"Is it too late to go back ?"
Chizuru glanced at her boyfriend and chuckled,
"Considering that we're almost at our apartments... I would say yes ".
Kazuya glanced out the window as their taxi sped past buildings , pedestrians and other cars .
He groaned out loud,
"I even have a lecture in the afternoon. And a shift at work after that ".
She chuckled again before patting him on the back ,
"Good luck ", she told him .
"How come you're free today ? ", he grumbled.
"I got lucky with my classes and as for the rest , I suppose being unemployed has its benefits ", she replied .
The scowl on his face hadn't disappeared so the patting of his back turned into something more like a gentle rub ,till he finally smiled .
Soon they reached the apartment building, and was just about to head upstairs when Chizuru's phone rang .
"It's one of my acting friends ", she told Kazuya before suggesting,
"Why don't you go in ? I'll come up in a couple of minutes " .
Kazuya nodded before taking Chizuru's bag from her hands and heading up .
She smiled gratefully at him before turning to take her call .
Upstairs, Kazuya had just stepped onto the landing and paused to catch his breath for a second , when the door of Apartment 202 burst open and a blue-streaked , mini hurricane came roaring out .
"Master , Master, Master ! ", she yelled .
"Calm down , Yaemori ", he told her trying to tone down her excitedness .
"Guess what ? Guess what ? ", she repeated without any decrease in volume or enthusiasm .
"How could I know what ? ", he asked her .
"Fine ,I'll tell you ", she began loudly before stopping.
She then pointed at the bags that he was carrying before she asked , in what was finally a normal tone
"You went somewhere? "
"Yeah , I just got back ", he answered.
"Huh ? I didn't even notice ", she remarked .
"Don't make me sound so insignificant ", he complained.
"Right , whatever. So anyway like I was saying ".
It was at that moment that Chizuru arrived on the landing and before she even had time to blink , Yaemori had squealed in sheer delight ,
"Mizuhara-san ? " .
"Oh , hey , Mini-chan ", a startled Chizuru replied .
"Me and master were just talking ", Yaemori told her .
"You went shopping or something? "
"Huh ? No . We... "
"Hey , hey Mizuhara-san ", Yaemori , continued ,not even waiting for Chizuru's answer.
"Master went on a trip and just got back ".
"Yeah I know . I ... ", Chizuru started .
"You must have missed him a lot , didn't you ? "
A confused Chizuru, blinked a couple of times before answering,
"No . Why would I? We were ... "
A sound from Yaemori that was somehow the combination of a horrified gasp and controlled laughter , stopped Chizuru in her tracks before Yaemori turned back to Kazuya.
"Don't worry Master , I'm sure Mizuhara-san doesn't mean it like that . You're not nothing in her eyes . I'm sure she noticed you weren't there and she's just being difficult about it ".
"Huh ? ", Kazuya asked , confused as well .
"Oh , I'd almost forgotten what I came to tell you ", Yaemori suddenly yelled out .
"I've almost hit 50k streams " .
"What ? Really ? ", Kazuya asked .
"You don't have to be so surprised, you know ", she told him pointedly .
"I thought you said you weren't famous or anything ", Kazuya retorted in self-defense.
"Oh that was like a year ago , Master . You should know better than anyone that hopeless virgins can't resist the allure of a college beauty who you pay a bit of money to , so that you can spend some time with her, all dressed up and stuff .
Anyway ", Yaemori went on , ignoring a sputtering Kazuya and a rapidly reddening Chizuru,
"I have to get back now , so see you .
And stay safe ", she added , giggling as she went back to her room
The implication of her last remark momentarily left them too embarrassed but once that passed and they ran through the whole chaotic conversation , they were left confused once again.
"What was all that about ? " , Chizuru muttered .
"I know , right ? ", Kazuya agreed .
"It was almost like she doesn't know ..."
His voice trailed off as their eyes widened and they realized simultaneously,
"We didn't tell her " .
They blinked at each other in shock for a second before Chizuru asked,
"How on earth did we forget about her ? "
"I don't know ", Kazuya replied slightly panicky .
"For some reason , in the back of my mind , I was like,
"Oh of course , Yaemori knows ".
"It was almost too obvious ", Chizuru agreed .
"Like , we both assumed that we'd told her . Or that she'd know somehow ".
"Should we tell her now? ", Kazuya asked, after a couple of seconds.
"We should ", she told him .
"We've been pretty rude to her as is ".
They marched up to her door and knocked loudly a few times but to no avail .
"If she started streaming , she won't hear us ", Kazuya told her .
Chizuru sighed before replying,
"Next time we'll make sure to tell her ".
That night ,
Kazuya pushed open the door to his apartment and found Chizuru sitting on his bed , watching TV and drinking some coffee .
"How come you're already here ? " , he asked, surprised, as he sat down next to her .
"You left your door unlocked ", she told him.
"As always ", she added before continuing,
"I thought we'd have dinner here today , so I already brought over everything I need to cook .
It's still a bit early too eat though ", she told him before pouring him some coffee .
He drank some coffee and sighed out loud.
"Tough day? ", she asked .
"No , work was pretty light actually ", he answered.
"I guess I just got used to lazing around again " .
It was then that he glanced around his apartment and realized that it was much cleaner than usual.
"I just tidied up a bit ", Chizuru explained, noticing him glancing around .
He ran his finger along the floor and then took a few deeper breaths, smelling his room before he exclaimed.
"It's spotless, the whole apartment is spotless ! It even smells nice ! "
"Okay fine , maybe I did some cleaning . And put some things away. And emptied your bins ", she admitted before hastily adding ,
"I spend plenty of time here too , so I'm sure I contribute to the room being dirty , so I should help clean it too . And anyways, I got bored sitting around all day and ... ".
She stopped as Kazuya tapped her shoulder to get her attention.
She turned to face him and realized that he was frowning a bit .
"I don't want you to feel as if you have to do this kind of stuff for me ", he told her .
" You already cook for me , practically every day . I don't like pushing all this extra housework on you " .
Chizuru sighed out loud, touched by his concern before she smiled knowingly and asked,
"How many extra shifts have you asked for this week ? " .
Kazuya's pupils dilated for just a second before he too smiled and admitted ,
"Four "
"Four shifts on top of your regular ones ? ", she repeated .
Kazuya nodded .
She sighed once again before slowly laying her head on his shoulder .
"You do so much for me , normally. And now you're working extra hard because I don't have a job .
Helping you out at home is the least I could do .
To be honest, it's probably all I can do now.
And for the record , you have never made me feel like I'm obligated to cook or do the household chores for you ".
"Okay ", he accepted.
They were both silent for a couple of minutes before Kazuya spoke ,
"You know , the whole Yaemori thing got me thinking " .
"About ? ", Chizuru asked.
She could feel him gazing at her and so she lifted her head off his shoulder and met his eyes .
"I think ... ", Kazuya began .
"I want to tell Kibe the truth about us .
After Ruka-chan we agreed to wait before telling everyone else.
I think our relationship is strong enough now . I think we can handle the strain of telling the truth .
And also... I didn't tell you this before ,but ...I spoke to Ruka-chan.
When we were fighting ... she noticed that I was upset at work .
She didn't have to but she helped me out , she ... encouraged me to reach out to you".
Kazuya stopped as he saw the slightly cloudly expression on Chizuru's face .
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Ruka-chan. It's not that I meant to keep it away from you , but that's what I ended up doing ".
"It's alright " , she waved away his concern.
"I'll admit , I don't like the idea of someone who was basically your ex-girlfriend comforting you ... but I get it .
I'm okay, go on ", she assured him .
Kazuya nodded and continued,
" If Ruka-chan could be hurt that much and still treat us so well ... and ,like I said, we're stronger now , then there's really no reason to keep the truth from Kibe.
Of course Kuri already knows that you were a rental girlfriend and that we're together now .
I feel like I owe Kibe at least that much ".
Chizuru was contemplatively silent for a few minutes before she spoke ,
"That's not enough ".
"What ? ", Kazuya asked.
"If we're telling the truth , we tell them the whole truth .
Not just that I was a rental girlfriend, we should tell them who I am as well .
Ichinose Chizuru ".
"What ? Your identity? You can't ... ",a shocked Kazuya began to protest before she told him ,
"We should tell them ".
"They don't need to know that ", Kazuya argued .
"That's your secret . Your own secret that you chose to keep . They don't have a right to that secret ".
"Maybe not " , Chizuru agreed.
"But it's the right thing to do
No more half truths .
No more spinning things in our favor.
We tell Kibe-kun and Kuri-kun the truth .
And then eventually, everyone else too .
We owe it to all of them ".
"Chizuru... ", Kazuya began before he paused.
He looked straight into her eyes, saw how determined she was and then he nodded .
"Okay " .
She rested her head back on her shoulder and they both stayed silent like that for a while before Chizuru commented ,
"Is it just me or did we just handle a difficult topic , really well ? "
"I know, right ? ", Kazuya agreed with a grin.
"I know we've both said it several times over the last few days, but ... ", Chizuru began .
"Our relationship is really maturing " .
"Yeah ", Kazuya agreed .
"It's because you're the best girlfriend ".
"Huh ? ", a flustered Chizuru , almost jumped up from his shoulder , blushing a light pink as she muttered,
"Why all of a sudden ? "
She then looked up and replied softly,
"You're the greatest boyfriend " .
As was almost customary at this point , she raised herself up to meet his lips which he gladly obliged.
They were so engrossed with each other that they didn't hear the loud bang of a nearby door opening.
They didn't hear the loud bang of their own door opening.
It was only when they heard something like a scream that they opened their eyes and found the hurricane standing at the doorway .
Mouth open, eyes widened, frozen still, except for her rapidly blinking eyelids , Yaemori Mini stood aghast , staring at them.
Their lips were still pressed against each other.
Horrified , they broke apart , let go of each other and stood up .
For a few seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Kazuya tried to .
"Um ... Yae..mori ? "
She blinked , giving no sign she'd heard him till she turned slightly towards him and asked.
"R...right now ... ", she stammered .
"W..were you and M...Mizuhara-san...k...ki... "
"Yes ", Kazuya admitted .
She turned to Chizuru this time but before she could say anything, Chizuru firmly nodded .
Yaemori was silent once again .
And then she sat down on the floor .
And then tears began to form in her eyes .
Concerned , Kazuya and Chizuru hurried next to her .
And then she tackled both of them.
"I'm...s...soooo ...h...h...happy ", Yaemori wailed .
"Eh ? Why are you crying then? ", Kazuya asked.
"B...Because I'm so ..happy.
F..finally M..Master and M..Mizuhara-san k..kissed " she sobbed .
Chizuru and Kazuya glanced at each other, not quite knowing what to do, before sighing simultaneously .
After a couple of minutes, the happy tears stopped and a sniffling Yaemori asked them ,
"Are you d...dating now ? ".
"Yes ", Chizuru answered.
"H..how long " .
"Just under a month ", this time it was Kazuya who replied .
She sniffled a couple more times before asking ,
"Have you slept together yet ? "
Kazuya made a sound like he'd been strangled but Chizuru answered despite the embarrassed flush in her cheeks ,
"Yes " .
"More than once ? "
"Ok that's it ", Kazuya stopped her as now Chizuru too couldn't bring herself to answer .
She grinned at them now, the mischievous scamp that she was , before Kazuya cleared his throat and began ,
"Look , Yaemori, we're sorry for not telling you sooner . We didn't mean to deceive you ... we just forgot , you know . We were just so happy to be together ".
"Wow , you two are so romantic huh ? This last month must have been all lovey-dovey", Yaemori haughtily replied
"I preferred it when you were crying too hard to talk ", Kazuya muttered under his breath
Yaemori ignored him before waving away their concerns ,
"I'm fine with all that ", she assured them.
"I'm just happy you're together at last ", she told them for a second looking like she might start crying again .
"You definitely played your part " , Chizuru replied , gratefully .
"You pushed us and helped us even when we didn't know we needed it.
Looking back now , you were the only one who insisted that I was in love from the beginning.
You probably believed in us more than we ourselves did .
Thank you , Mini-chan ".
It was obvious that the younger girl was taken back by this, her face lit up and she went silent .
After a few minutes she went back to normal and tried to fish out a few more details of their romance which they thoroughly resisted.
"Not fair ", Yaemori complained ,blowing up her cheeks .
"I don't care ", Kazuya told her firmly before asking her ,
"By the way , why did you rush in here in the first place ?"
"Huh ? Oh that . Yeah.
I did it . I hit 50k streams. "
"That's awesome ", Kazuya told her while Chizuru added ,
"Congrats , Mini-chan ".
"Thank you ", she replied beaming before raising her eyebrow
"Well since you wanted to reward me anyway ", she began before Kazuya put in ,
"No we didn't " .
Yaemori continued with a sly grin ,
"How about you two kiss in front of me again ? "
"Absolutely not ", Chizuru shut her down immediately.
"Aw , come on ", she complained again .
They had to deal with her for another 30 minutes or so before they finally sent her back to her apartment.
Kazuya and Chizuru sat down and sighed deeply before Kazuya spoke ,
"I guess that wasn't so bad " .
"Yeah ", Chizuru agreed before checking her watch and then exclaiming,
"It's pretty late ! I better get started with dinner".
Kazuya got up immediately, telling her ,
"I'll help too " .
She smiled at him before relenting ,
"All right then "
She took a few more steps before she paused and told Kazuya,
"Now that I think about it , I haven't told Sumi-chan either " .
A/N : And so the next objective is laid out for Kazuya and Chizuru amidst the fun and chaos that is Yaemori .
Well , I have an important announcement(one that I wish I didn't have to make )
It's almost time for my finals (can't believe how fast it's come around again ) and so I will have to take a long break from writing Resonance to focus on my studies.
This has been a really special time for me while writing Resonance, so many milestones have been celebrated by Kazuya and Chizuru no to mention crossing the 50 chapter mark .
It truly was really great but it's time now for a temporary pause .
Thanks to everyone for your support for this Fanfiction, you guys have always encouraged me so much that I just don't want to end this story .
I hope to return by Late Feb and I also hope that you will enjoy the return of Resonance when it comes , maybe even rereading a chapter or two here and there in the meantime.
Thanks for everything guys , see you next year.
- DeathBerry74