonna start? The movie is highly anticipated by many people and if it became a hit, I'll become more famous than before!" She said with eager, hoping the movie become a success.
"But… Because of the heavy schedule and high acting standard for that movie, my sleep schedule got messed up and I ended up sleeping very late." Ichika explaining the results of her recent work. "With the mock exam nearing, I guess I will not be getting any sleep at all, hehe…" She giggled with the realization.
"Oi, oi… You're as reckless as always." Fuutaro sighed hearing Ichika current work state. "It's good that you're starting to become more successful in your acting work, but I need to remind you that as a student you need to pay attention to your study and with the mock exam is nearing, don't forget about the bet you made with me." He continued to said and reminding the bet Ichika made.
"Ahh… I understand about it. I made a bet and promise to you, Fuutaro-kun." Ichika said, her face become slightly serious. "So, I will take it seriously and won't break that promise!" She continued to say with confidence.
"Hmm… Knowing you, I won't have to worry about it because you've proven to me that you're more than capable to win that bet and keeping that promise." Fuutaro chuckled and smile hearing the determination from Ichika.
"Hehehe… Thank you. You too, Fuutaro-kun, don't lose the bet against dad and make sure you beat Takeda-kun in the mock exam too, okay?"
"Yeah… but, I need to remind you one more thing, Ichika." Fuutaro said with a serious expression this time. "Don't over-push yourself too hard on your work and studying. You need a good sleep and rest to balance all of that."
"Ehh…? What do you mean? I'm already used to it, so don't worry about me." Ichika respond with a half-laugh, dismissing Fuutaro advice.
"I know… but, I'm worried about you sometimes." Fuutaro said, looking at the ceiling. "You're definitely a hard-worker and a responsible person, but sometimes you can be reckless and did something without thinking further on the outcome. So, I don't want any unwanted things happened to you." He continued explaining what's in his thoughts.
"Fuutaro-kun…" Ichika mumbled hearing it.
"So, make sure you don't push yourself too hard, okay?"
"Unnn… I understand." She replied with a nod.
"Yeah… I'm counting on you, so don't disappoint me." He said with a smile.
"…"
"Don't worry about me, Fuutaro-kun."
"I will not lose that bet and will keep that promise."
"No matter what happen… I will do anything to get that 150 points."
"It's all just for you…"
"For you to look at me only…"
There's a moment of silence between them after the last talk. Fuutaro only staring at the ceiling and Ichika doesn't want to look at him because she still flustered from him, reminding her not to become reckless on working and studying. The silent keep on going for a minute and Ichika saw Fuutaro drinking from the water bottle and looking at his phone. Feeling awkward in this situation, Ichika finally breaks the silence by asking Fuutaro the reason why he took a part-time job.
"Neee… Fuutaro-kun, can I ask you something?"
"Hmm… What is it?" Fuutaro said, still looking at his phone.
"Fuutaro-kun, why did you work a part-time job?" Ichika asked, still flustered from the awkwardness. "You took a part-time job in the café while still tutoring us? Itsuki told me that your dad already had a steady job. So why you still keep working?"
Fuutaro put his phone back in the pocket and put the water bottle in the desk in front of him. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and then he answered Ichika question with a weak smile.
"Well… It's part of my responsibility to support my family."
"What do you mean?" She wondered.
"I can't saw my old man works by himself just to support me and Raiha." Fuutaro said, looking at the water bottle he just put. "Ever since my mother death, we're left with lot of debts because of my mother wanted to open a café and before she can achieve that, she passed away from an illness. Because of that debt, I need to help my old man and ease his burden of working."
"Fuutaro-kun…"
"Other than that, I don't want to see Raiha being sad and down after our mother death. She understood our current situation and she works hard by taking care of the house works." He closed his eyes as he continues to tell his family condition. "So, I'm taking any job I can to help my old man and to make sure Raiha is happy."
Ichika then stared down at the floor after hearing Fuutaro explanation why he keeps on working. After all this time, she thought she knows Fuutaro enough, but in reality, there are still more things that she didn't know about him. She felt guilty asking this because it means opening an old wound in him and she knew how it feels of losing a mother because they're basically in the same situation where they lose their mother to an illness and have to work to support their family. Hearing this from Fuutaro, makes her respect and admire him even more because of his maturity and responsibility to his family. Ichika then apologized to Fuutaro for asking this sensitive topic.
"I'm sorry, Fuutaro-kun…" Ichika apologized to him, still feeling guilty from asking the sensitive topic. "I didn't know about this, so it must be tough for you."
"It's not a problem." Fuutaro responded back with a smile. "I feel a little better after telling you this, because I've been holding and hiding this for a very long time. There's no other person who knows this other than my family. So, you're the only person other than them to know this, Ichika."
"Ehh… Is it okay? It's really a personal family matter." She felt surprised because of it.
"It's okay… I really trust you." Fuutaro said. "Since we're in the same situation, you already know what kind of situation I'm facing, right? So, it's not a big problem for me to telling you all of this."
"…"
"There is one more thing that I want you to hear." Fuutaro said, now looking at Ichika.
"What is it?" Ichika wondered about it.
"I wanted to make Raiha happy while she's facing our family hardships. I'm willing to do anything for her, just to see her keep smiling and being happy while facing this hard situation. But there is one principle for me… I'm willing to do anything to make her happy, but I will never… ever… going to hurt her or any person that I care in the process of it to make her happy.
Ichika then realized that they have another similarity, that they will do anything to achieve their goal. But for the last sentence from him that she heard, she's not sure about it because for her there should be a sacrifice to made to achieve the goal in the end. For her, to achieve the best performance in the acting job, she has to sacrifice the needs of school. She even thoughts in the next semester, she need to quit from the school to achieve the satisfying and best results from the acting world, but she holds on to this thought for now, because of her just wanted to keep getting close to Fuutaro.
"Ichika, what I wanted to say to you is, it's okay to keep chasing your dream and goal to become a famous artist." Fuutaro said seriously, but there's a soft tone in his voice despite his seriousness. "But be sure to remember, to never hurt your other sisters and your dad in the process. Trust me, family is very important, they will always support you no matter what happened, so don't ever break their trust."
"Unnn… I will keep that in mind." Ichika nodded with a seriousness. "Fuutaro-kun, thank you for telling me all of this. I know it's weird coming from me, but whenever I'm with you, I have this push and motivated feeling coming from inside of me." She said and her serious expression quickly turns into a genuine smile with a visible blush in her cheeks.
"Well… Good to know that my presence able to make you motivated and I hope it can push you to study better." Fuutaro said with a smile of his own.
"Hehe… Well, It's kinda like that."
"Also, don't be shy to ask my support in studying and the other things you need, I'll be there to help."
"Thank you! Fuutaro-kun."
There's another moment of silent between them, but this time both of them looked at each other with a smile. Both of their hearts are thumping faster and blush are visible in their face. Even after all the talk, it's still pretty awkward for them and Ichika breaks the silent again to kill the awkwardness.
"Eh-uh… Fuutaro-kun, there's not much time left for our karaoke session, so do you want to sing?" Ichika panickily said, looking at her phone to check the time.
"Hmm… I might as well sing since I'm in here." Fuutaro thought as he scrolled the song list in the touchscreen. "Then what song should I sing?"
"Heeehh…? Can you even sing?" Ichika teased him with a grin.
"Well… I don't even know, so bear with my voice if it's terrible." He chose a song and picked up the mic.
"Hehe… Then do your best!"
"Then… Here I go!"
Ichika then heard Fuutaro singing and his voice is kinda terrible but not that bad. Resting her chin in one of her hands, she just smiled and laughed watching him singing. She then thought of what Fuutaro said to her earlier about his principle to never hurt the person you care to achieve the dream or goal. Ichika still doesn't know about this because her principle is pretty much the opposite of him, but she admits what Fuutaro said is quiet true. Because of it, there's a definite conflict in her heart to choose which one is true or false.
"Don't ever hurt the person you care…"
"It's true… but..."
"You will never achieve that goal without a sacrifice…"
"So… What should I do…?"
A/N:
So here's chapter 4, hope you enjoyed reading it.
This chapter is bit different than the previous one because I wanted them to have some serious moment other than fun and fluffs moment. Also this chapter is the key chapter leading to some important event in the future chapter, but I won't spoil it further so you all have to wait for it :)
Regarding the update time for each chapter, I might starting to update it longer than the usual schedule because I'm trying to focus more on writing the new chapter and for me it's kinda pressuring to set a fixed update schedule because it can rush the writing and in the end, the story quality will be worse than I intended. But don't worry, if I feel the story is good enough, then I will post it at usual Friday or Saturday.
If you're wondering about the song that Ichika sing, the song is her character song from Gotoubun S2. I chose this song in this chapter because the song is telling Ichika feelings to Fuutaro in the show. I really love this song because it's catchy and after reading the translation of the lyrics, it's very, very sad but at the same time it's heartwarming and I highly recommend to listen to her character song and if you want to know about the lyrics translation, there's one in Youtube.
As for the review:
-Rosalina:
Yeah he's definitely a hero even in the main show. I'm also planning for Fuutaro character development in the future chapter, so yeah he will be better person.
-Tsubaki Lover:
Glad you enjoyed the last chapter! After what he's done in the main series, in the mid-exam and becoming a bait so Yotsuba can quit the track team, he definitely would risk many things for his friends or dearest one. Also hey, we're all feeling the same about him, so it's not just you lol.
-Kraft:
I'm glad I can made your day better and big thanks!
-Santana:
Thank you for loving the last chapter! I really appreciate it! Hope you enjoy this chapter!
-Powder Sauce:
Big thanks mate! Even I'm enjoying myself when I'm writing that part!
-DragonMaid lover:
-Thank you for the compliment! Hope you enjoy this new chapter!
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