Welcom back and I hope all of you are safe out there! And boy I bet most of you are surprised to see such an early update! I am, I knew I wasn't gonna take as long as before, but I wasn't expecting to finish this chapter in 2 ½ weeks, and this chapter is only 11k too! I am actually proud of those facts, those are always my goals when writing a chapter, finish in 2 weeks and have it less than 15k words if I can help it and in this chapter I accomplished both for the first time! Now I won't waste you time anymore so hopefully you enjoy this chapter, so without further ado enjoy.
Disclaimer: I don't own Steins;gate or it's characters this is purely for fun
December 22, 2012, 19:23:19
Bitterness.
Happiness.
Guilt.
Regret.
In the darkness that was her room Mayuri pondered those words, laying face down on her bed quenching her pillow and staring blankly at the floor. It was night time, but it wasn't late, in fact usually at this time she was wide awake doing something. When she wasn't working usually around this time she would have been in the lab unless her parents had requested her presence in the house, but neither of those reasons applied now. Instead it was more like the lab had closed early today, but even then she doubted she would have stayed as long as she usually did if it was open.
Okabe had given Daru the task of watching over the lab while he was gone and he had given Mayuri the task of making sure Daru didn't go snooping around his stuff. She tried her best, but really there wasn't much to report. Neither really did anything except go through the motion of what they usually did when Okabe was around and beside Yuki visiting for a few hours the two of them spent their time at the lab today in silence. The lab truly felt dead.
At least yesterday the rest of the lab members had gone to the lab and held a quasi roundtable meeting with Daru spearheading it. It wasn't as enjoyable as when Okabe was there though, his presence always a constant source of enjoyment no matter what he was doing or how he was doing it and everyone felt it, even Daru who had been upset at Okabe for the past two days felt it. Life was different without Okabe.
For everyone, but especially for her, she was his hostage, a title that evoked a sentiment of always being by his side no matter what happened or what was gonna happen, her mad scientist would go to the ends of the world to keep his hostage by his side. And she knew it was still true, but... her mad scientist had found himself an assistant.
Someone who was useful and smart, someone who could keep up with everything he said, an assistant who was tailored made for her mad scientist. And even though she knew from the moment she met Kurisu that this day would eventually come it still stung.
And for some reason it reminded her of her grandma. She loved her grandmother dearly and even though she had been gone for a while now, Mayuri still felt there were so many things left unsaid. She never told her how much she loved her as much as she would have liked to, she never told her how much she appreciated her as much as she would have liked to, she never got to tell her how much she meant to her as much as she would have liked to. But Mayuri only realized that after she died.
It was a cruel reality she had learned with her grandma's death. The I love you and you mean so much to me that could always wait for tomorrow eventually became words only herself would hear.
It was during that time soon after her grandma died that Mayuri once had a dream of her to reinforce that regret.
In it, her grandma was sitting in the kitchen table talking to her parents as she walked through the door. But the cruel thing was even in her dream Mayuri knew she was dead, yet as her grandmother smiled warmly at her like she had done so many times before Mayuri couldn't stop herself from believing she was really there. Gingerly Mayuri made her way to her grandma while her parents seemed to fade from existence and the only thing that was real was the smile emanating from her grandma's face. A few feet away the tears swelling in Mayuri's eyes finally burst flowing freely down her cheeks as she smothered herself onto her grandma. In her grandma's arms crying and sobbing, everything she had ever wanted to tell her found themselves escaping her lips, constantly apologizing, telling her how much she missed her and how desperately she wanted her back. The sadness in that dream was just as real as she had ever felt and in the midst of all that crying her grandma had squeezed her tighter and softly hushed her, just like she use to do whenever she was sad. In that moment Mayuri slowly looked up to be met by her grandmother's comforting smile.
It's ok Mayushii, I know
That was the last time she ever dreamt about her grandma and those were the last words she would ever hear in her grandma's voice.
It was cruel that a dream could feel so real, in fact for a few seconds after opening her eyes she thought her grandma would be waiting for her in her house, sitting in the kitchen table chatting away with her parents but reality wasn't as kind. Her grandma wasn't alive and no matter how many tears she shed or how many stars she wished upon nothing was gonna change that fact.
She could clearly recall the bitterness that was those dark days like a cut that never healed.
She was sad, she was angry but most importantly she felt hollow inside. Bouts of sadness were fueled by anger, but she wasn't mad at anyone in particular, in fact you could say she was mad at the world. It was during her grief she realized the world and life weren't fair, a life lesson preached to you from the day you're born till the day you die, but it isn't until something as devastating as losing a loved one do you see it's real meaning. When her grandma passed away the joy of the world vanished yet as she walked through the streets or looked out the window people were smiling and laughing. At first nothing but hatred for them filled her heart, but eventually she came to the realization her grandmother died not theirs. Her joy might have vanished, but for the rest of the world life went on as if nothing happened.
It might have sounded cold hearted, but that was reality. To total strangers her grandma's death meant nothing to them and while they might express sympathy it doesn't mean they empathize with you. The cold truth was you can't truly understand the pain of losing someone unless you loved that person the same way the person who's grieving did, that's why when friends and strangers expressed their condolences she just looked at them, at first with contempt but then with understanding. Her life, not theirs, had been devastated and no matter how much they said they were sorry for her they could turn around able to smile and laugh with one another. She couldn't. During those times she thought no one would ever come to understand what she felt. Her parents had tried, but they were going through the same thing she was and no matter what anyone says death doesn't bring anyone closer. It makes people want to alienate themselves from it and each other because no one wants to talk about it, no one wants to cry in front of each other, no one wants to admit their hurting.
When she would stand all day in front of her grandma's grave, they never asked her why or if she was ok because they themselves stopped functioning as well. Afterall once the tears had flowed from the initial shock of finding her grandma dead and then the funeral, no tears were ever shed together as a family. They all did their own thing to cope with the loss and hers was going to her grandma's grave, hoping. Perhaps it was in the vain hope that one day she would see her, maybe she wanted to join her, maybe she wanted to see her grandma's ghost, or perhaps she simply wished that one day her grandma would come strolling along the sidewalk and the two could walk hand in hand back home like they use to, but to this day Mayuri still didn't know exactly what she was hoping for.
All she knew was while she visited her grandma's grave, she was never alone. Always off to the side and more like a painting then an actual person Okabe was always there, watching her. She didn't speak to him and at first he tried saying a few words, but eventually he stopped and just observed. When she went he went, there were no exceptions, rain, snow, hot or cold he endured whatever she had to endured standing in front of her grandma's grave. At the time she didn't care if he was there or not, he would never understand what she was going through and for a while that was the case.
Until she became his hostage that is.
It was raining that day, pouring infact, when she had visited her grandma's grave and just like he always did soon he was there too, watching her just like he always did. But a peculiar thing happened that day. The clouds had opened directly in front of her grandma's tombstone bathing her and her grandma's grave in a ray of sunshine in the otherwise bleak and grey day. She reached out to it, mindlessly trying to grasp whatever she could without really knowing why when she heard her name and suddenly was wrapped around by the person who called her name. For a brief moment she actually believed it was her grandma, but once again reality wasn't as kind and instead it was Okabe. In all honesty she didn't care and you could say she was even a little annoyed by his actions, but then Okabe did the most unexpected thing.
He cried.
He cried in front of her squeezing her tighter and tighter vowing to never let her go, desperately spouting whatever he could to try and convince her not to leave claiming she was his hostage while he was the mad scientist Hououin Kyouma who never let a hostage go. It was in that frantic scene, lost in the embrace of his ever tightening grip, that she couldn't help but harken back to that dream.
It's ok Mayushii, I know
Okabe held onto to her just like she would have if she'd known her grandma was leaving her.
Okabe was crying because the thought of Mayuri leaving him was too sad.
Okabe was always there because he was afraid of what might happen to Shiina.
But Mayushii was always too sad to notice...
...that Okabe cared for her deeply.
And it was because of him she was able to smile again.
But as she mused in her bed recalling bittersweet memories and thinking about him she couldn't find one to wear.
At dinner her parents had asked why she was unusually quiet and she told them she was tired. At work Faris had asked her why she wasn't acting as cute as she usually did and she told her she was tired. At the lab Daru asked her why she kept looking at the door and she told him she was tired.
In reality she missed him. His laugh. His crazy shenanigans. His presence. She missed him more than she had anticipated because she knew that while this time his leave was only temporary, sooner rather than later he was eventually going to leave her permanently.
But she was happy for him, Mayuri knew how much Kurisu met to Okabe and how much they both loved each other, but she couldn't help but miss him. She wondered if in New York Kurisu was laughing with Okabe or enjoying one of his crazy shenanigans. She wondered if she was smiling being in Okabe's presence right now. She wondered if they had... kissed already, but the thing was that thought made her stomach churn.
She approved of Okabe and Kurisu's relationship, but the thought of him... with another woman, even if it was Kurisu, bothered her more than she would like it to.
And in a selfish way you could say she hated Kurisu. She hated her because she could have the one thing she couldn't.
In a way she figured that's why Okabe made Mayuri a hostage and not his assistant. Hostages are nothing more than a decorative piece in a lab meant to eventually be let go, but an assistant was an important cog in a lab meant to help and be there whenever she was needed forever.
But she could be all that.
Maybe she wasn't as smart as Kurisu.
Maybe she wasn't as pretty as Kurisu.
Maybe her future wasn't as bright as Kurisu's.
But... that didn't matter.
Okabe loved Makise Kurisu.
She made him happy and Mayuri was happy for him even if it broke her heart.
Kurisu was a good person with a good heart and she knew her love for Okabe was immeasurable.
But still...
Looking up to the ceiling now, Mayuri mindlessly palmed her phone and looked at her screen. Just because Okabe loved another woman didn't mean Mayuri couldn't talk to him. So she dialed his number and waited for him to answer.
And as she waited for him to pick up no matter how much her heartache, begging and pleading to say those words she desperately wanted to say since that rainy day in front of her grandma's grave...
"Hello?"
"Tutturu Okarin!"
...She wouldn't.
In way that's why she figured right now reminded her of her grandmother's death. It was only after her death that she realized there were so many words she should have told her while she was alive. Just like there were so many words she should have told Okabe before his heart belonged to another woman.
While she might not have been as smart as Kurisu.
While she might not have been as pretty as Kurisu.
While she might not have been as useful as Kurisu.
While her future may not have been as bright as Kurisu's.
While she loved Okabe Rintaro more than Kurisu ever could.
Okabe Rintaro loved Makise Kurisu.
The I love you and you mean so much to me that could always wait for tomorrow, eventually became words only she herself would hear.
Chapter 3: Ripples made in a pond
December 22, 2012, 7:12:22 AM EST
Okabe hardly if ever went to sleep with a wet pillow, but more often than he would like to admit he would wake up with one. In the darkness that was the 'guest room' he spent the night in, his pillow was nearly soaked all the way through with... drool. It was embarrassing to say the least, not so much the fact he drooled, but because he was in her house with her mother staying over drooling on their pillows. So Okabe did the only reasonable thing in that moment and simply moved his head to the opposite side of the pillow and closed his eyes. He was still dead tired from the flight and to be honest he felt like he was sleeping on a slice of heaven.
For a supposed 'guest room' it was surprisingly comfy, for starters the bed was a king size memory foam cloud ordained in the softest velvet red comforter imaginable and draped over with deep blue silk like sheets, propped up with a thick and study black wooden frame. When Okabe first saw such the lavish display two things crossed his mind either in America guest room meant something totally different than it does in Japan or a certain someone made more frequent visits than they let on, nevertheless Okabe had a very good night sleeping in it and it would have been a great night if it wasn't for that certain someone. Regardless though right now with that comforter thrown over his body and the bed sucking him into the dream world he was beyond cozy, tempting him to stay there all day. But as his eyes closed and sleep started to call him the faintest whiff of bacon caught his attention.
The delicious scent danced around his nostrils and played in his stomach as it growled demanding he find the source. It had been ages since he last woke up to the smell of breakfast being made, especially one that smelled so enticing. So on instinct Okabe propped himself up out of bed and sat down on the edge enjoying the wonderful aroma. Alas it was also in that blissful moment lost in the bacon's aroma that his smile fantasizing about devouring the delicious food, morphed into one that only be described as disappointment.
There were three people in the house and only two that could be responsible for such a smell.
And he seriously doubted the one who could turn a simple sandwich into a biohazard was responsible.
Rubbing his face in angst Okabe simply fell back onto the bed as reality slapped in the face.
After his awkward introduction to Kurisu's mom (whom Okabe decided to dub Ms. M, unbeknownst to Kurisu or her mom) Okabe was bombarded with the reality she wasn't really fond of him. For starters when the pizza boy finally showed up she made Okabe get it, which led to an awkward exchange between the two involving a lot of broken English, uneasy laughter and short a few dollars, that ultimately ended with Kurisu's mom swooping in to save the day by giving the boy the correct amount owed. Immediately afterwards, like as soon as she closed the door getting the pizzas, she berated him for not knowing English too well and then in the same breath, noticing his lab coat, proceeded to ridicule him for wearing a lab coat outside of a lab, calling it childish and immature. Of course Okabe just stood there nodding his head along with everything she said, which she also complained about accusing him of lacking a backbone, but luckily Kurisu tried to quill the hostility between the two.
Of course the key word being try. Her idea of quelling this mess was suggesting they watch the encore of A Christmas story together. Now instead of hostility, the whole house was gassed with awkwardness and discomfort that lasted till the credits rolled, literally between the three of them only four words were uttered during the entire movie, Okabe had sneezed, Kurisu said bless you and he said thank you, while Ms. M didn't even have the courtesy to bless him! Well that was a nitpick, but his point still stood.
But the true cherry on top was the fact they left the pizza cooling in the front room the entire duration of the movie. It was only after the fact Kurisu noticed them on the front room table did they decide to finally eat them, so they gathered around the table and ate the now lukewarm pizzas, which you guessed it Ms. M wasted no time to criticize his sloppy pizza eating going as far as to call it revolting then calling him a fatass for eating six slices. Then to wrap the bow on the gift that kept giving when Okabe informed Kurisu he wanted to go to sleep, Ms. M had bluntly made it known what she thought she had walked into and rudely claimed
"You are not having sex with my daughter tonight."
Leading to Kurisu struggling to say coherently she had no intention of doing so and claimed she was gonna make Okabe sleep on the couch, of course Okabe vehemently agreed with, but Ms. M had other ideas as she insisted she sleep on the couch because,
"The couch is right next to your room Kurisu. So yeah he may go to sleep on the couch, but he'll probably wake up in your bed while I'm alone in the guest room upstairs unaware of all this. I was once young to Kurisu or do you think I'm stupid or something?"
Thus that lead to where we are now, in the guest room contemplating to just fling himself out the window. While the fall probably wasn't gonna kill him anything was preferable than having to face Kurisu's mom again. But alas it was a reality he was gonna have to face sooner rather than later so sighing, deciding to have breakfast with Satan reincarnated, Okabe willed himself up from the bed where he reached for his pants placed on the chair besides his bed and went out the door. The dread he felt was palpable, but if there was one positive thing about it, there was no mistaking Kurisu was her mom's daughter.
And hey on the bright side besides having to get up from such a cozy and relaxing spot, at the least the air smelled like bacon.
As Okabe groggily descended the stairs the voices of the mother and daughter pair were busy arguing away with one another or at least talking with one another very loudly, but Okabe was too tired to care. Midway down he actually yawned a very loud and borderline cartoonish yawn that sent both Kurisu and her mom silent as not even a second later he was greeted with.
"Disgusting. It's bad enough you wake up this late, but it's incredibly rude to yawn while people are eating."
Now Okabe was finally understanding why people hate their mother-in-laws.
"Good morning." And just like probably ninety-nine percent of husbands greeted their mother-in-law Okabe neutrally answered back approaching the table where he found a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon waiting for him opposite of where Kurisu was, who was just rubbing her temples in obvious defeat. As Okabe took his seat he tenderly asked, "Are you alright?"
Without moving an inch and continuing to massage her temples Kurisu spouted, "What do you think?"
Yeah... that was a real stupid question.
"Mr. Okabe, I wanna congratulate you." Ms. M had suddenly spoke up catching Okabe offguard with both the suddenness and content of what she said.
"W-on what?" Okabe asked as his mind shuffled through millions of possible scenarios-
"For being my daughter's first boyfriend."
"Mom!"
"Oh..." Slowly Okabe glanced at Kurisu as they stared at each other for a brief moment before simultaneously, as if they barely processed what had been spoken, exclaimed.
"We're not dating!" The look of utter shock rocked Ms. M's face as she stared dumbfounded at the pair.
It was a sight to behold, the sturdy and confident woman in that moment was reduced to a confused and timid girl with that simple and obvious observation catching Kurisu and Okabe offguard. But that moment of vulnerability soon turned to a serious and concerned look as Ms. M sternly looked at her daughter, ignoring Okabe completely, and exclaimed, "I expected much more outta of you!"
"What?!" Kurisu fired back while her face contorted with confusion.
"Don't play dumb with me!" Kurisu's mom yelled back as she pointed a vicious finger at a now equally confused Okabe. "No wonder you two were acting all awkward! You barely met this guy yesterday didn't you!? My daughter bringing total strangers to her house to have sex with My God!"
"Wait its-"
"I don't wanna hear a word from you!" Ms. M promptly shut up Okabe as he tried clarifying the situation but just as quickly Kurisu jumped in.
"Really?! Is that what you think!" Kurisu spat out as the mother and daughter pair locked eyes before Kurisu pointed at Okabe and exclaimed. "You think I would have sex w-with this scrawny pervert! Just look at him! Thinking about that makes me want to throw up!"
"Hey." Okabe knew Kurisu was trying to defend herself, but damn...she didn't have to hit below the belt.
But her mother seemed less than impressed, "Sure seemed liked it yesterday!"
"Argh! You're impossible!"
"Says the daughter who introduced her one-nighter to her mom, with a less than impressive boner I might add!"
"Hey." Once again Kurisu's mom didn't have to go below the belt... literally.
"I can't believe you mom! I didn't even notice it!"
"Hey." Ok now this was getting ridiculous!
"Regardless have you no shame Kurisu? Bringing this total stranger-"
"We've known each other for two years already so drop it!" Kurisu shouted beet red as she stood up from her seat.
"What! Then why haven't you told me about him!" Ms. M shouted back as she pointed a finger at Okabe now.
"Because. We're. Not. Dating!" Kurisu proclaimed emphasizing each word.
"Excuse me? So do you make out with every friend you have Kurisu? Cause the way you're making it sound is a lot worse than what it appears to be."
"He's different!" Kurisu screamed as the table fell into a pit of silence. It was a horrendous sensation, but it was a familiar one as gently Kurisu turned to Okabe and gave a small warm smile recalling a specific memory before softly uttering, "He... I'm here today... because of him."
That perked Ms. M's interest as she raised an eyebrow shifting her attention at Okabe, whose eyes widened at the sudden words Kurisu had spoken, and simply asked Kurisu, "What do you mean?"
"I... he's... the guy... with dad." The words were reluctant to leave her mouth as they slid out in short burst but they were enough for her mom to understand. Her scowl had somewhat softened a bit as she looked at her daughter with empathy before she turned to Okabe with a more serious look.
"I see... Thank you." The words were sincere and understanding but as they left, her attention shifted back to her daughter where she softly asked, "So... two years then?"
"Yeah... two years." Kurisu answered without much resistance before adding, "We've... been talking."
It wasn't as awkward as what had transpired a few moments ago, but the sincerity in their voices put Okabe on edge as he watched this rough and uncivil conversation turn quiet and heartfelt. It was a little too intimate for Okabe's comfort levels, but as words had worked their way into Okabe's mouth his phone went off. The mother daughter combo turned their attention to him and his ringing phone where Okabe hastily pulled it out from his pocket. Reading the caller ID Okabe's eyes widened seeing Mayuri's name. Thinking the worse he immediately answered it.
"Hello?"
"Tutturu Okarin!"
"Mayuri? What happened?" The words reactively came out of Okabe as both Kurisu and her mom's attention increased at his words. Of course for vastly different reasons.
"Oh nothing." Mayuri sweetly said before she bubbly added, "Mayushii just wanted to talk to Okarin, hehe."
A small and content smiled eased itself onto Okabe's face as he playfully rolled his eyes at her statement saying, "Miss me already? Well that was bound to happen."
In the heat of the moment Okabe had assumed the worst, but when the true nature of the call revealed itself he wasn't surprised at all. Actually you could say he was more surprised at the timing, he figured she would have called a lot sooner. In many ways Mayuri was still his hostage always in the lab, ready to lend a hand or listen to whatever he had to say when no one would. And for Okabe he never truly understood why. The best he could surmise was Mayuri, although not the brightest bulb, was just a good and caring person by nature. She tried her best to help when she could and she tried her best to make everyone happy when she could, she was an amazing person and the heart of their lab. When someone had a problem or needed advice Mayuri would always be there to listen and try to help, that's why Daru had gone to her about his incident with his parents, that's why sometimes when he needed a bit of cheering up he would talk with her. Hell even Kurisu would text her or call her sometimes, something Mayuri accidentally revealed to him.
But, at least for him, in all honesty very rarely would he actually go to Mayuri for real advice. The girl was an airhead and gave very... interesting advice, yet in the same breath when she did manage to make sense she always hit it out of the ballpark. But that was beside the point, the point was Mayuri had an infectious smile and just spending any amount of time with her could wash away any problem or worry. Even now with the reality Kurisu's mom was literally Satan in drag her innocent voice was enough to bring him to ease.
It was just who she was.
"Not just Mayushii, but everyone! Even Daru, who is still mad at Okarin, said today, 'Y'know Mayushii the lab isn't the same without Okarin'! It was so boring Mayushii actually counted every tic the little hand on the clock you have makes. Mayushii counted sixty tics before it goes completely around the clock in a circle!"
That garnered a chuckled from Okabe, but as he looked up there was still the fact he was sharing this moment with Ms. M so politely he leaned forward to Kurisu and simply excused himself while motioning with his eyes toward her mom, "I-um, I'm gonna-"
"Go ahead." Kurisu quickly replied understanding Okabe's desire to get away from her mom as Okabe went outside of the room and more importantly out of earshot. But the easy going smile that had formed on her face mentioning Mayuri soon faded as Kurisu crossed eyes with her mom who was scowling even worse now. "What?"
"Is that his sister?"
"No why?"
"Oh." Her mom uttered with a tone that reeked with an asinine conclusion, but before Kurisu could even suspect what it was, her mother laid it out, "So is that why you two aren't dating?"
"What?" Kurisu knew exactly where this was going even before her mom said those words, but still the shock of hearing it caught her off guard.
"Well if it isn't his relative I assume it's his friend or maybe-"
"It's his friend." Kurisu curtly stated adding, "I know her ok. She's a very good person and-"
"You still didn't answer the question." Undeterred Ms. M remarked interrupting Kurisu who frowned even deeper.
"I don't see how that's relevant." Kurisu spat out as she crossed her arms meeting her mother's scowl.
"Ok, let me put it in different words. Whatever he is to you I assume it's more than just friends. But apparently there's something keeping you two from admitting it amirite?" Ms. M worded smugly while Kurisu continued to just glare at her.
"If you say so." Kurisu scoffed.
"Alright then, first off I say it's odd that while he's with you another girl calls him and he immediately answers without a second thought. Secondly a smile like that doesn't happen between two people who are, 'just friends', if I say so myself." Kurisu's mom shot back as she mockingly raised her hands up in innocence to which Kurisu rolled her eyes at.
"Their like brother and sister. Don't make too much out of it."
"Of course they are. " Ms. M fired back with an eye roll of her own. "You said you know the girl, what does she think of him huh?"
"What are you trying get out of this mom?" Kurisu fiercely questioned as shot daggers at her mom. "You're just trying to make problems that don't exist."
"Problems? If you two aren't dating then what's the problem with me suggesting he's with a another girl?" That did it. That comment right there really rubbed Kurisu the wrong way and Ms. M knew it as she watched her daughter grind her teeth glaring at her, to which Ms. M smirked before adding, "What you have nothing to say to that? Ok let me ask you this then, what's the reason why you two aren't dating and please don't say something stupid I saw enough yesterday to know he's not just a friend."
"I say right now you're the problem." Kurisu viciously spat out her glare never relenting.
Of course her mom didn't expect nothing else from her daughter.
"Avoiding the question." Her mom calmly uttered before tauntingly adding, "If you're not being straightforward with me I'm gonna assume that's his girlfriend and you're the girl on the side."
Maybe it was what she said. Maybe it was the fact she was smirking. But whatever it was Kurisu didn't care.
Fuming Kurisu exclaimed, "There's no reason why we're not dating OK! We're just... not! H-he's just an idiot! An idiot t-that tells you he loves you and not even talk to you for half a year! He's just an idiot that needs everything explained to him! It has nothing to do with Mayuri! Are you happy now!"
Smirking now Kurisu's mom shrugged almost mockingly at her fuming daughter before uttering, "Aye Kurisu. You always make things more complicated."
"Me?! You-"
"I did that because I know you. What you think a mother doesn't know her own daughter? I knew you wouldn't tell me if I asked so I had to bait it out of you. Don't act like you didn't know that."
That slapped Kurisu across the face harder than she expected. In fact for the first time in her life she actually felt... stupid. Not even a second removed it was pretty obvious what she was doing and while she knew her mom well enough to know to a degree she believed in what she was suggesting, the main factor for her mom to keep pushing was in the hope Kurisu would eventually lose her cool and blurt something out. And what bothered her more than the fact she fell for it, was what her mom used against her.
Mayuri and jealously.
She felt like a damn school girl fussing over her crush. There was nothing romantic between Mayuri and Okabe, but... well there's a reason she assumed Mayuri was his girlfriend at first. And even though she knew it was irrational to think something was going on between them with everything she knew now, her mom proved a very ugly point.
The thought of Okabe with another woman didn't... sit well with her. Kurisu assumed she was above such foolish behavior. What she and Okabe had was... different than what other people had, Okabe was different, but her mom... Okabe would never do such a thing and she knew it to be true, but still...
Okabe would never do that... to her... yet an impossible scenario infuriated her.
She was smarter than that.
Or at least she thought she was.
"Look Kurisu, I know I shouldn't tell you those things, but imagine how I feel seeing my only child, my precious daughter, in such a comprising position with a guy I didn't even knew existed. Look I know you're smart and I know you wouldn't be doing these kind of things if you didn't trust him, but as a mother I want what's best for you and I don't want you to get hurt. I know you're inexperienced with these kind of things, but men, and really people in general, will always take advantage of an opportunity, I'm not saying he is, but actions speak louder than words Kurisu. Why aren't you two dating or at least not admitting it? I think it's strange and then you say things like h-he told you he loves you and doesn't talk to you for half a year w-what am I suppose to get from that?"
"You wouldn't understand." Kurisu simply muttered as she crossed her arms and leaned back on the chair.
Sighing Ms. M softy uttered,"Look, whatever you two have going on is your business and I'm not saying he's a bad guy, I'm just saying hold him accountable. Like ask him why this Mayuri called and ask what they talked about, simple-"
"I'm not doing that." Kurisu quickly interrupted as her icy glare returned full force.
"I'm not trying to suggest anything, but how do you think he would feel if a guy just randomly called you? Granted it's not entirely the same, you say she's just a friend and you know her, but if you expect me to believe that you wholeheartedly don't have a problem with her randomly calling your boyfr- him you must be crazy. Jealously is a natural thing, but it can get ugly and the more you bottle it up the uglier it gets."
"Are you saying I'm jealous of Mayuri?"
"No! I'm not. I'm just saying... listen when I was with your father... he had this colleague... she was beautiful, funny and smart, I met her several times and we grew to be distant friends, but because of the nature of his job he spent a lot of time with her. We even double dated a few times where she was always friendly with him laughing at whatever he would say or do- a-and I know talking about your father now is difficult but he was different man back then. But back to my point, you don't think I was at least suspicious of what they were up to at work? You don't think there were times when I wanted to punch her face? Trust me there plenty of times, but your father and I would talk about these sort of things, and once again he was a different man in those days, I told him what I thought and he would the same and yes we argued, but because we would communicate with each other they never were too bad. And from what I see you two aren't exactly forthcoming. Listen Kurisu, forget what I said about Mayuri, if you want a relationship to work communicate."
"I don't see how this concerns Mayuri calling." Kurisu simply stated making her mother roll her eyes.
"Were you listening? It's not a problem right now and it's probably never gonna be problem, but I've been there Kurisu. Right now you two are in la la land everything seems swell and dandy, but once you get mad at each other this moment, this moment when he was having breakfast with you and your mom for the first time and left to talk to another girl, you are gonna remember that. And it's gonna make your blood boil. And because you never bothered to fill in the blanks right now either because your too embarrassed or afraid of what it might be, in that moment you're gonna fill those blanks with the worst you can think of. It's ugly Kurisu take my word, I'm not trying to belittle you or suggest he cheating I want what's best for you and I want your relationship to succeed, but how the hell do you expect it to last if you two can't even admit you're dating?"
"Well you're wrong." Kurisu scoffed. Who did her mother think she was talking to? An idiot? All this because her mom didn't like Okabe how pathetic. It was bad enough she was using Mayuri, but now she was bringing up her father and their marriage. Kurisu was an adult now she didn't need this bullshit especially from her mom. "I know you don't like him, but I know the kind of person Okabe is and I know the kind of girl Mayuri is, so that problem you keep saying that is waiting to happen, give me a break."
The look Kurisu's mom wore as her daughter uttered those words wasn't one of understanding or anger instead it was a bitter smile that wrapped around her face as she shook her head and chuckled, "You know Kurisu for being so smart you can be so thick headed at times, though I guess I have only myself to thank for that."
"Hmph, I learned from the best." Kurisu jabbed back and like that the tension between them began slowly unraveling after a short pause where the two stared at one another in silence before sharing a soft chuckle utmost each other.
"That you did. Let's change the subject shall we talking about your father gave me the hibby-jibbeys." Her mother lightly said as Kurisu nodded in agreement. "Your friend, while I think he's an idiot I will admit he's pretty handsome."
That came out of nowhere as Kurisu literally dropped her jaw once the words left her mother's mouth before face palming and nearly crying out.
"Aye, mom really? That's the first thing you're gonna say after all that?"
"He's a handsome guy, what you don't think so?"
"O-of course I don't! H-he's... ok he's decent looking, but you better not tell him I said that!" Kurisu proclaimed pointing a finger at her mom who chortled at her daughter's antics.
"Still the same as ever Kurisu. So I take it, if you two met during... that time, he's from Japan?"
"What gave it away? His lack of speaking English or his looks? But yeah actually he barely came yesterday from over there and before you ask this wasn't my idea or his, it was one of Professor Leskien's pranks." Kurisu deadpanned making her mother shake her head at the professor's name.
"Of course. And why do I have a feeling Amadeus is involved?" Ms. M replied as Kurisu nodded in agreement. "That man sure is treading the line of legality right there, but how in the world did he do it? The school wouldn't allow their creation to be used recreationally and I seriously doubt Amadeus would do that if you asked."
"I honestly don't know. I've been thinking about it and he must have done something to the codes, there's no other way to explain it. Okabe told me Amadeus called him about four days ago and informed him about this trip, but I'm pretty sure all this was hastily done on purpose." Kurisu explained as mentally she tried conceiving any possible reason and scenario of why Amadeus would do such a thing.
Deep in thought Ms. M quickly pointed out, "That sounds like him, but how did he know about your boyfriend, when I didn't even know about him?"
"He's not my boyfriend!" Kurisu loudly clarified, but as she processed her mom's question a blush crept onto her face as she recalled that day in the break room. "Well about that... he did accidentally talk to Okabe-"
"Accidentally?"
"Yeah. I was in the break room when he called, even though I constantly told that idiot not to call me when I'm at work, and Leskien overheard and kinda of... took my phone and talked to him." Kurisu eecked out while her mother looked at her daughter in confusion.
"He... took your phone?"
"Yeah, it's a long story and I guess he took a liking to him-"
"Why do you say that?"
I AM THE EVIL DOCTOR CHARON!
"T-that's not important." Kurisu worded as the awkward memory of Leskien and Okabe shouting at each other through her phone in the middle of the break room assaulted her mind. "He must have done some digging and found his phone number or simply used Amadeus to get his info, and set everything up. And of course Okabe being the idiot he is fell for it-"
"So what he just randomly showed up at your door yesterday and you two started making out?"
Just as the words entered Kurisu's ears she quickly jumped in her seat turning crimson and quickly exclaimed.
"No! W-what's wrong with you!" That was the stupidest thing she ever heard! But she literally couldn't lie to her mom's face when she clearly saw the aftermath of their intense, hot... passionate... ok Kurisu had to stop herself she even felt herself getting hot recalling the specific memory, so trying her best she stuttered in disgust, "I-it didn't happen like that ok! We-we just didn't make out... we watched a movie and-"
"Please don't tell me you were watching a Christmas story when you two made out." Ms. M deadpanned shaking her head.
"O-of course not! We accidentally bumped the remote when we were- argh! It wasn't because I was into it or anything! We bumped the remote because- his tongue! It was-I was uhh, he-he, stop looking at me it's making me confused!" Kurisu screeched as she realized she was admitting to her mom more than she would have liked to, it was one thing to be making out, but to literally be telling your mom you were rolling around the couch raming your tongue in your not-boyfriend's mouth was too much. "J-just forget it let's talk about something else!"
"No no, I wanna hear more about your boyfriend's tongue."
"He's not my boyfriend!"
"Is-is this a bad time?" Finally materializing was the man in question as Okabe stood at the archway dumbfounded by what had transpired between the mother and daughter pair. Only a few mintues ago he could hear them shouting at each other with enough vigor that Mayuri even asked if everything was alright. So when Okabe walked in on Kurisu blushing clearly embarrassed and her mom asking about his tongue while smirking at her daughter, you could say Okabe was a little more than shocked.
Nearly jumping out of her seat Kurisu suddenly spat out, "Okabe! H-how long were you there?!"
"I just finished, but... I can go back if you're not done talking with your mom." Okabe calmly replied to which Kurisu viciously shook her head turning her attention towards her mom.
"We weren't talking about anything right mom!"
"Actually we were just discussing about how you were making out with my daughter." Both Okabe and Kurisu turned slowly to look at Ms. M with varying degrees of discomfort before suddenly Kurisu jumped out of her seat.
"H-H-Hey Okabe let's go shopping!" Kurisu hurriedly proclaimed as she quickly marched her way to Okabe grabbing him by his arm and escorted him to the door.
"What? H-hold on Christina!" Okabe pleaded loudly as Kurisu was practically dragging him. For being so small Kurisu was actually stronger than she looked and essentially was man handling Okabe who was haplessly being dragged across the hallway.
"Let's go!" Kurisu once again exclaimed as with one final heave pushed Okabe infront of her almost making him slam face first into the door.
Taken back and slightly disoriented Okabe hesitantly opened the door looking uneasily at Kurisu, but turning his head to go through the door he came face to face with some blonde white guy in a suit. The frantic nature of what was transpiring in the house came to a screeching halt as Okabe and the man stared at each other, Okabe with a face of confusion and question, while the white dude wore an intial expression of shock that turned to a warm smile. The two remained liked that for a few seconds in utter silence until the blonde guy's bewildered expression soon turned to an unbearably wide grin that could only be described as unfiltered joy.
"Hey boy, what's up!" And with that the man sprung himself onto Okabe bringing him for an embrace, one that someone might give to an old buddy or a spouse after coming home from war, but alas Okabe found himself being crushed by this weirdos hug.
Gasping for air Okabe managed to squeeze out, "I'm- fine- who are you?!" While he struggled trying to break free from the strangers grasp, but as the words came crashing out of his mouth Kurisu stared blankly at a scene straight out of her nightmares..
"Dr. Lesk-"
"Shhhhh!" The blonde man quickly hushed lifting a finger to his mouth before once again closing his eyes as he continued to hug Okabe. Finally, after a long and awkward second, he let go of Okabe, where the pair came face to face. "Lintalo, it is an honor to finally meet you!"
Taken back and slightly crept out Okabe uneasily stared at this man speaking broken Japanese and uttered, "W-who are you?"
Those words deflated the eager and ecstatic look the man had, but just as quickly an impossibly stupid grin bounced from one ear to another while an incredibly loud laugh escaped his lips, "Oh Lintalo how could I have forgot we never met formally! But tell me you do know this!"
As the words left the weird guys mouth he suddenly jumped backwards turning his back to Okabe who instinctively began to shield Kurisu fearing the worse when the odd man started laughing.
"HAHAHAHAHAH! MY GREATEST FOE HAS WALKED STRAIGHT INTO MY TRAP HOW CARELESS AND STUPID OF HIM! BUT THE MOST HEINOUS CRIME HE HAS COMMITTED WAS FORGETTING WHO I AM!
With that the man quickly jumped around facing Okabe and Kurisu once again.
IT IS I, THE DESTROYER OF WORLDS, THE BOATMAN OF STYX, AND THE BRINGER OF CHAOS ON EARTH, THE EVIL DOCTOR CHARON!"
The words were accompanied by an exaggerated and unnerving pose, which as Okabe watched realized were oddly similar to his. In that moment the fear and confusion of some random pervert feeling him up or attacking them vanished as a wide and intense smile bounced off Okabe's face as Hououin Kyouma took control of his senses. Wasting no time a maniacal laugh sprang from Hououin Kyouma's lips.
"MUAHAHAH! DOOOCTOOOR CHARON! WE FINALLY MEET IN PERSON! ALAS THE ORGANIZATION HAS SENT A SEMI COMPETENT GOON JUST TO BE EASILY DONE AWAY WITH, BY THE MAD SCIENTIST HOUOUIN KYOUMA. OH HOW I LOOK FORWARD TO CRUSHING YOU! MUAHAHAH!"
"THE ORGANIZATION! HAHAHAH! DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH! MY EVIL AND VILENESS IS UNPARALLELED, DR. CHARON IS NOT BOUND BY MORTAL BOUNDARIES, I HAVE NO LIMIT TO MY POWER! HAHAHAH!"
"ONLY A FOOL WOULD UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF A TRUE MAD SCIENTIST SUCH AS MYSELF! BASK IN MY GLORY AND I MIGHT GRANT YOU A PAINLESS DEMISE!"
"DR. CHARON KNEELS BEFORE NO MAN! AND IT IS YOU HOUOUIN KYOUMA WHO IS DOOMED- OH WHAT'S THIS YOU'RE APPROACHING ME?!"
"I CAN'T KICK YOUR ASS WITHOUT GETTING CLOSER!"
"WELL THEN HOUOUIN KYOUMA BRING IT!"
As Okabe and Dr. Leskien began circling around one another right outside Kurisu's door she could only stare, too... shocked to even know exactly what she was feeling. At first she was angry, then she was embarrassed and now it was like all the pain had numbed away and she was left with the vivid flashbacks of that faithful day in the break room, hell she didn't even notice that her mom had joined her in the hallway watching the freak show.
"Seems like I was right. He's handsome but a total idiot, you sure know how to pick'em Kurisu." Her mom mockingly said making Kurisu growl out.
"Shoot me please."
"Dr. Leskien!" And booming through the childish laughter and playful banter between Professor Leskien and Okabe was Judy Reyes who was standing a few feet back of Leskien whose face upon hearing her voice quickly turned to one of pure disappointment. "Please have you forgotten why we are here?"
Looking like a child who has been grounded and fighting back tears Leskien cleared his throat and straighten his suit before saying, "Yes, umm... We actually came here to give this to you Kurisu. It's your ticket to the end of the year banquet."
Reaching into her purse Judy Reyes produced the white and powered blue colored ticket as she held it out showcasing it to Kurisu.
"Oh but... I already have my ticket." Kurisu softly said taken back by the odd reason, but her concern only grew as Leskien released an exaggerated groan before snatching the ticket away from Ms. Reyes to examine it.
"Noooo! This is bad right Judy!?" Leskien cried out as he turned to his handler who shook her head in agreement. "We printed an extra ticket by mistake! What are we- hey I know Lintalo would you like this ticket?"
"I-"
"Great here you go!" With that suddenly Leskien grabbed Okabe's hand and placed the ticket into his palm.
"Wait a minute!" Kurisu hurriedly shouted as she took a vicious step forward and snatched the ticket away from Okabe using it to point at the professor. "You can't give these tickets away! We order them months in advance and their reserved only for people working or studying under the neurology department!"
Just as the words escaped Kurisu's mouth the sight of a smirking Leskien slapped her across the face as a horrible and stupidly painful thought crossed her mind. Wasting no time Kurisu quickly examined the ticket and trapped within in the white and powered blue color scheme of the ticket in bright golden letters was his name.
Rintaro Okabe
"God Dammit Leskien! That's why you wanted to push back the banquet to tomorrow!" Kurisu proclaimed as everything began making sense. The banquet in itself was little more than a glorified Christmas party mixed with annual awards, like best professor or best research team and useless stuff like that. But unlike this year, the event was usually held on the last week of the winter semester, on the last Sunday. This year Leskien had pushed for it to be closer to Christmas due to a scheduling conflict that couldn't be ignored and as Kurisu began realizing the truth it hit her like a ton of bricks. He started advocating for a later date almost immediately after that call in the break room.
That was two months ago! This man has been planning this for two months!
"What? No just a coincidence." Leskien innocently said making Kurisu fume even more.
"Then why does it say his name!" She shouted pointing once again at a confused Okabe.
"It does? Must have been a typo, but since it does have his name on it, technically it is his so why not bring him along!"
"Shut up!" Kurisu yelled, not believing this nightmare was growing into her own personal hell. "You were planning this all this time! You motherfu-"
"Kurisu." And breaking the soon to be public disturbance was Ms. M who walked up to her daughter and placed a hand on her shoulder saying, "We should take off right now while the stores are still empty."
"What are-"
"You said you wanted to go shopping so let's go."
"Ahh Ms. Makise beautiful as ever." Leskien slyly complimented as Kurisu's mom finally made herself know to them and not looking too pleased with the college professor.
"That's my ex-husbands name Professor." She immediately corrected as she politely bowed and said, "Now if you excuse us we have Christmas shopping to do."
"Oh ok well if-"
"No you can't tag along." Ms. M quickly shot down before he could even suggest the idea before turning to a frozen Okabe and said, "You too. God only knows what you'd do in my daughter's house by yourself."
December 22, 2012, 10:48:48 AM EST
"A Harold Myers your wife is waiting for you in customer services, a Harold Myers your wife is waiting for you in customer services."
"God damn woman! Can't go five minutes without her thinking I'm lost!" The shopping was... interesting to say the least. "Damn old lady thinks I got dementia or something! You there, don't get married and if ya do divorce her before she starts sagging!"
"Ahhh Ok." It was especially interesting that this encounter with an elderly man screaming and cussing wasn't the weirdest thing that had happened to Okabe today, but it was the most noteworthy thing since they entered the store three hours ago.
To say the shopping was boring would be the biggest understatement of the year. Right now Okabe realized shopping with a mother, regardless of whose mother, was horrible. Each aisle was gone over as if they were a forensic team invistaging a homicide leaving no stone unturned, or in this case no hangar untouched. And once that hangar was either in Kurisu's or her mother's hand it was gonna be a while till it either went back on the rack or in the basket. Literally they would go over to a blouse pick it up then go back and forth whether to buy this blouse or not for an ungodly amount of time before picking up another blouse and repeating the same thing before picking up another blouse doing the same thing. It felt like literal hours before they would either come to the conclusion to buy all the blouses they picked up or none of them at all. There was no in between.
The worst part of it was for Kurisu the blouses she had a hard time choosing between were literally the same as that white shirt she always wore! And it wouldn't have been so bad if they asked for his opinion, but Kurisu made it clear he was not to even look at her while she discussed fashion with her mom so he was left to stand awkwardly to the side, with Kurisu occasionally telling him not to gawk at anything.
But what was kinda scary was this was eerily similar to what his mother had made him endure as a child whenever she dragged him along for a shopping spree.
But luckily, for his sanity, he actually found himself alone wandering the department store while Kurisu and her mom were trying on some clothes. And while he was still bored outta his mind at least he had the freedom to wander at his own leisure, of course just like when he was a child shopping with his mom, he couldn't stray too far. Both Ms. M and Kurisu made it clear they didn't trust him leaving the department store and exploring more of the mall. But the thing was the section of the department store they were in was mainly for clothes... women clothes in particular, from lingerie to overalls you name it they had it so you could imagine how uncomfortable Okabe felt when he would do a few laps around the store and a some people seeing him just gave him dirty looks. He didn't blame them he was a dude strolling through the women's only side of the department store alone. But there were some other guys by themselves as well wandering the store each looking like they rather be anywhere but here, except for two guys who batted their eyelashes at Okabe before turning to one another whispering in each other ears before turning their attention back at Okabe giggling.
They were probably laughing at his lab coat, but either way there wasn't much to say. It was a bore as he made his twenty fifth lap around the store and he only started counting well into a few laps. But it was during the encounter with that old man when something caught his attention as he stopped and looked at the scene the old man was making.
There in the center of the store encased in a glass box was... a bracelet. It wasn't anything too extravagant, but it caught his eye with the unique ornamental pieces that hung off of it. There were things like soccer balls, babies, hearts, monuments it was the strangest thing he had ever seen, but it was also the most interesting thing he saw. It was-
"Hello there sir, interested in a Charm bracelet today?" Without even realizing it Okabe found himself almost pressing his face into the glass box looking at the piece of jewelry, where a woman no older than he was, was standing to his side, smiling and talking to him.
"Oh...errr- Sharm- b'ace'ret?" Okabe carefully worded as he pointed at the unique jewelry.
For her part once he spoke those words you could easily tell she was caught offguard by his broken English but she hid it well as she smiled a wider smile and said, "Ahhh, si, esta es...uno, sorry senior I no ha'blo mucho Spanish."
"N-no, Japanese." Okabe hurriedly explained lifting his hands to empathize his point, which didn't really seem to ease the employee either way. She still looked unsure and a little anxious as she just stared at Okabe.
"Oh, ok. So can you understand me than if I speak English?"
"Uhhh... yes!" Okabe proclaimed a little to exaggerated to instill any confidence to the employee as he smiled awkwardly at her before adding, "Bu'ta... s'row, pl'ase"
"Alright." She eagerly stated while her smile seemed to return as she brightly went over to the box and opened it with a key, taking out the unique bracelet.
"Ok. This... is an... infinity knot bangle bracelet." She slowly worded as she held it out to Okabe who nodded his head giving her the ok to continue. "See these... these are charms... you put them on... for important stuff... like when you fall in love or... have a baby... as long as... it's meaningful to the person... you can put whatever you want."
"Ah, y'es yes?" Okabe nodded and exclaimed once again a little too unconvincing but the employee didn't seem to mind too much.
"It's a wonderful gift... for a girlfriend or someone special." The employee said adding, "Do you want to buy it?"
Buy it? Well for Okabe he without a doubt understood that part and for the majority of it understood the gest of the bracelet... but did he want to buy it?
...
Yes... yes he did.
"Ahhh, OK." Okabe simply stated before asking, "Ahhh, money? Cost?"
"Oh the price?" The girl replied while Okabe nodded. "One hundred dollars plus tax, without any charms of course they are sold separately. We have some if you-"
Okabe literally gagged hearing that number as he repeated, "One hundred do'rars?"
"Yes. If you want you can-"
"N-no, so'ry no lot money." Okabe hurriedly explained as he could hear his wallet give a sigh or relief. It wasn't so much he didn't want to spend that much money rather he just didn't have enough money to, so he shamefully watched while the kind employee put the bracelet back in the box as the two bid farewell and he resumed his wandering.
Okabe would be lying if he said that didn't dour his mood even more. That encounter brought the fact he still hadn't got anything for Kurisu for the holidays. While a blouse or shoes were always an option Okabe wanted something... more. The last gift he gave her was her own personal fork, which by itself wasn't too impressive but what it meant to her was worth more than gold and Okabe felt if he wanted to give her a gift it had to mean something.
Maybe he was overthinking it or maybe he was just being unreasonable, but he wanted to do something... unique. Something that said he thought long and hard about what to give her, in other words a real meaningful gift. Sure a bracelet wasn't exactly the most unique thing out there, but what he could do with that certain bracelet was limitless. A bracelet that you can put important events on was way better than anything he could come up with at the moment and he was on short notice too so it wasn't like he had a lot of options. But the truth was he wasn't exactly loaded at the moment.
Sure he had enough money to buy the gift, but it would take a big chuck of what he had brought to spend and if he did he still had to think how was he gonna ration the rest of his money until he would go back home, which was in two weeks. So there was that and there was the fact next month he also was gonna have to pay rent so he didn't want to spend from that pile either and he also seriously didn't want to ask his parents or anyone else for help or scurry around Akihabara looking around for an odd job to do once he was back in Japan. Being tight on money sucked, moreso when your not-girlfriend has way more money than you. And just to rub salt on the wound Kurisu probably, most likely got him something for Christmas so him not doing so was just unacceptable. He had to get her something and sure there were cheaper options but he wanted that bracelet, he wanted to give her that. He felt with what he had and the time he had to plan this it was the best thing he could get her.
But he guessed he was gonna have to get something like shoes or maybe a turtleneck, yeah she looked-Argh
What was he saying! So what if he spent most of his money today it was for her afterall and what else was he gonna spend his money on anyway! And if he needed to dip into his rent so what, Daru and Mayuri would without a doubt help him out because the lab was just as important to them as it was to him! And so what if he couldn't repay Kurisu the favor and take her out on a date! He was gonna get her that charm bracelet!
"Oh, hello there sir."
"T'he Sharm b'ace'ret." Quickly and almost frantically Okabe-
"Oh sorry sir. Just as you left someone else bought the last one, sorry would you like to browse another item?"
And just like that a sinking feeling developed in his gut. It wasn't really anything except disappointment really and while the news deflated his resolve it wasn't the worse thing that could happen.
"Oh... t'ats fine, t'ank you."
Well at least he tried. Maybe he could try another time and there was always Mayuri to ask what she thought he should give Kurisu, afterall she was the one that pointed him to the direction of buying Kurisu her own personal fork so maybe lightning can strike twice.
But for now Okabe was back to wandering the store bored out of his mind, but hey at least he could ponder what he would have put on that bracelet if he would have given it to her. He could only imagine what she would say, but oh well some other time he guessed.
And there was also the question about that ticket for that banquet. Kurisu held onto it and she really didn't want to talk about it in the ride to the store and refused to let him see it so there was that-
"A Okabe Rintaro please report to customer services. A Okabe Rintaro please report to customer services."
A/N
First off I wanna give myself a pat on the back for keeping this chapter under 15k words, the previous word count for the shortest chapter, with no A/N this chapter sits at almost exactly 11k. This chapter was the most fun to write and I think is the best chapter so far, but that's my opinion. I am extremely pleased with the word count as I feel it isn't too long, but it's not too short of course I knew from the beginning this chapter was gonna be shorter because I really didn't have much going on in this chapter. Now back for the real A/N, I'm pretty sure most of you were caught offguard with that beginning from what it was about to how serious it was and I agree, but I do think Mayuri is to an extent that attached to Okabe. I haven't seen anyone bring this up but in the ending of the anime when Mayuri encourages Okabe to keep trying to save Kurisu, for me personally as in my opinion so if you have a different interpretation that's cool, it looks like she wants to cry just mentioning Kurisu. It's like the thought that Okabe's heart belongs to someone else really does affect her a lot. And yes I know there's others factors into why she would be like that, but if you see the scene once she brings up Kurisu she pauses, looks down while her eyes water a little bit before she continues encouraging him.
And then there was Kurisu and her mother's talk, originally their conversation was going to be much more lighthearted with the same topic, but as I was writing it I decided to change it because I don't think any parent would appreciate if their daughter's apparent boyfriend, who both claim are not dating, were to be getting calls at random from another girl. I mean Kurisu's mom only knows as much as they tell her and both of them aren't exactly willing to admit their feelings to one another let alone other people so for me at least it is understandable why she would be making all those assumptions. Which leads to another topic Leskien. I was just waiting for him to finally make an appearance because like Faris I find writing him and his antics extremely fun, so expect more of him in the future chapters.
For the next chapter it most likely will be longer than this chapter, but certainly not 20k, I feel that's too long for one single chapter and if I do surpass that number when I'm writing I am pretty sure I will break it down to two parts this time. That's about all so I wanna thank you all for reading this story, when I started I didn't think it was gonna get as much attention as it is especially considering this is my second attempt at a multi chapter story and my third story overall on this site, but what really encourages me moving forward with this story is you guys support and what excites me is, so far, the number of people who read the first chapter also read the second. To me that tells me people wanna see where this story goes and hopefully that trend continues with this chapter, that's all for this chapter and once again thank you all for reading and hopefully you enjoyed this chapter, adios.