Introduction (23 oct 2020)

As starts to become more usual, I'm already working on a new chapter, before the previous one has been unveiled. For a while I had no clear ideas for this chapter, but then an interesting idea for an intro came to mind, and most of the story flowed from that almost naturally. Chapter 6 started to take shape, and here it is now!

Wait! Stop the presses! This isn't going to be chapter 6, but actually chapter 7! As result of reader feedback, and giving it some more thought, it was decided to split the first chapter in two separate parts, and also re-write part of the second half of chapter 1, to be more 'in character' and have a better fit with the rest of the story. In the original situation, the first chapyer still felt much like a oneshot story, with some extra chapters pasted behind it as afterthought. I hope this will be solved now and that as a whole, the full story will have a better feel to it.

I hope you will enjoy reading this, and I'm looking forward to hearing what you think of it.

Note: If you want to comment on this story, or any of my other stories, you're welcome to leave a review, preferably as registered member, as this allows much more interaction between writer and reviewer. If there are parts you felt lacking, or disliked, please let me know this as well. Things can appear amazing in my perception, while others might think very differently. I'm eager to hear such feedback as well, since praise is always nice, and can confirm being on the right track, criticism is often what helps more to improve.

Story Prologue:

After having a lot of fun the day before, during their trip to 'Fuji-Q Highland Amusement Park', and getting home late, for today Kazuya had made some other plans. Setting things right with his family and friends, for once. But first, he was going to meet Chizuru, to talk about the unexpected text message she had sent him yesterday…

Trouble in Paradise - part 1

Kazuya entered the restaurant where he was supposed to see Chizuru. This time he had carefully selected a place in a part of Tokyo that made it very unlikely to run into family members, any of his college buddies, or other acquaintances, so there should be a minimal chance on getting into trouble. Kazuya had arrived a little early, and he took a seat in a relatively dimly lit corner of the restaurant. A waiter came to take his order, but Kazuya told him that he was waiting for company, and that they would order something when the 'party' would be complete. Time went by slowly and Kazuya closed his eyes, to give these some rest.

When he opened his eyes again, Mizuhara stood in front of him, wearing a shinobi warrior's attire!

'Why is Mizuhara in costume!?' Kazuya thought. 'Hmm, this looks just like the outfit she was wearing in the play I watched, when she played the role of Onene. Maybe she has another performance later today, and decided to change to this outfit on beforehand, to save time?'

"I've come for you, lord Kazuya!" Mizuhara shouted, as she tapped on the floor with one end of the wooden staff she was holding; "Take me to your stronghold!"

"Huh?" Kazuya wondered.

'Wait, she's probably already "in character" to prepare for the play,' was the only explanation Kazuya could come up with for this somewhat awkward situation.

"Didn't I tell you to leave my lord alone!" another voice yelled, coming from behind Kazuya.

Kazuya recognized that voice, and nearly fainted.

"M-mami-chan…?" Kazuya stuttered, as he turned around, and there indeed was Mami, dressed up like a ninja, and holding a pair of nunchucks.

'Huh, she's also in costume!? Is Mami-chan also part of the play? Or could this be some weird cosplay prank or what?' Kazuya wondered.

"Kazu-kun is mine, I saw him first!" Mami shouted, as she started pulling on Kazuya's arm.

"Well, if you really wanted him, you shouldn't have dumped him!" Mizuhara countered Mami's remark; "You've had your chance, now it's my turn!"

Mizuhara grabbed Kazuya's other arm and started pulling at it. 'What has gotten into these girls all of a sudden!?" Kazuya thought, as he started panicking.

"You two keep your dirty hands of my Kazuya!" a third very familiar voice yelled.

"R-Ruka-chan!?" Kazuya stuttered, falling from one surprise into another.

Ruka was dressed up too, wearing a samurai's armor, with a ribbon tied around her helmet, both ends pointing up, as if these were horns.

"My love for Kazuya will be my weapon!" Ruka shouted; "But a modern girl needs to be prepared, so I've also brought this!" she added, while pulling a shiny katana sword from its sheath.

Ruka struck a pose, like a Samura who's ready to attack.

"Let Kazuya go, or else…" Ruka threatened, her face showing angry determination, a look Kazuya had seen more often when she had been 'battling' with Mizuhara for his attention.

Everyone charged forward, and the battle that ensued had the three girls jumping around, with Mizuhara and Mami dodging the blade that Ruka was wielding, while trying to get a better angle upon one of their opponents. 'Why doesn't anyone step in and stop them!? I'm sure the restaurant owner can't be very pleased to see his place being turned into a fighting arena, or what? They could seriously hurt each other!' Kazuya thought. He decided it was up to him to stop this madness.

"Girls! Girls!" he shouted, desperately trying to get their attention; "Please stop, before anyone gets injured! Besides, it's probably all my fault that you are mad at each other!"

"He's right!" Mizuhara said, raising her hand as if giving a stop sign.

The three girls instantly stopped fighting and instead began whispering things to each other for a short moment. 'Now what!?" Kazuya wondered, at the same time happy they were no longer going at each other. The trio stopped talking, and turned towards Kazuya, their faces not looking very happy, to put it mildly!

"You are the one who made us do this!" all three girls shouted, as they stepped forward, and drove Kazuya into a corner! "Now you must pay for making us suffer!"

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" Kazuya shouted, as the three female 'warriors' slowly closed in on him.

Kazuya closed his eyes, felt a shudder, and opened them up again, finding himself suddenly staring straight into Chizuru's face!

"I was already starting to wonder if you would awaken all by yourself, or whether I should wake you up…" Chizuru said, on a very casual tone.

"Huh, I-I fell a-asleep?" Kazuya stuttered, as he slowly came to his senses again.

'So, it was all a dream?' he wondered, feeling much relieved, yet also troubled by why he had been having such a strange nightmare in the first place.

"You were pretty far gone, yes. I guess that probably means your date with Ruka yesterday went really well, right?" Chizuru continued, "I've seen Ruka posting some pictures on her blog, and she seemed more beaming than ever. I bet you didn't get much sleep last night, you probably did 'get together' at least a few times, or didn't you?"

"Yes we… er, no!" Kazuya quickly added, when realizing the deeper meaning of the last part of Chizuru's question, about 'getting together'.

"Sounds like you're still half sleeping, you're not making much sense…" Chizuru sighed, "perhaps I should just let it go…"

"No, wait!" Kazuya objected; "We did have a great time yesterday, but it didn't happen as you said, I walked Ruka home, and then I went back to my place, alone. We are taking it slow, you know, trying to get to know each other better first."

"I'm really impressed…" Chizuru praised Kazuya, "… I honestly never expected you to have that much self-control, when being close to a cute girl like Ruka."

For a moment Kazuya thought he could see Chizuru's eyes smiling, as if she was happy about something, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it yet.

"Not sure if I should consider that a compliment, or an insult," Kazuya muttered. "Btw, do you still have that warrior's outfit, you've been wearing in the play I watched?"

"Huh? Well, I think it should still be around somewhere…" Chizuru pondered, "… but why?"

"Oh, nothing, just something that came to mind…" Kazuya said, for a moment reflecting on his nightmare again.

"Anyway, I'm happy for you both that Ruka and you are still getting along so well, but there is something I wanted to ask you for a while now," Chizuru started.

'Could it be Mizuhara does have feelings for me?' Kazuya wondered. 'She did look almost relieved when I told her Ruka didn't stay over at my place yesterday, and that we're still taking it slow with some things…'

"Kazuya?" Chizuru started, suddenly with a very serious look in her eyes, "I was just wondering if…"

"Excuse me sir, but maybe I can take your order now?" the waiter interrupted Chizuru; "Or are you expecting more people to show up?"

"Eh, sure…" Kazuya replied, "… you want the usual?" he asked, looking at Chizuru, to which she agreed by nodding. "Two lattes please."

"Right, two lattes coming up for the Mr. and Mrs." The waiter confirmed their order.

'It's a good thing no one saw that…' Kazuya thought. 'How could that waiter think a girl like Mizuhara would choose me for a husband?' They quickly got their drinks, and after taking a few sips, Kazuya asked Chizuru what she was about to say, before they got interrupted.

"Well, first of all, how did your parents take it when you told them how things really are between us?" Chizuru started; "And your grandma, what did she say? I never intended to lead them on, but it appears they were ready to welcome me into the family…" Chizuru paused briefly, while closing her eyes, "… and I guess, I also got carried away a bit by the thought of having a family again…"

'Mizuhara… she must have been feeling all alone lately, after her grandma passed away…' Kazuya thought, as he noticed a few small drops glistening in the corners of her eyes. 'What if my family never wants to see Mizuhara ever again, after hearing the truth about our relationship? If they are mad at me, that's ok, but I don't want to see Mizuhara hurt!'

"I-I… haven't told them yet…" Kazuya spoke, on a soft voice.

"Whaaat!?" Chizuru yelled, before keeping her voice down again; "But why?"

"I guess I was waiting for the right moment…" Kazuya sighed, "… but just like when we were still 'dating', that never seems to come."

"Hmm, maybe I should take back those things I said to you back in the hospital, about having made a lot of progress lately…" Chizuru sighed, "… now you sound just as indecisive as before."

"No, that's not it! I do really want to introduce Ruka to my family as my actual girlfriend…" Kazuya started, "… and I had planned to visit my grandma today, to finally tell her the truth. But at the same time… I don't want to see you get hurt. I care about you a lot, even way more than I thought…" he added, while looking down at the table.

"E-Eh…?" Chizuru stuttered, momentarily lost for words.

Chizuru also looked away, then slowly ran her fingers through her hair, as she would usually do when contemplating something. Suddenly she put her hands down on the table with a loud 'thud', causing Kazuya to look up again.

"Look, I know I've asked you before, but I am not so sure if you really gave me an honest answer back then…" Chizuru started, when looking into Kazuya's eyes, "… so I am going to ask you again; Did you fall in love with me?"

For a moment going back to sleep, even if that would mean having another a crazy nightmare like Kazuya had just experienced, seemed more appealing than having to give a straight answer to this question. 'Why does she bring this up now, just when things are finally starting to get pretty good with Ruka?'

"Eh… M-Mizuhara?" was all that Kazuya could say.

"Ok, just forget I asked," Chizuru said, as she turned her head away again, feeling it took too long for Kazuya to come with an answer; "I must have been seeing things. Maybe you also have a talent for acting," she added, with a feigned smile.

'Should I tell her how I feel? Or better, felt?' Kazuya wondered. 'If I lie again, she'll probably be hurt and disappointed. But if I tell her the truth, it would be painful as well. Not to mention, also pretty awkward… Aaahhh! These choices are killing me!'

"I'll pay the bill, since I was me who asked you to come here, it wouldn't be fair to let you cover the expenses…" Chizuru started, as she stood up to walk towards the counter.

"Wait!" Kazuya yelled, as he stood up, "I do want to answer your question!"

"Huh?" Chizuru said, surprised, feeling a shiver going down her spine.

"You've done so much for me, like helping me after Mami-chan broke up with me, so the least I can do is give you an honest answer," Kazuya started, "I've been telling lies for far too long!"

Chizuru turned around and walked back to the table, coming to a full stop in front of Kazuya.

"T-To be honest… I, eh… fell in love the first moment I saw you. You were looking like an angel who had just fallen down from the skies, coming to rescue me…" Kazuya started, "… and I wanted to be with you so badly, even after I began to realize this was partially an act, since on a date you're going all out to be the girlfriend of the person you are with…"

"Always within the company's policies!" Chizuru objected: "I certainly don't do everything a real girlfriend would do!"

"Sorry, didn't mean to imply that, but let's say you do take your role very seriously when you are in 'girlfriend mode' during a date," Kazuya apologized.

"Fair enough, go on…" Chizuru said, accepting his apology.

"Well, you see… I've been in love with you ever since…" Kazuya continued, "… so maybe that's what you noticed. I'm a pretty bad actor, and a terrible liar too…"

Kazuya paused for moment, to gather courage for what he was about to say next.

"So, part of me wanted to tell you, but it seemed just pointless. Even if you were to go against your own rules and actually fall for a client, it seemed impossible you would ever be interested in me that way…" Kazuya sighed, "… so I lied when you asked me back then if I had fallen in love with you…"

Kazuya remained silent for a little longer, trying to read from Chizuru's face what she was thinking right now, but her expression remained totally composed.

"Anyway, like with Mami-chan," Kazuya continued, "you know I can't just erase such feelings, and pretend like these never existed, but…"

Kazuya could not finish his line, Chizuru had suddenly leaned forward, and pressed her lips on his!

Kazuya froze, too baffled to react, just like back then, when Ruka had kissed him on the mouth for the first time, on his birthday. 'Mizuhara!? What the…!?' were Kazuya's initial thoughts. 'Is this really happening, or another dream? This feels so good… Mizuhara's soft lips, her smell… not a fake kiss like during the double date with Kuri and Ruka, this is for real!'

Kazuya had been dreaming of kissing Mizuhara for so long, and he closed his eyes for a moment, as he slowly felt his resistance starting to crumble, till…

'Wait! What am I doing!? This shouldn't be happening!' Kazuya realized, while coming to his senses again, and opening his eyes. 'I don't want to hurt Ruka! This feels wrong! I need to…'

"Kazu-kun?" a voice very familiar to Kazuya, suddenly spoke, from across the room…

(To be continued…)

Epilogue (1 nov 2020)

Well, just when Kazuya and Ruka seemed to be slowly settling into a more solid relationship, Chizuru makes a bold move. And even worse, someone else spotted this. How will this end?

Please let me know what you think of this story and leave some feedback in the form of a review. If you are logged in on , and post a review as registered member, I can even reply to your comments. Looking forward to some more interaction with the people who read my fanfics!

Btw, since I am not a native speaker, there will likely be some silly mistakes in this story. And in punctuation, maybe I made the same mistakes as in previous stories, or even made new mistakes. Hope you can bear with me and see through that. Helpful tips and suggestions are welcome.

Stay safe, and maybe until soon!