As much as Chizuru loved her adoptive father/uncle, the time they spent together had become her least favorite activity. Kodo always liked to offer his opinion on her personal life, a habit that worsened after she turned eighteen and moved out. She understood that Kodo was doing what he thought was best for her, but he often went overboard, so she kept her distance. She was relieved, albeit a little suspicious, when he did no such thing today. The topics they argued about did not even come up in conversation. And in a little while, he would arrive…
Suddenly, Kodo directed a smile to something, or someone, behind her. Chizuru stifled a giggle. Speak of the Demon, and he shall appear. A hand touched her shoulder and she turned to see…
…the wrong Demon. Her smile faded. She tried to shrug the hand off her shoulder, but its owner held on, squeezing hard enough to make her wince.
"Ah, we were awaiting your arrival," Kodo said happily.
Shaking her head, Chizuru slapped his hand off. "No, we weren't." She grabbed her purse and stood up to leave the diner. This really wasn't surprising. Why else would Kodo be in a good mood and express happiness when he noticed their guest's arrival? A setup from the beginning. How very like both of them.
Kazama blocked her path, forcing her to stand awkwardly in the booth. Though she had received several unwanted texts and calls from him (because she foolishly trusted that Kodo would respect her wishes and not violate her trust by giving Kazama her personal information every time she moved or change her phone number), she hadn't seen him for two years. That was around the time she left her family home and ended the relationship that had been forced upon her with this man.
"Please get out of my way," she said. She was tired of the control, of the lies, of the manipulation, of the pain, of every negative feeling these people brought her. She had hoped that getting rid of Kazama would not cost her a relationship with the man who raised her, but now she realized how foolish that hope was. As painful as this reality was, she couldn't allow Kodo to be in her life any longer. She prayed that one day he would change and not want to keep acting this way toward her, but that was unlikely, and she could not take it anymore, not after he tricked her into meeting with the man who had indirectly terrorized her for two years and spent years before that attempting to make her his wife against her will with Kodo's approval.
"Come now, my bride," Kazama said, his tone friendly and his eyes icy."There's no need to be unreasonable." He tried to grasp her shoulders; she slapped his hands away.
"Don't touch me." She spoke as politely and firmly as possible. What she wanted to do was shove him, scream at both of them, and run into the arms of those who actually loved her and didn't try to control her. If only they, if only he were…
Chizuru shook her head. He was going to be here any minute and the last thing she wanted was for an altercation to erupt. She needed to get out of here.
She looked Kazama dead in the eye."Unreasonable is constantly trying to force someone to conform to your wishes with no consideration for what they want," she paused to glare at Kodo, who closed his eyes and sighed as if she were a petulant child, then she returned her gaze to Kazama."Unreasonable is not taking no for an answer when someone rejects you. Unreasonable is pursuing someone who has no desire to interact with you and making their life a living hell everyday for two years. Unreasonable is being the biggest hypocrite on the planet!" She took a deep breath to calm herself."Now please step aside." When he narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth to respond, she threw all politeness away and shoved him lightly. He was too strong for her to move him too much, but it was enough to make him stumble slightly from shock and give her the space she needed to exit the booth. Kodo got up to follow her along with Kazama.
"Chizuru!" Her former guardian called."Please stop and listen!"
She stopped and turned to face him, ignoring Kazama's presence entirely. She crossed her arms and straightened her posture, locking eyes with Kodo."I have listened to you for my entire life. I listened to you when you persuaded me to date this man and give him a chance. I listened to you when you advised me on life. I listened to you when you begged for me to renew contact with you, only for you to try to tear apart my life and make me into someone I am not every time. I thought you'd finally realized the error of your ways today, until he showed up." She pointed at Kazama, not reacting to his glare. As scared as she was of him, she would not give him the attention he craved.
"I am done listening to you," she told Kodo."Now, you are going to listen to me." She clenched her fists and lifted her chin."Unless you stop this, this will be the last time we speak."
Kodo was gaping at her."Chizuru…" She had never spoken to him like this before. He couldn't deny that she was being serious. For a fleeting second, Chizuru thought she had gotten through to him, and relief filled her heart. That hope was dashed when he gave her the same pained look as when she'd tried to argue with him in the past. That look had guilted her into submitting or attempting to compromise so many times; this was not one of those times.
Chizuru shut her eyes, forcing the tears back."Goodbye, Father." She turned and exited the diner, quickening her pace when she heard them following her again.
No sooner had she stepped outside, than a familiar van pulled up in front of her. Out stepped the man she wanted to see.
"Toshizo-san!" She exclaimed, running to him. She buried her face in his chest and fisted the material of his coat in her hands.
"Chizuru, what's wrong?" He wrapped an arm around her and stroked the back of her head. He sighed."Your father again?" She nodded, and he heaved another sigh.
"Chizuru!" Kodo cried as he and Kazama stepped outside. Hijikata urged her to stand behind him, which she did. She would have made for the other side of the van to the passenger's seat if she didn't fear that Kazama would use that as a chance to grab her, so she stayed put. From the corner of her eye, however, she thought she saw movement in the passenger's seat, but saw no one there. She also dismissed the shuffling she heard in the back of the van.
"I'd say here we go again, but this is clearly worse than usual." Hijikata crossed his arms and scowled at the pair.
Kazama would have spoken had Kodo not gestured for him to stop. Kodo stepped forward, his full attention on Hijikata."Surely you do not delude yourself as my daughter does. She has a far more luxurious future to look forward to with Kazama-san than with you. Or any of your friends, for that matter."
"The only person who's deluded about anything is you," Hijikata replied coldly. He sneered at Kazama."And you're twice as bad."
"This charade cannot continue," Kodo stated.
"You're right. It can't." Hijikata spoke in a flat tone. Chizuru looked at him in confusion as he turned to face her. The serious glint in his eyes worried her, but that worry vanished and was replaced by shock when he produced a box from his pocket and knelt before her. She threw her hands over her mouth to muffle a gasp.
"What?!" Kazama and Kodo cried in unison, their jaws on the floor. Exactly one second after this, the van door slid open, followed by the flash of a camera and the sound of loud, smug laughter. Chizuru gasped at the sight of almost all their friends sitting in the van, with a camera-wielding Souji in the front. The passenger side door opened, revealing Sanan with a video camera.
"Sanan-san, please tell me you got all of that!" Souji said as he got out of the van to snap a closer picture of the couple before walking to her shocked uncle and stalker. Sanan chuckled as he followed Souji.
"Every second of it, Okita-kun," the bespectacled man said before addressing the stunned duo."Well, Kodo-san, Kazama-kun, do either of you have anything to say for yourselves?" They sputtered, torn between disbelief and fury. Sanan hummed and said,"That is what I thought." He and Souji turned their backs to them and walked back to their friends.
"T-This…" Chizuru couldn't find the words to describe how she felt, not just about the proposal, but about the actions of her friends. One thing was certain: she wasn't unhappy with this turn of events.
"Chizuru," Hijikata said softly as he opened the box, revealing a simple yet lovely ring."I didn't plan it exactly this way, but when I saw Kazama enter the diner, I…we improvised a bit." He smiled sheepishly.
"Can't complain with the results." Souji was still laughing as he and Sanan moved closer to the couple with their cameras. He half-jokingly added,"Yet." All the other men, even Kondou, shot him annoyed looks and shushed him.
"As I was saying," Hijikata growled, looking back to Chizuru."Chizuru, I can't give you wealth and luxury, but I…I love you and I-"
Chizuru didn't let him finish. Reaching out, she cupped his face and pulled him close for a kiss, giggling at his grunt of surprise. Their friends cheered and whistled.
Chizuru cracked an eye open to check on their audience. Kodo was on his knees, his mouth agape. Kazama was still in shock, but fury was taking over him. Right as he took one step forward, two people burst from one of the cars and grabbed his arms. Shiranui waved at Chizuru whilst Amagiri nodded at her, and they dragged away a screaming Kazama.
Good riddance, she thought as they got into the car and drove off.
They broke the kiss, and she blushed as he slid the ring onto her finger.
Kodo had risen to his feet and started to approach them, prompting the others to block him. Chizuru entwined her fingers with Hijikata's as they moved to stand in the front so she could address Kodo.
"Father," she said."I want you to know that I will always love you and appreciate what you've done for me. But…if you can't accept me for who I am and be happy for me, then I have no other choice than to say goodbye. I hope that one day you'll change your mind and we can be a family again, but for now, and perhaps even forever, goodbye." She looked at Hijikata."Let's go."
As they moved back to the van, Souji whipped around to snap one last picture of Kodo.
Before he started to drive, Hijikata reached for Chizuru's hand and squeezed it."No regrets?" He asked.
She smiled at him, then at the other men."None." She gave Kodo a final glance. He had betrayed her, hurt her so many times, but she meant what she said about always loving him, even if that love had to be from a distance for her own good. These people in the van with her, they were her true family. She didn't need anyone else as long they were with her.
And so, she never once looked back as they drove together into a bright future.