"Just because you don't understand something doesn't mean it's nonsense." - Lemony Snicket

Chapter 7

As she casually walked herself home during the early hours of the evening, Ruri couldn't stop picturing out that particular moment stored at the back of her generally intelligent mind over and over like a severely broken mix tape; And it feels absurdly annoying and undeniably beautiful at the same time. If that statement alone isn't odd enough on its own, the bespectacled lass didn't feel even the slightest flare of wrath as she saw their delicate lips clash.

Sure, her precious best friend, who she had faithfully rooted for all this time, inevitably lost the battle of love to one of her most closest friends in a single landslide. But despite being the first to gain the knowledge of that painful truth, she decided to let things flow by their own accord. After all, the final outcome of this seamlessly complex romantic ordeal solely depended on the feelings of a certain dense boy. To sum it all up in one go, it all depended on the ever changing course of the human will to choose whatever is the most favorable factor.

After all, what kind of peculiar right does she exactly possess in order to deliberately question the universally ancient and unchangeable law that is the existence of free will? Such an omnipresent system is undeniably the inevitable cause of a lot of irreversible things done through the ongoing course of history, but even though the bespectacled lass had the absolute freedom to deny the fact, she passively chose not to.

With that tiresome inconvenience of a task ultimately scratched off the moderately long bucket list, the only dutiful thing Ruri needed to do at this point is to straight out tell Kosaki the horribly ugly truth. But the real problem lies within the proposed action itself; what if accomplishing her honest duty as a friend completely destroys the gentle brunette to no avail? Based on her own analytical, personal, logical and psychological understanding of the shy and sensitive lass, the odds of that ever happening would probably sit around the notably above average marks of 80% and beyond.

Yup, it's definitely going to happen. Without a single doubt setting within the depths of her constantly beating heart, she knows all too well that it's going to be a dreaded reality, and beyond that stoic expression on her pale face and her emerald green eyes lies a deeply worried young lady on the verge of shamelessly breaking down. Sure, it wasn't her loss; but it oddly felt like it was. It's like all that saved energy the latter had willingly invested on being Kosaki's ever supportive romantic protege plainly was for nothing.

And to think that overstaying at the school's library right after class and eventually witnessing a mutual love confession between the previously fake couple on the way to retrieving her bag immediately triggered those negative thoughts like that of a simple light switch.

Ruri would've easily brought her dreaded bag along with her to prevent that so-called 'accident' from ever happening right in front of her glass coated eyes. But unfortunately, she's no psychic. It's not like the petite lass can actually foresee what lies ahead of her. Such a preposterous idea couldn't help but make her giggle as if she had just cracked up a really funny yet unfunny kind of joke.

Deliberately placing those humanly deep thoughts and regrets aside like a scattered pile of assorted poker chips, she continued to walk through the busy streets like how a normal person should, tightly clutching her school bag against her chest like it was in fact a moderately large and fluffy stuffed animal.

The concept of love...I don't really get it. Why does everybody around me take it rather seriously? Why does society chose to glorify it? Why does it influence a lot of people to do the most idiotic and craziest things? Sometimes I'm ashamed to even classify myself as a human. The bespectacled lass thought to herself as she shamelessly passed through the opened gates of the local church right in the middle of a grandiose wedding ceremony.

Seriously. It's like the world wanted to properly educate me about the complex subject in a subliminally practical manner. She gently snorted.

There's absolutely no need for you to do this to me. I can, without fail, thoroughly study about it by myself. And besides, my life long dream of becoming a famous psychologist and translator would be entirely unsatisfying if you would just directly spoon feed me like a highly dependent child.

With her words unshaped and unheard, Ruri wasn't mentally speaking to herself. In fact, she was actually sharing her honest thoughts and opinions to the world itself, as if the latter was literally attempting to personally scold it for being too convenient for her. Well, it's not like passing through a fully packed up church amidst an important religious ceremony was a convenience. It was, in fact, a mild embarrassment which she herself could afford to pass off within a matter of seconds.

"There's no law that says you can't go after someone just because he's already in love with someone else." Her verdant, glassy eyes abruptly expanded as she randomly recalled her very own words as well as the particular memory associated with it like a double package. What the hell am I thinking? The witty little runt blankly thought as she gradually stopped dead on her own tracks.

Am I unintentionally turning myself into a shameless hypocrite?

"If you have to beg someone to be in your life, they don't belong there." - Mandy Hale

The insides of her deeply sunken, fragile heart felt like an empty glass vase; Naturally hollow, lifelessly cold, and ready to break at a moment's notice.

Kosaki Onodera sat at the edge of her unkempt bed with silent, seemingly endless bitter tears continuously flowing out of her watery chocolate-brown eyes. She deliberately neglected the heavily routine thought of changing her slightly tattered uniform, which was odd, considering that the gentle brunette always changes to her adorable house clothes the very moment she steps into her own isolated world that is her bedroom.

"Do you love her more than me?"

The answer to that embarrassing yet arrogant question was clearly obvious from the moment his dark-indigo eyes widened with utter surprise. The way he eagerly nodded in response to her words made her feel like she had just drenched herself with a heavy iron bucket filled with ice-cold water. It burns; The feeling of her constantly flowing blood abruptly heating up in order to adjust to the merciless coldness birthed from the heavily concentrated liquid touching the smooth surface of her snow-white skin.

Sure, there wasn't a bucket of ice to begin with, nor did she actually bathe herself in it like that of a reckless oaf. In fact, the scary thing is that a single pair of simple yet brief words which immediately escaped the beansprout's mouth from the tip of his tongue made her taste it otherwise. Well, it cannot be considered as an indirect French kiss, as much as the brunette desperately hoped for it to be.

"I do."

The tone in his voice never budged, even for the smallest bit, like that of a solid boulder amidst a seamlessly flowing stream. But the physical indicators of his highly expressive eyes remained astonished as they were since she last spoke to him a few seconds ago during that particular moment in time. Deep within the darkest depths of her heart, Kosaki wanted the outcome to change, like that of a visual novel. She wanted the beansprout to tell her that he loves her, and that he would never let her go no matter what the cost. Those were the words the brunette dangerously wished for more than anything else in the world.

Fuck. If only she could undo the past and change everything from point zero, things wouldn't have ended up like this; like a disastrous pile of bent and broken steel that is the site of a train wreck. If only she would convey her true feelings for him without hesitating and spacing out before Chitoge greedily steals him away, they would've been dating now, sending each other flirtatious text messages and sensually locking lips when the situation calls for it.

If; A single syllable word which is mainly associated with the idea of various imaginary possibilities and plans that are yet to be realized and not that of supernaturally foreseen events that would most likely happen in the distant future. That sucks, considering that she'd regretfully thought of the irritating word over a dozen times without stopping. Would it literally destroy the universe if she would just snag the golden opportunity to spend the rest of her days with Raku Ichijou?

Why would she be even thinking that way? It's not like the entire galaxy solely revolves and focuses itself around someone as insignificant as her. If so, the world around her would be literally falling apart within a matter of extremely short yet tirelessly grueling seconds. No, the way the brokenhearted lass envisions things isn't actually the question which was set in mind. After all, why would Kosaki afford to continuously fall in love with a guy that never came after her when she ran like the brunette had seen the darkest depths of hell itself?

She couldn't help but sob bitterly, as if a huge chunk of her being died along with some of her delicate facial cells due to all of that crying she made. Pointless, isn't it? Kosaki couldn't go anywhere with the man she loves if the pale lass continues to sit there dormant, devoid of doing anything that could potentially mitigate her big fat emotional problem.

How could she possibly make a huge difference with the seemingly merciless and dense beansprout after the grand fiasco she had unknowingly birthed out? It's like the brunette regretfully smeared a large pasty pile of assorted mashed potatoes against the internationally acclaimed Mona Lisa with her bare hands, and of course, it feels absolutely horrible. Irreversible. Irredeemable. Not to mention extremely idiotic...kinda like how everyone else sees him, in a way.

"Why do you always have to pop out at the most inappropriate times, Ichijou-kun?" The deeply crestfallen brunette blurted out as her voice sounded mildly hoarse and severely broken. Sure, he couldn't hear anything coming straight out of her quivering mouth due to the undefinable distance between them, but she couldn't resist the urge to speak to him, even if he isn't present in the room at that very moment.

"Why can't you just go after me?..."

For some highly ambiguous reason, Haru Onodera couldn't stop thinking about her brave and gallant prince. 'Gallant', eh? More like wimpy, out-worldly dense and shy. 'Brave'? Well, he did save her butt more than once, like how a typical knight in shining armor frequently rescues his trapped and vulnerable princess from the treacherous clutches of a ferocious fire breathing dragon and an ancient evil overlord.

He may look pretty average and sup bar for a high school crush, and that a lot of guys in this vast world that look a hundred times better than him, but his radiant smile is what never ceases to make her young heart flutter every single time. If she could only had the luxury of time to look at him rather closely, the mini brunette could subtly notice his well chiseled form, like he was literally sculpted out from scratch by a famous artist. But what deeply transcends the bean sprout's mundane physical limits is his peerless chivalry. And the funny thing is, that distinct redeeming quality of his what actually makes him all the more attractive than that of a really dreamy super model in her smokey-brown eyes.

What the hell?

Why is she even affectionately daydreaming about the adorable idiot like the latter practically belonged to her first? Isn't he supposed to be her future brother-in-law if things would undoubtedly work out between him and her beloved older sister? Well, it would be incredibly awkward and sad if she eventually attends their wedding sometime in the near future, sitting at the front-most seat of the church, nearest to the decorated altar, clad in a glossy white gown...witnessing the technically engaged star-crossed couple exchanging a pair of repeated vows and sharing an irrevocable and climactic kiss to officially seal the deal.

If that scenario alone makes her sister unbelievably happy, then why wouldn't she be? After all, Haru isn't the even first one who've got to know a lot about him to begin with. And plus, he doesn't even consider her as a fully fledged woman in his eyes. But the question is...how would she even know?! Recently, the mini brunette began subtly enhancing her overall appearance. By doing her glorious, messy and long dark-brown hair more often than usual, gently massaging her breasts every time she goes into the bathroom to make them look more noticeable, delicately painting the smooth surface of her long glossy nails like a blank canvas...

Eh?

Is she subconsciously competing with her saintly and universally admirable big sister? Not that she even stood a fighting chance, though. Sure, Haru literally won against her at the school's annual beauty pageant in a landslide, with the use of a frilly wedding dress that took time to slide into as her greatest trump card, and even getting to steal the last dance with guy she unfortunately has a huge crush on beside the enormous bonfire that greatly lit the school's grounds like a giant paper lantern, but that still doesn't prove anything. In the end, it all depended on the upperclassman's genuine feelings, and of course, he obviously has a thing for the gentle and captivating young maiden named Kosaki Onodera.

But of course, Haru did took the personal pledge to fully support her to the bitter end when it comes to accomplishing the latter's romantic dreams, but something feels really off about the idea of doing so. It's like the mini brunette is deeply regretting every single word she confidently uttered out during that time, but that doesn't mean she's indirectly betraying her sister's indispensable trust...right?

Now there she was, nervously standing still in front of the blank wooden door leading to her sister's ominously silent room, with her small delicate hands tightly grabbing a genuinely firm hold of the generic metal knob as she slowly summoned the strength and confidence to simply twist it right open. "Onee-chan?" she reluctantly called out into the restraining void, with her innocent gaze welcomed by nothing but concealing darkness. "It's me, Haru." the lass managed to cough out her own name with all her might.

Haru took a deep, concentrated breath before taking the unnecessary plunge of explaining herself for her impolite actions. "You see, there's something I wanted to talk to you about, and it's been bothering me for a couple of months now, so...could I come in?" After swiftly running her slick tongue through those commonly spoken words, she could literally feel a single bead of cold sweat slowly trickling through the tender surface of her flustered cheeks.

After a few idle seconds of anxiously anticipating for her sister's required consent, Haru's constantly beating heart literally sank down as the mini brunette finally heard the broken brittle sound of bitter crying. As the artificially engineered fluorescent light shining behind her miniature slender form began to illuminate a good part of the lonely dark room, her eyes immediately widened with surprise as soon as she saw her beloved older sister curled up into a ball, lying against the cold damp floor with a large river of salty tears flowing out of her seemingly tired eyes.

"Onee-chan!" she desperately cried out as the extremely worried lass swiftly sprinted towards the helpless brunette without even thinking twice.

"H-Haru-chan...? What are you doing here...at a time like this?" Kosaki quietly mumbled after a series of strong pushes and nudges against her limp and professedly lifeless shoulders.

"Does it even matter now?" Haru urgently replied as she firmly grasped upon her sister's unbelievably cold and mushy hands. "What happened to you?" she continued.

"I've just got a large heap of dust blown into my eyes while I was cleaning the room, that's all..." A weak and obviously forced up smile slowly peeled up against the flawlessly white rows of Kosaki's teeth. "You don't have to get so worked up over it..."

"You're lying." Haru bluntly stated with a genuinely lonely frown forming around her delicate lips. "I know you are..."

"Is that so...? Gosh, I'm such a terrible liar." The older brunette chuckled hoarsely as she heavily sniffed out a slimy heap of colorless snot straight from the clogged and narrow confines of her cute little nose. It was a fairly disgusting sight, really, if you could vividly visualize it in a realistic light. "Sorry for letting you see all that. I just couldn't stop myself."

"You don't have to apologize, Onee-chan." The lass solemnly stated as she started to intensively look at her messy sister straight into her horrendously dull-brown eyes. "You'll just have to honestly tell me every single thing that's bugging you now. And I don't take vagueness as a proper answer." Haru's seamlessly effeminate and authoritative tone was undoubtedly dead serious, and by elaborately judging the lass' performance solely through her tender sisterly actions, she might as well be the dependable older sister of the family at this rate.

"You're being too hard on me again, as always..." Kosaki weakly replied as she instantaneously felt a warm hasty rush of overwhelming reluctance mercilessly gracing through her veins. "You see, I've been such a reckless klutz today...and the funny thing is...I've finally got my heart broken because of it."

"My only love sprung from my only hate!" - Juliet, Romeo and Juliet, Act I, Scene V

The heavily decorated and constantly shimmering golden gates which vigilantly guarded the sole entrance into the modern castle that is Kirisaki Manor proudly stood tall with unwavering fortitude as it statically loomed over the newly authenticated couple like that of an ancient doorway leading to an entirely different world. Sure enough, this clearly wasn't the first time the beansprout needed to casually pass through this fancy piece of firmly welded steel, and usually, he would grace through it alone.

But that particular night felt incredibly special for him, like it was the eve of his birthday or some commemorative event of the same class. With his undoubtedly adorable girlfriend affectionately wrapping her smooth slender arms around his waist from behind like a baby sloth, Raku subtly knew the apparent reason behind that weird tempest of unfamiliar feelings he's currently facing. They're about to pass through that lavish gate as a real couple without the obligatory need to genuinely act against their will. And that means that they do not have to worry about rendering their grunts suspicious about the formerly fabricated state of their relationship anymore.

Knowing that undeniable truth, the beansprout couldn't stop himself from cracking up a wholesome goofy smile to signify the utter satisfaction of being liberated from such limitations.

"Darling," Chitoge quietly called out as the heiress snugly buried her face against his fairly warm back like she's leaning against a large pillow. "Are you nervous?" she finally inquired with a dash of genuine concern sprinkled upon her surprisingly gentle tone.

"I guess, knowing that I'll have to carefully talk this out with your dad...and besides, won't he get really pissed off if he finds out? He's your dad after all." replied Raku, who looked like he's about to literally explode into tiny chunks of bloodied flesh due to the awkwardly heart-stopping sensation of heiress' soft breasts unintentionally leaning flat against his clothing covered skin.

"Of course not, chicken brains. Why would he even allow us to go out on routine dates in the first place?" The heiress retorted, placing out another question right next to the answer lying before it. "Maybe it's because he deeply trusts you." The beansprout casually stated with a faint smile etched out on the dry surface of his lips. "There's no other explanation besides that. Plus, you're more than capable of defending yourself." he confidently added.

"You're both right and wrong, Darling." the heiress solemnly stated as her tight grip around him intensified. "It's true that I have the strength of a hundred men, but I don't think he even has the time to watch over me as a father."

"He deeply cares about you, Chitoge." Raku cautiously reminded as the beansprout felt an ominous air of mild sadness emanating from her. "You should know that better than I do. Just take a quick look at your place!" he pointed out with his hands raised with emphasis. "Yeah, right. That's what every desperate real estate agent would say." she jokingly remarked.

"I was just trying to help." Raku grumpily muttered under his breath like a moping little boy.

"I know." she simply stated with a tight smile on her face. "I know that way better than you."

"But of course." he briefly replied with a crooked smirk on his face. "I'm just a flimsy little beansprout."

"Hey! You're not just a flimsy little beansprout, silly you. You're my flimsy little beansprout." The heiress affectionately corrected after a short pause.

"D-Does that make any difference?" inquired Raku, with the tip of his shiny cheeks slightly reddening in response to her rather embarrassing statement.

"Not really, though. It's that you're mine and nobody else's." Chitoge bluntly stated. "Sorry, does that creep you out?" she immediately asked, with the tone of her gentle voice sounding rather cautious than sarcastic.

"Not even for one bit." The beansprout honestly answered as he shook his head.

"Gosh." she cried out. "You're so cliché, it hurts." The heiress lightly chuckled at the thought of her own words.

"In what way?" he simply asked.

"A lot of ways." replied Chitoge, with her azure blue eyes staring up at the infinitely twinkling stars above them. "There's just so much of them that I shouldn't bother counting." she vaguely explained as she snappily adjusted her crimson ribbon.

"Like the stars in the galaxy?"

"Yup, sorta like that. Speaking of which, you're actually looking the wrong way, bozo." The heiress nonchalantly pointed out.

"I don't have to." The beansprout replied with a mildly sardonic smile on his face. "After all, I've got the entire universe clinging behind my back."

As those positively flattering words eluded her normally gullible smooth talking boyfriend's mouth, the heiress couldn't properly seek out the best combination of witty words and corny phrases to say to him in response. Well, it may cheekily signify the brutally exaggerated weight of her well-maintained voluptuous body, though judging solely by that sincerely compassionate tone ridden within his voice, that's most likely not the case, even the imaginary butterflies which mercilessly ravaged the insides of her stomach would repetitively tell her the same old thing, over and over like a moderately large flock of pestering little children.

"A-Are you even trying?" her now tensed up voice nervously shivered as her heart happily skipped a couple of never-ending beats. It's strange, really, considering that they're already dating...for real, that is, and that nothing awkward would possibly happen between them now that a barrage of embarrassingly romantic compliments and honeyed sweet talk are now commonplace among couples. But why does she have to subconsciously react that way? Shouldn't she be well accustomed to the amount of praise she expects to hear from him? That's what the heiress desperately yearned from him.

"Define 'trying'." he jokingly muttered with a sly smirk etched across his lips. "Have you heard that line in some smut novel or something?" The beansprout cautiously asked. Sure, it may seem like the most inappropriate thing to say to someone as conservative as her, but it's for the best. After all, the conversation's getting really, really awkward for him to actually handle.

Her cheeks suddenly flared up like a blazing furnace, and her lips quivered and squirmed as if she's about to recite a really long poem in front of an overwhelmingly large crowd. "Shut up, pervert!" Chitoge embarrassingly barked as she quickly released him away from her grasp, crossing her arms. "You don't have to ruin this enjoyable moment, idiot." The heiress quietly mumbled under her breath, directly facing the ground beneath her fidgeting feet.

"Sorry," muttered Raku as he immediately turned around to face her, with his eyes subtly avoiding her stellar gaze. "I kinda overdid it." he continued, compassionately wrapping his thin arms around her slender waist as the lad gently pressed her against him.

"Well, that's a miracle. You actually noticed it!" The heiress exclaimed as she puffed her cheeks like an angry blow fish, eyes all narrowed with displeasure. "Now stop acting like a total asshat and open up the gates for me, slave!" she immaturely commanded.

"I can't open that huge thing all by myself, you know." he simply stated, with his other eye staring back at the seemingly immovable entrance. "And besides, hugging you like a stuffed gorilla isn't what an asshat would normally do."

"Wait...did you just called me a 'stuffed gorilla'?" Chitoge blankly blinked with utter amazement.

"Well, indirectly, I guess...? Not that it's a bad thing to say though...It's just that-" For some apparent reason, he couldn't finish his own words. The beansprout sheepishly shrugged with his eyes submissively closed shut as the latter deeply anticipated for a barbarically violent jab through his broad and defenseless chest. Fortunately, after a few seconds of unnecessary readiness, nothing managed to vigorously rip through his wet and sensitive guts.

Much to his surprise, she actually laughed, as if the heiress never got annoyed with his rather insensitive remarks to begin with.

"Just as I thought!" Chitoge cheerily cried out as she jokingly pinched the sides of his nose with her fingers. "Just as I thought..." she mildly repeated with a tight smile.

"Hey...am I missing something here? Or am I just spacing out?" Raku hesitantly asked, darting her an obviously confused look on his face.

"That kiss back then never really changed anything between us, darling." The heiress calmly stated as her fingers snappishly ran through her lips. "But still...it feels really weird, if you give enough time to think about it."

"Isn't it a bit too early for you to say those kinds of things?" he slightly smirked at the thought. "We've still got a long way to go, you know."

"I know. Of course, I know the drill..." The slightly blushing lass slowly nodded with a scoff. "W-We're the ultimate couple, after all." her heart rapidly fluttered as she nervously said it.

"Well then. Since we're the ultimate couple...could you lend me a hand? It's kinda hard to swing with one arm, so you better be careful about that." informed the beansprout as he immediately grabbed a firm hold of one side of the glossy golden gate like a sturdy fishing rod.

With the single effortless push of her delicate-looking hands, the lavish gates swung wide open as it clanged, much like a tolling church bell.

"Good job." he blankly complimented as the sound of the vibrating metal bars ringed through his misfortunate ears.

"Well, we could've eaten dinner already if we never shared this boring conversation." The heiress logically stated.

"Everything spent with you isn't boring." he solemnly retorted with his eyes timidly shifting away from her. "Just saying."

"Whatever, darling. If spending the whole night hanging my clothes for me isn't boring enough, I don't know what is."

"Did you say clothes?" his eyes suddenly lit up like a large heap of cheap Christmas lights.

"Yeah. Do you have a problem with that?" Chitoge innocently nodded with her brows raised. "Or are you just a lazy little bum who doesn't like to work?"

His eyes looked incredibly focused after hearing her oddly guiltless words, confusing the heiress to no avail. "Don't tell me that also includes your under-"

"Do you want to get clocked for real?" she threatened before he could even finish spouting out that question.

"J-Just kidding." he could subtly feel a cold bead of sweat trailing through his right temple as his girlfriend's chillingly dark aura ceased to calmly subside.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

At that moment, his phone deeply ringed within the tightest depths of his warm, lint-ridden pockets like a broken little buzzer, much to his annoyance. Please, don't let it be you, old man. The beansprout mentally prayed as he blindly reached for the obnoxiously boisterous device. Please don't let it be you...

"Darling?" The heiress called out, giving him that ominous look of concern as the gadget continued its electronic jingle. "Aren't you going to get that?" she pointed out.

"Yeah." Raku shakily replied with his hands still fumbling like butterfingers. "You go on ahead, Honey. It'll be quick..." Despite of his efforts, his voice failed to sound as reassuring as a steaming cup of warm coffee. "...I promise."

Beep. Beep. Beep.

"Oh, no. I'm definitely not going anywhere without you." The heiress seriously muttered out as she carefully studied his visibly pale and sweaty face like a scribbled out whiteboard. "Not until I know who in the world is calling you right now."

"It's probably my old fart." Raku explained as he finally managed to take the blaring phone off his pants.

"Your old...fart?" her head cutely tilted sideways as she pondered with curiosity. "Don't you mean your dad, right?" she asked.

"Probably." The lad briefly emphasized, promptly correcting her with his free hand slightly raised as he intently stared into the phone's miniature LED screen to see who the hell it actually was. "Wait...isn't that..."

The heiress couldn't just shake off that unnerving feeling the beansprout's weak, trailing voice gave her, so she decided to directly take matters into her own hands. "Show me." she anxiously commanded as she began briskly marching towards her boyfriend with her heart gradually racing with each forced step. Honestly, this crushing paranoia is absolutely killing her. And the funny thing is, she doesn't even know if it's even worth fussing for.

Just before she could take it off his hands, Raku immediately flashed it over her face like a wanted poster without even hesitating. "Should I answer it?" he inquired after taking a few agitated gulps.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The heiress didn't really know what to do at this point. Of course, she could just tell him not to do it and move on with her life, but that would only make her feelings even worse. Knowing that the beansprout formerly had a huge crush on her close friend, she couldn't afford to let her guard down even for the slightest bit. Not now, and not ever.

"Do it."

"Are you serious?" he exclaimed as the cellphone continued to endlessly blare within his clammy palms. "I just rejected her today! I can't just talk to her after breaking her-"

"But she called you." Chitoge plainly stated, abruptly cutting him off. "Hanging her up before she could even have the chance to talk to you would only hurt her even more. Just do it. Please..."

"Fine."

Beep. Beep. Bee- Click.

Pressing the phone against his ears, the lad could hear a familiar voice calling out to him. And it sounded both pissed off and insanely frantic.

"Senpai? Ichijou-senpai?! Answer me, goddammit!" It impatiently barked over the phone like an angry dog, unknowingly hurting his ears.

"Haru?" Raku reluctantly replied like he's guessing. "What are you doing with Onodera's phone? Is there something going on with her right now?"

"Senpai! Onee-chan...she's-!"

A/N

I know all too well that it's a bit too late for me to actually say it, but I'll just go ahead and do so. Belated Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, everybody. Well, now that I've finally got that off my chest, there's actually one more thing I needed to say to you all, my beloved readers: I'm extremely sorry for the abysmally long wait. I know you guys are positively tired of waiting for another update for the last 3 and a half weeks straight, and I feel absolutely horrible for wearing you guys out.

But to tell you the truth, I was actually working on this chapter this whole time, without taking any breaks. And yes, this is the end result out of over, I shit you not, 5 discarded drafts, completely filled with my blood, tears and sweat. And forgive me if it wasn't really worth the all of the tiresome waiting. But I honestly hoped you enjoyed it regardless.

You see, guys, my writer's block finally kicked in again. Newsflash: It feels absolutely terrible, I'd rather have a migraine. Seriously, I've actually spent over 4 hours each day editing the same short wall of text over and over again until I finally get it right. But guess what? I can't get satisfied with what I end up cooking up...due to the fact that my inner critic keeps on telling me that I needed to revise it again, and that a few words are too simplistic, that they needed more tweaking.

As you've noticed, this chapter consists mostly of dialogue. That's because I'm actually applying a new format when it comes to characters conversing with one another, one that I should've used sooner. I'll have to thank both Ornstein the Dragon Slayer and Avihmed Enhanced for the useful advice they've given me.

By the way, I'd like to thank you all for the 25 faves and 42 follows. I'm actually really touched to see my flimsy little fic grow into something this big, and it's all because of you guys. Don't you ever think this story is dead, because it ain't and it will never be. In fact, I'm actually focusing on making the best quality chapters I could write until it's inevitable conclusion.

I know I've promised to give an individual shout out to all of you. But I'll have to make you guys wait once more. It's like 1 in the morning here, and I've been lacking most of my sleep due to the fact that I've spent most of my time baking this up, and actually, there are a bunch of assignments yet to be done. I sincerely hope you guys would understand. What am I even babbling about? I know you guys do.

Well, this has reached over 6000 words now, so I guess I'll have to end this author's note right here. See you guys in the next chapter.