Title: P.S: I Love You Not.
Summary: This happened in university, when the two of them didn't know each other very well. Chizuru Ichinose worked as a rental girlfriend. Hachiman Hikigaya, who was forced to become the den mother of a sorority house, of which Chizuru was a member, was asked to look into the matter and provide the university administrative body with a valid reason as to why they should not kick her out of university for working as a rental girlfriend. At the very least, she should be suspended from university and forced to quit her job. But Hachiman Hikigaya didn't tell Chizuru any of those things when he talked to her. He did what he did best - talked about something else and made himself out to be the enemy.
Stupid Hachiman.
He should really learn by now that women fell for that sort of thing.
"I guess the words 'I love you' mean nothing to you."
Chizuru Ichinose stares at him. Hachiman Hikigaya takes a big bite out of his burger. She plays with her french fries. She wonders what he is trying to say. He is a man who is a bit cryptic, a bit of a mystery. The clothes he wears, the waist coat, the full sleeved shirt, the trousers, they are all a part of an appearance. He is playing a character. This is not the real him. But sometimes he says something which betrays him. Rumour around the sorority house is he used to be a loner. The likes of Yukinoshita still call him a rotten dead fish eyed loner. But she thinks there is more to him than that. Even though sometimes he doesn't make much sense.
"What are you talking about?" she asks.
"Your work. As a rental girlfriend." Hikigaya points out and she tries not to feel uncomfortable. There is no accusation in his tone. But she can tell he has trouble believing the credibility of her profession. She can sympathies. When she first started out, she had a hard time wrapping her head around it too. There were people in this world who were so lonely that they paid beautiful women to act as their girlfriend. This was only possible in a city like Akihabara. But over time she had come to think kindly of her clients. She even enjoyed reading the reviews, praising her for the wonderful time and the lovely experience she provided on these dates. But a guy like him wouldn't understand and it was pretty much self evident from what he said next. "I guess you hear it all the time."
Chizuru takes a fry, dips it in the sauce and puts it in her mouth. She sucks on it like a cigarette and rolls it around her mouth like a petulant child. "Not as often as you think." She says after a while. Hikigaya looks at her, his rotten dead fish eyed leveled on her face, trying to decipher her look for what it's worth. She doesn't let him read her like an open book. She thinks he has nothing to skim off the surface. He takes a long sip of his milkshake. Feeling a small sense of victory, she adds what should have been obvious from the start. "Most of my clients are pretty anti-social."
"You mean thugs and delinquents." He asks hurriedly. Despite herself, she feels touched by this small display of affection. No, her mind provides. It is not affection. He is just worried about her safety. He is the den mother of the sorority house. She is a member of the sorority and she lives in the mansion, though she never calls the place the Pink Palace like the rest of the women of the sorority. What a stupid name. As if women just like the colour pink. Anyway, she was getting off track. What's important is that she better not misunderstand or misinterpret him. There is no sign of affection hidden in his words. He is just worried about her safety because that is his responsibility.
Stupid heartbeat going doki-doki. Sit still for god's sake, she grouses to herself. Out loud she explained to him in succinct words. "I meant guys who have little to no experience talking to girls. Loners. Introverts. Some really shy men. A few losers. Most of them fumble over their words and don't have the nerve to even hold my hand."
"Does it affect you when some of them do hold your hand?" He asks and she doesn't know whether she should tell him the truth. No, it doesn't really affect her. It's all part of the performance. She is the pretend girlfriend, the ideal girlfriend. But it's all an act. It's part of her job to not have any feelings. But if she tells him that, she might come out sounding like a heartless bitch. Why does she even care, she thinks. She shouldn't. Hachiman Hikigaya is just a guy who by some stroke of luck or misfortune depending on your point of view landed the job of looking after a bunch of beautiful women on campus.
But he hates his job. He doesn't care about her. But he might care about the truth. "Sometimes they have sweaty hands." She mutters.
He takes in what she said. He can tell it's not the first reply which came to her mind. But regardless its one of the truths about her line of profession. He looks at his own hands. They are greasy and oily. It's from the fries and the burgers. He takes another loud sip from his milkshake and lets her stew in the silence. Why are they even here, he thinks. Because he found out about her job and now the student council president and Hiratsuka-sensei and some of the douche bags who run the campus administration are wondering whether she should be suspended and made to leave her so called dubious profession.
He hasn't asked the question he was told to ask by the others. Do you have sex with your clients, the question is tantamount to asking her whether she is a prostitute and he has a feeling that particular question would lead to her throwing a glass of water at his face and creating a scene. He fakes a cough into his fist and places his palm on the table. The moment of truth has arrived. "Why do you do it?"
"I told you why." She says rather impatiently. "I want to be an actress."
And that's where she doesn't make any sense. He lets out a tired sigh. "If you want to be an actress go act in a couple of commercials. Or works as a model. I don't know how it works." He professes truthfully. "But this rental girlfriend business doesn't make any sense."
"It makes perfect sense." Chizuru argues. "I am acting. I am pretending to be someone's girlfriend. It's the perfect role. What don't you get? You'll see. When I land an acting job, I'm pretty sure I will be cast as the main romantic lead and then all the experience I have chalked up working as a rental girlfriend would come in handy to establish an immediate chemistry with my male lead."
He should have kept his mouth shut. But he couldn't. "I'm pretty sure you won't be cast as the main female lead right off the bat. You will probably be cast as an extra with probably a couple of lines, then work your way up."
Chizuru Ichinose glares at him with righteous rage. He is probably right. But he didn't have to say it. For that, she feels rather annoyed. She flicks another long french fry in her mouth and speaks around it. "So, what's the verdict? Do I get to stay in the university or will I be kicked out?"
"I don't know. It's not like I have a test you can take and if you pass it you get to stay." Hachiman Hikigaya finishes his shake with a long, annoying slurp. Chizuru Ichinose frowns at him. So this has all been a big waste of time. She agreed to come with him here to this fast food restaurant because she thought she could impress him with her acting skills, maybe flirt with him a little bit, so that he might gradually warm up to her and she might end up getting a favourable vote from him. But the moment when she slipped into her girlfriend persona and try to act overtly friendly, he gave her such a dirty look that she broke character. This was the first time this had happened and she stopped pretty soon and let him have a real look at her character, at who she really was. So far she didn't know whether she succeeded in impressing him or not.
But then, he put his milkshake down and leveled her with an unwavering stare and she though he had just taken a look inside her soul. Her throat went dry and she didn't dare to blink. Her own eyes fell on his lips and he simply said. "I love you."
What?
Whaat?
Whaaat?
Chizuru Ichinose blushed. She stopped twirling the French fry in her mouth and bit on it, hard. It fell from her lips on the plate kept on the table. Did he just say I love you? Of course he did. What was this guy planning to do? She was panicking. Did her initial attempts to put the moves on him prove to be a success? Of course it hadn't. He had looked at her like she was something vile. But then afterwards, he had looked at her with a touch of understanding. But was there more to his look, she couldn't really tell. The guy was hard to read. She had nothing. And why were her cheeks turning red. Why was she affected?
"I -I" Chizuru Ichinose couldn't believe it. She was stammering.
And for some reason Hachiman Hikigaya looked pleased. "So, the words do affect you." He stole a fry from her plate and smiled in a harmless fashion. "Don't worry. It was just a test. And you passed with flying colours." He had rotten dead fish eyes, but at the moment they looked like two lumps of coal under tremendous pressure that had hardened into glistening diamonds. Chizuru Ichinose patted her cheeks. She was still blushing. What the hell. And the bastard had the nerve to laugh. "Congratulations. You get to stay on campus. And you can continue with your line of work." He got up and looked at his expensive watch. "Now, as thank you I think you should pay for my meal." His smile stretched further. "After all, I don't want you to think this was a date."
And with that he left her sitting with a plate full of fries and as he said, she had to pay for both their meals when she reached the counter. After paying, Chizuru Ichinose considered that there was some credence to the rumour that Hachiman Hikigaya was a strange guy. But he wasn't a guy who didn't know his way around women. He wasn't a playboy. He wasn't a womanizer. But he knew what to say to women to get the right kind of reaction.
At the end Chizuru Ichinose was left wondering whether he went out on dates and if he did, whether he paid for it. From what she had seen so far, he might be the type who might want to split the bill.
For some reason, she thought, she would have no problem with that.
What a terrifying thought.
As if she would go out on a date with him.
A/N: I think Chizuru Ichinose is quickly becoming my new favourite character to write. Which makes things a little bit more interesting for what I have in mind –
Now The Main Ikebukuro Fic –
I have planned out the first arc –
Now about the second arc, I was thinking I will introduce 'adolescent syndrome' from 'Rascals Don't Dream Of Bunny Girl Senpai'. But there will be a dark twist. But I won't explain it here. Let's do a poll instead –
Poll#1: Which Character Dies In The Ikebukuro Fic's 2nd Arc?
Option 1: Shouko Nishimiya – A Silent Voice.
Option 2: Chizuru Ichinose – Rent-A-Girlfriend.
Option 3: Rio Futaba – Rascals Don't Dream Of Bunny Girl Senpai.
Option 4: Chitoge Kirisaki – Nisekoi.
Option 5: Nino Nakano – Quintessential Quintuplets.
Option 6: A Female Character From A Harem Anime You Are Okay With Dying.
Please pick accordingly.
And yes, the character you pick will definitely die.
Hope everyone enjoyed reading this chapter.
Leave lots and lots of reviews, follow and fave.
Won't betray your dreams.
