"Old flames can reignite. All it takes is a little spark."
"Ohh, I'm so excited!"
The self-proclaimed 'excited' voice came from a certain blonde ball of energy, bouncing up, down, and off the proverbial walls. It was a bit charming (and honestly kinda' cute) but all the shaking made the lighter in my hand a safety hazard.
I offered a smile from my spot below the table, "Fond memories of hotpot?"
"You know it!" she pumped her fist, "When we were little, Papa used to take Tsugumi and I to this restaurant downtown? The pots there were like, this big!"
Chitoge gestured with her arms, spreading them as far as they would go. Uh, yeah, no. I'm sure her childhood proportions were responsible for that particular memory. A pot that size would be… dangerous, to say the least. Speaking of…
"And… done," I muttered, finally able to sit up. I'd just lit the burner, so we could get cooking soon. Just as soon as the others get back from the kitchen.
...
Well, there's no sign of them yet. Guess I can indulge her a bit.
"Ah… forgive me, your highness…" I spoke in a false posh accent, "I regret to say that our hotpot is but a mere fraction so gallant…" I did a short bow, "My deepest apologies."
It must've taken her by surprise. Chitoge let out a little laugh, before stifling her smile and holding her head high.
"Rise, Sir Raku of… Ichijou," she adopted a similar voice, stumbling over the name, "T'would not do well for one of your stature to bow to Us."
I blinked.
"For you are the great dragon slayer of this realm!" she proclaimed with such confidence, "Twas you who went forth and brought peace to the land! And all We can offer is a feast in your name. Tis We who should seek your pardon!"
Huh. Chitoge's good a roleplaying. Noted.
"I would accept nothing more," I rolled with it, "I wish only for the safety and prosperity of your kingdom, my... liege." Were there female lieges?
"Even still…" she spoke in that proper tone, "The crown lives because of you. The lands are free, our people cheer your name! There simply must be something We can offer!"
I took a moment in my bow to ponder. Something I'd want, huh? Um… what works with the scenario? I was never good at stuff like this.
"Perhaps your hand in marriage, dear Princess?"
…
A suggestion that left us red and sputtering. Oh look, Yui's back.
"What? It makes the most sense!" the heir to the Char Siu mafia defended her idea, "Knights saved the kingdom and married the princess in all those old stories!"
"Mhm! Mhm! I agree!" Shuu stroked his chin approvingly, grocery bag in hand, "Besides, isn't it every man's fantasy to slay the dragon and charm a princess?!"
He did an impression of a sword swing and a swooning maiden as he spoke.
"From what I've heard today, Ichijou-kun seems more like an animal tamer than a slayer…" Ruri threw in her two cents, "Also, what kind of hero cooks for his own banquet?"
"The best kind!" Shuu chided, "And hey, if the land lost enough knights to be in danger, they're probably short-staffed!"
Emerald eyes narrowed behind their lenses. "How much do you know about chivalry, exactly?"
A spark of mirth in his. "Kishimichi? Sounds tasty."
A small voice from across the room, "Um, Maiko-kun, I think that's kimchi…"
A sound of palm meeting face.
"I can't… ugh…" a long sigh, muffled by her fingers, "You're all idiots. I don't know why I hang out with you."
Such was our lively evening.
As Ruri throttled Shuu with all the torque in her four-foot-nine-inch body, I let out a breath and looked around the room. On my right, Megumi leaned against the wall by the socket, a hand to her forehead and a gritted smile in a sort of frustrated endearment. Otama, blissfully unaware of her grumbling elder counterpart, sat with Yui and Kosaki by the bookshelf, helping unpack the ingredients they'd just brought over from the kitchen. It seemed as if her excited appetite tripled with every item she laid eyes on. Er, don't suppose I can wish that drool off my floor?
And Chitoge…
"M-Marriage…?"
Oh. Right.
Still reeling from Yui's proposal (of my proposal), the girl could only flush and avert her eyes. Every few moments, she'd look at me, meet my gaze, and look away again. It was around the fourth time that she finally crossed her arms, turned her nose up, and huffed:
"Wh-Who'd wanna' marry you, anyway!?"
There's the tsun we all know and love.
Her outburst was met with laughs all around the room. Chitoge could only look around, flustered and confused.
"Hey, hey, no need to be so defensive…" I held my heart in mock-pain, "I'm not that bad, am I?"
She reddened further.
"Wh-What?" the blonde waved her hands in denial, "Wait, I didn't mean… No, what I meant was…"
"We know what you meant, Kirisaki-san~" Shuu took a seat across from her, unpacking vegetables. His glasses were still a mess from his thrashing. "We're just teasing is all. S'what friends do sometimes— we don't mean anything by it."
"Th-That's right!" Kosaki jumped in, a little red herself, "B-But I understand why you would react that way. It's sort of an embarrassing topic…"
"Ehh? What do you mean?" Yui tilted her head, "Who wouldn't wanna' marry Raku-chan?"
Across the room, Ruri raises her hand.
Ouch.
Feeling our stares on her, the girl merely shrugged.
"What? He's not my type," she recited like a fact, "Sorry to disappoint."
I shrugged right back. No arguing with that.
"Oho~?" Shuu was at her side in an instant, "So you have a type! And what exactly would that be, Ruri-cha— oOF!"
Whatever bravado he had was knocked out of him when the wind left.
"Definitely not you," Ruri withdrew her elbow from his stomach, satisfied, "Ichijou-kun is better than you."
I flinched, for both our sakes. Someone's on a warpath today.
"You know…"
All eyes went to Yui.
...
Her eyes met Chitoge's.
"They say, the more you deny something…"
Then Kosaki's.
"...the closer it is to the truth..."
Then Ruri's.
"...especially in matters of love."
…
"Alright, that's enough flirting for now," I dropped a palm over Yui's head, as if pressing a button, "I'll get to cooking, but you guys can relax 'til it's ready. Maybe play some games? You only had time for one, earlier."
Shuu must've liked the sound of that, 'cause he grinned and got to setting up the console. Ruri's eyes sparked at the prospect of revenge. Kosaki took the chance to pat her cheeks and hide her face, Chitoge doing the same. Otama perked up at the familiar word, and Yui slid away sheepishly.
Geez. I know she's here for a night, but I'm gonna' have a heart attack if this keeps up.
Megumi snorted, "I'm not bringing you back if you die for a stupid reason like that."
I could only laugh in reply.
Did you know Yui kicked ass at fighting games? I sure didn't.
As we waited for our stew to… well, stew, Shuu took the opportunity to bring one out. Fighting game, that is. Designated chef that I was, I chose to abstain, but everyone else was practically raring to go. Especially Ruri. But I think socking Shuu's character in the face was more cathartic for her than anything else.
They cycled through players a while before trying the built-in tournament mode. Shuu fought Ruri and won, Kosaki fought Otama and lost, and Chitoge fought Yui and got perfected. That is to say, she didn't land a single hit.
Next round, Shuu fought Otama and lost (he went easy on her for sure), and Yui did the same in the finals. But when Shuu and Yui fought for third place, she got a perfect again.
Shuu wasn't the competitive type, so he was fine leaving it there. Ruri on the other hand, brought it up and asked Yui for a match.
And promptly got destroyed.
Chitoge tried next and got the same. I took a shot and lasted thirty seconds. Otama wanted to try because everyone else did, and she won! Making her the supreme champion, again.
Ruri looked upon my sisters with a new respect. Wait, she knows Otama doesn't understand this game, right? I'm pretty sure she just presses buttons.
Anyway, Yui'd had enough for now and decided to sit out the next few matches. So Shuu, Ruri, and Chitoge cycled through playing each other while the Ichijous watched. Kosaki meanwhile, had stepped out to take a phone call.
"Um, Raku-kun?"
Oh, speak of the… well, angel, I guess. Kosaki was gesturing I come join her in the hall.
So I nodded, sending a mental message to Megumi to watch the food. Ignoring the "Wait, what?", I stepped out of the room.
"S-Sorry to bother you…" she started.
I frowned, "It's no trouble at all. Is… something wrong?"
The girl fidgeted as she straightened the hem of her skirt, her phone in her hands. The screen was still on, from the recently ended call with… her mother, it said. Oh. Did something come up? Or was this work related?
"I… um…" she couldn't meet my eyes, "Well, it's just—"
!
Ah, my phone went off. I moved to decline the call, but I looked and, "Oh, uh…" I showed her the Caller ID, "It's your mom. Should I take it?"
"Oh! Um, sure…?"
Er, that response wasn't very reassuring.
"Hey kid!" my phone hadn't even opened all the way when her voice rang out, "Hear you're treatin' my daughter to dinner! Don't suppose you changed your mind about marryin' into our shop?"
Cue the Nisekoi spit take.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding…" she assured, apparently trying not to laugh, "Listen, I already told Kosaki that she could stay at your place for the night—" Um, what? "—but when Haru heard, she wanted to go too. Hope that's alright?"
I blinked. Haru wants to hang out? Or, look out for her sister, more like. Should be fine. Come to think of it, I'm not sure if she remembers who I am yet. With Yui here, now's probably a good time.
"Yeah, sure…" I nodded, "I think we have enough for one more."
"Good, because she left like, five minutes ago." Ah. Got it. "Oh, and I hope there's enough for two more. Think I heard her say somethin' about that friend of hers, Fuu-chan?"
Two it was then. "I'll throw some more mochi in."
"Thanks kid! Ooh, you even know her favorites? What a guy~!"
"Uh-huh…" sarcasm in two syllables.
…
A thought occurred.
"Hey, uh…" I scratched the back of my neck, "I don't mean to overstep my bounds, but…"
"Hm?"
"Well, it's just, with both Kosaki and Haru here…" I lowered my voice so her daughter couldn't hear, "Are you gonna' be okay for dinner?"
…
"Ooh~! Puttin' the moves on me?" she laughed, "Ballsy~! Not even I'm safe from your charms, huh?"
"...Forget I asked."
A bark of laughter. "Ha! Don't sweat it kid!" she laughed a bit more, before…
…
"Thanks. That's really sweet." Sincere."But I'm a married woman you know. I'll be just fine here."
I breathed a smile.
"You're welcome," I nodded, "I'll see you at work, Ms. Onodera."
"Ugh, how many times do I gotta' tell you to call me Nana—"
I hung up the phone with an audible clack.
"...Oh," seeing Kosaki's eyes on me, I spoke up, "So Haru and Fuu are coming."
"Y-Yes…" she averted her gaze, "But…"
...She seemed troubled.
"It's okay," I assured, "The more the merrier, right?"
"I guess…" her words trailed off. She looked a bit confused. So that wasn't it, huh?
"...Is something wrong, Kosaki?"
"What?" she shook her head quickly, "No, no, it's nothing…"
I frowned.
"...Well, if you say so, I won't pry…" my phone returned to my pocket, "But I'm always here if you wanna' talk."
"Oh! Um, thank you." She nodded, before shaking her head again, "It's just something small, so I didn't want to trouble you…"
"You could never trouble me…" I said, like I'd had to say before, "Is it something I can help with?"
"Well, um…" she twirled that lock of hair, "Mom told me Haru-chan and Fuu-chan were coming… but she told me to ask you if it was okay. But she must have asked you herself just now... right?"
I blinked. "That is weird…" I rubbed the back of my neck, "Maybe she's just multitasking and got too caught up? She has to work things out with suppliers last weekend, so she could be busy."
"And so she forgot…?" Kosaki nodded to herself, "Maybe… I don't know."
"Well, you can always ask Haru when she arrives," I offered, "...or ask her when you get home. Don't worry, it's probably nothing."
"Y-Yeah, you're probably right…" she perked up, "Okay... Thank you, Raku-kun. I feel a little better now."
"Anytime," I grinned, "C'mon, let's get back in there. Food's almost done."
She was happy to oblige. Opening the door, I followed her inside.
Megumi eyed me impatiently as soon as I walked in. "What took you so long?"
'Oh… sorry about that, I was in a hurry,' I bowed my head a bit, 'I didn't mean to put that on you so fast—'
"What? Oh, the food. It's done, by the way, but I don't care about that," she waved me off, "You just missed out on something big!"
That so? 'Mind filling me in?'
"Happy to," she grinned, "I'm gonna' share the memory with you, okay?"
I quirked a brow. 'You can do that? Since when?'
"Since always!" she puffed out her chest, "It's an advanced form of Communication. The magic Otama uses to communicate with you mentally."
'Hence the name…' I shook my head, 'I need to learn how it works soon. Otama gave me access to some of its other abilities, right?'
"That's right," Megumi nodded, "You should have her teach you sometime. Anyway, are you ready?"
'As I'll ever be, I guess…' I took a seat, 'How weird is this gonna' feel?'
"Depends. When's the last time you've been in a female body?"
My brow twitched. 'I think you know the answer to that question.'
"I'll turn tactile senses off then. Just visual and auditory," she shrugged, before snapping her fingers, "Here we go!"
Tactile? Aren't you a projectio—
Suddenly, I'm much shorter. Even sitting down, I'm much shorter.
Shuu and Ruri are entertaining Otama, one far more expressive than the other. The little fox spirit doesn't seem to mind though, as she regales them with tales of the Ichijou household. The story of the lost cellphone earned a laugh or two.
While they were occupied with that, Yui and Chitoge were still at it, playing that fighting game again. It's in a quieter voice, one not quite as playful as before, that Yui asks her a question.
"Chitoge-chan, can I ask you something?"
The blonde girl blinks. Through some magic or another, she's able to read the mood. "Okay… what is it?"
"I want you to answer honestly…" she selects the stage and the match begins, "What do you really think of Raku-chan?"
"Really think…?" Chitoge ponders, "He's my friend. A great friend. My first, and most important."
Yui laughs lightly, "Such a strong bond, even after all these years."
"Y-Yeah…" she laughs too, "My best friend from back then is my best friend again. When I heard it, I thought I was dreaming. It feels like something out of a TV show…"
"Or a fairy tale…" Yui finishes, "Can I ask what drew you to him? This time, not the first time."
"H-Huh?" the question must've surprised her as her character takes a hit, "Well, aside from sitting beside him and being together those first two weeks…" Chitoge sighs, "It's hard to explain. Raku just radiates this… warmth. I feel like I could share anything with him, even before I knew." She glances at her friend. "Is that weird?"
"No, not at all," Yui says, inputting a combo, "And I suppose you feel a similar trust with me, considering you're being so open."
"Um… yeah," she nods, "You're right. You two are good people. I felt it from the moment I met you… again." A laugh, then a pause. "...You know, I...? ...Never mind."
Yui looks at her, "No, what is it?"
"It's just… embarrassing…" her eyes turn downward, "Because he seemed like a good person, I was really afraid of... disappointing him? Something like that."
Yui frowned, "What makes you think you could've done that?"
"It's when we first met…" she shakes her head, "No, the second time. I made him lose something really important to him… I thought he'd hate me."
"But you made him find something really important to him, too…" Yui smiled, seeing her confused, "He found you. You're here again."
Chitoge breathes a smile, "It's nothing I did. I was transferring in anyway."
"I don't just mean that…" Yui glances back to make sure Ruri and the others aren't listening. They aren't. "Listen, Raku-chan has changed. I hear it was very recent. Raku's father has noticed, and it happened around the time you came back into his life."
The blonde fidgeted. "...It's not a bad change, is it?"
"Not at all. Actually, he's more outgoing than ever." She takes the first match. "You know, this is the first study group he's had with friends other than Shuu-chan?"
This grabs her attention. "Really? Why? Kosaki-chan and Ruri-chan have been here with him too, haven't they?"
"Apparently, they hadn't really interacted as a group until recently," Yui laughs again, "Or that's what Shuu-chan tells me. It was when you arrived that everyone came together."
Chitoge looked at her. "So… that means…?"
"You brought them together?" Yui smiles, "It seems that way. You must've inspired something in him. Just from our phone call this morning, I could tell Raku-chan was different."
"Really…?" Chitoge dodges a kick, "How so?"
"He seemed so… confident? Or at least more than before…" she can't seem to find the words, "And when I saw him in person, I could tell. He's not the Raku-chan I knew anymore. That awkward little boy is gone…"
Chitoge is silent.
"...You two were close."
"The closest," she smiles, "Raku-chan was always social, but that summer was the first time he made friends that stuck. Aside from Shuu-chan, of course. But when we all went home, and Shuu-chan wasn't around, it was always me and him…"
"...I'm sorry."
"What's there to be sorry for?" Yui smiles, lowering her head, "Change always happens. In people, in places, in things. No matter how much you want them to stay, no matter how much you try to keep them as they are… they do."
…
"But it's not always a bad thing." the woman continues, "If you live in the past, you can't progress. That's what I've learned. So… even if Raku-chan isn't there anymore..."
Yui smiles.
"Maybe I can learn to love 'Raku Ichijou' just as much."
…
Chitoge is stunned. It's easy to see. Her inputs stop, and Yui wins again.
"Oh, so close that time!" Yui speaks encouragement, "You almost had me there!"
"Love…"
"Hm?"
"Love…" Chitoge murmurs, "Love him… Do you mean…?"
Yui… says nothing. She smiles.
"I do. I have for a long time." Yui confesses, "Or, I thought I did. But maybe I was in love with… a ghost? The memory of that little boy." She smiles to herself. "Seeing him again has my heart all jumbled."
"But I'll figure it out," she continues, "It's why I'm going to ask you again."
"What do you really think of Raku Ichijou?"
…
"Are you asking me if I…" her voice is quiet, "...if I love him?"
Yui nods. "I am."
…
…
"I… I…"
"You don't have to answer right away," Yui affirms, "I wanted to put this in your head, because…"
"You did. Ten years ago."
Chitoge is silent.
"I… I did?"
Yui smiles. "I felt you deserved to know."
…
"I think…" Chitoge breathes, "I think I get it. The kind of person he is now, I think… he's definitely the kind of person I would fall in love with."
Her face is incredibly red. Her heart is beating out of her chest. Did she just say that out loud? Aghh I wanna' punch myself in the face! Or so her inner thoughts say.
"But…" she catches herself, "I don't know where I stand now. Raku is… special to me. The most precious person I have. And I've known him three weeks…" she nods, "The happiest three weeks of my life. It's too early to say for sure, but…"
"I feel like I could fall in love with him all over again."
...
This time, she does punch herself in the face.
"What am I saying!?" she shakes her head violently, "He's just a friend to me! Why'd you have to put these thoughts in my head!?"
Yui smiles.
"Well, like you, I have to go home tomorrow. Unlike you, I live a continent away. And I won't be back for a year or two..." Her voice doesn't waver, "So I want to do everything I can, while I'm still here, to make sure you and him are happy."
"...Yui… you…"
"So…" the girl wipes her eyes with her arm, "Give it some thought, okay?"
Chitoge… nods. "I will. Thank you for telling me."
"And you better think quick, before someone snatches him up!" Yui grins through a sniffle, "He's a good guy, like you said. It's only a matter of time before someone else notices! Or maybe they already have~?"
Just as she says this, Kosaki walks back into the room, followed by…
I'm back to reality.
'Wow…' I blink a few times to get my bearings, 'That was…'
"A lot? I know." Megumi nods, "That's what you missed."
I frowned, 'Was I really gone for that long?'
"Guess so. A lot can happen in five minutes. Speaking of," she points to the pot, "No time has passed since I gave you the memory, but you better turn that off now that we're done."
Oh, right.
"Alright everyone!" I called, "Food's ready!"
The room filled with cheers, and the smell of miso.
