Disclaimer: I do NOT own Hakuouki or anything related to it.
"If you keep pacing like that, you'll make a hole in the floor."
Heisuke did not react to Harada's half-amused, half-concerned remark. For the last thirty minutes, ten of which were before the arrival of his two friends, he had been pacing and mentally arguing with himself. Shinpachi and Harada sat on the coach whilst watching television, having unsuccessfully tried to snap the younger male out of it and decided to let him be for the time being. But after twenty minutes of Heisuke still acting this way, they spoke up.
"Hey, shrimp," Shinpachi said."What's the problem?"
Again, Heisuke did not respond. He just kept walking back and forth. This Friday, tomorrow evening, would be his turn to pick the movie. He wanted something everyone could enjoy with him, especially Chizuru. Romantic comedy? Too obvious. Horror? Out of the damn question. It didn't matter that this genre had possibly bought them together. Action? Maybe if there was an actual, interesting story to it. Chizuru favored historical fiction and no one showed any dislike for her selection the previous week. Maybe a film of that genre that contained some romance? He stopped in the middle of the room and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
At that moment, a pillow hit him and he fell down with a yelp. Shinpachi was laughing and pointing at him. Rolling his eyes, Harada grabbed his own pillow and smacked Shinpachi upside the head with it, knocking him off the couch.
"Serves you right," Heisuke said. When Shinpachi looked at him, he smacked him with the pillow that Shinpachi had thrown at him a moment ago."What did you even do that for?" He asked."I wasn't even pacing anymore!"
"What were you pacing about in the first place?" Harada asked, ignoring Shinpachi as he rubbed his head. Heisuke hopped over Shinpachi and plopped onto the couch beside the redhead. The youngest of the trio sighed deeply.
"I've been trying to figure out which movie to pick for tomorrow," Heisuke explained.
"Why's that so hard?" Shinpachi inquired as he stood. He sat back down on the couch.
"Because he wants everyone else to like it too," Harada stated."Particularly a certain someone," he added with a smirk and wink directed at Heisuke.
"Oooh," Shinpachi drawled, playfully flicking Heisuke on the back of the head. Without turning around, the younger man swung his arm overhead with the pillow in his grip and slammed it atop Shinpachi's head. Grabbing the pillow, Shinpachi tried to return the favor, only for Harada to throw a pillow into his face, knocking him onto his back.
Harada leaned backwards until he was resting against the arm of the couch."Seeing as you've stopped pacing, I assume you've made a decision. Or come close to one, at least?"
Heisuke nodded."Maybe. At the very least, I have a genre in mind. I still need to figure out what movie to watch."
Harada sighed."I get where you're coming from, but there may be another way of doing this." He shrugged."Or you could do both. Double benefit, I suppose."
Heisuke's eyebrows rose."What do you mean?"
"You're obviously concerned primarily about Chizuru even if the rest of us aren't out of your mind. It'd be more beneficial for the both of you if you just ask her out on a date. Like dinner and a movie, or one of the two. Whichever you and she prefer."
It wasn't a bad idea. But was it the right time? The past few weeks had consisted of handholding and cuddling a little during the previous movie night; other than that, their interactions hadn't changed. They'd always been close friends, so spending time alone talking was nothing new. The last thing he wanted was to pressure her, especially when recalling her past and current experiences with Kazama.
Speaking of the blonde, he hadn't made any appearances since they set him up to watch that horror film. They didn't expect him to simply go away, though, and kept their eyes and ears out for him. According to Chizuru, she'd gotten a message from Shiranui explaining that Kazama had some family business to attend to and would not be bothering her for some time. Chizuru was clearly still uneasy about him, but appreciated the respite.
As if reading his thoughts, Harada smiled sympathetically."Do whatever you think is best. As long as she's okay with it, of course. It won't hurt anyone if you ask."
That was a fair statement. There was no need for this to be a romantic encounter. Any normal person would want to take this kind of thing slowly, particularly after a bad experience with someone like Kazama. They hadn't done anything romantic besides hold hands and cuddle and even then Chizuru did that with people who were just friends too, so there was no reason to presume anything. There was nothing wrong with a friendly hangout. This could help them determine what to do with their relationship, or be the beginning of a slow but sure romance. That thought excited and made him nervous, but whatever came, he would accept it.
His lips formed a smile as he became increasingly inclined to follow his friend's advice. Seeing this, Harada grinned and patted his head.
He would pick whichever film he wanted tomorrow and then ask Chizuru if she wanted to go out to watch a movie with him on Saturday. He nodded to himself and relaxed.
It was then that he noticed Shinpachi was gone. He looked to Harada, who snorted quietly, having realized the same thing. Harada pointed his thumb upward and a shuffling noise could be heard from behind the couch. Their gazes locked and they exchanged smirks as each of them grabbed a pillow and prepared to strike.
Five seconds passed afore a battle cry filled the room as Shinpachi shot up with a pillow in each hand. But his intended victims were ready. Heisuke and Harada simultaneously let out their own battle cries and swung their pillows at their attacker, hitting him at the same time. Shinpachi yelped as he fell backwards. They jumped over the couch after him, continuing to assault him. In desperation, Shinpachi threw a pillow, hoping to hit either of them, but they dodged it. The pillow did hit someone, though, and that person let out a grunt as he staggered back. Another person who'd entered the room with the victim gasped in surprise but then started laughing hysterically.
Shinpachi's eyes widened, and his two best friends turned to see who the new arrivals were and more importantly, which of them had received the blow from Shinpachi's pillow. Their eyes widened as well and they dropped their pillows and stepped back.
Standing near the doorway were Souji and Sanan, the former of whom was still laughing and clutching his stomach while tears poured out of his eyes. Sanan's gaze was glued to the floor, or rather, what was on the floor: his glasses. His broken glasses. The trio exchanged glances, silently agreeing to make a run for it before Sanan snapped out of his shock. Right as Shinpachi stood up, however, Sanan lifted his head and stared straight ahead, and Heisuke imagined an invisible line between Sanan and Shinpachi.
"Nagakura-kun," Sanan spoke, his tone of voice and facial expression void of emotion as he picked up the pillow that had struck him."I would like to have a word with you."
Never did Heisuke think it possible that a pillow could resemble a dangerous weapon, yet Sanan made it seem so obvious with very little effort. He exchanged looks with Harada, and a soft whistle from Souji brought their attention to the mischievous young man. Souji gestured for them to come with him and after casting a final glance to the terrified Shinpachi, they whispered apologies to him and wished him luck. He had started this fight and made the possibly fatal mistake of accidentally hitting Sanan. He'd brought this on himself. They shrugged in unison and followed Souji to the kitchen. By the time they entered the kitchen, Souji had finished preparing a bowl of popcorn and was making his way to the table that was located near the doorway so he could see and hear what was happening in the living room. Harada and Heisuke wasted no time in joining him. The three watched with excited grins for the show to begin.
Ten seconds went by before Shinpachi screamed, and they burst out laughing.
Chizuru was comfortably settled on her bed and writing in her diary when there was a knock at the door.
"Chizuru?" Heisuke's hesitant voice sounded from the other side of the door. She smiled and told him to enter.
Heisuke stepped inside, closing the door behind him. He wore an endearingly nervous smile that made her want to giggle. She moved closer to him as he sat on the edge of her bed. He was twiddling his thumbs and gazing at his lap. Clearly there was something important he wanted to discuss, so she patiently waited for him to speak.
After a minute, he let out a deep breath and looked at her while biting his lower lip."I wanted to ask you something," he said."Would you...maybe wanna go see a movie with me tomorrow? Just the two of us?" She blinked in surprise, and he blushed and held up his hands before he started babbling."It's fine if you don't want to. It can just be a friendly thing or you can say no and no-"
Surprise having been replaced by amusement and gratitude, Chizuru swiftly kissed him on the cheek and giggled when he immediately fell silent. His cheeks became even more red and his lips kept moving without making any sounds. He looked at her, eyes wide and face red. She inclined her head with a kind smile decorating her lips.
"I-Is that a yes?" He stammered.
She bit her lip to keep from giggling again and gave him another peck on the cheek. He looked like he was about to pass out, which amused and worried her. She placed a hand on his shoulder and opened her mouth to speak, but stopped when he put his hand on hers and gave her a smile.
"That is indeed a yes," she said, then added with another giggle,"A double yes, technically."
She wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her chin on his shoulder. He tentatively hugged her waist with his arm and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
They tightened their embraces and sat together in comfortable silence for awhile.