Saturday Morning ,
Chizuru sat in front of her mirror , carefully applying her make-up. Despite all her assurances to Kazuya that everything would be fine , she couldn't help feeling a bit nervous . After all today was the day that they were going to spend at the mall . She knew that she had to produce a flawless performance to keep their friends in the dark. But that wasn't all she was worried about . Part of her nervousness was centered around... him . She wasn't afraid that he would mess things up . She trusted him too much.
" And anyway I've got his back" , she emphasized, as she put away her makeup and started to work on her hair .
But still there was a certain excitability, a certain volatility in her heart. The nervous anticipation of spending an entire day with him bubbled through her .
" It'll be fine . Absolutely fine . I've done this before anyway " .
But she knew that things were different this time . It was , after all , the first time since...
Suddenly she noticed something in the mirror . She had been trying her hair into braids . But instead of the normal braids that she tied her hair in when she was with her University friends, she had made two perfect little side braids .
She turned a furious shade of red as she realized what she had been doing. She had been concentrating so much on spending the day with him that she had subconsciously set her hair in the way she did on their dates .
She immediately pulled her hair out of the braids and muttered to herself ,
" This isn't a date anyway. It's not just the two of us alone " .
Chizuru sighed and continued getting ready.
Half an hour later ,
Chizuru stepped out of her apartment, now in complete "Ichinose" mode . Black sweater, white shirt , blue jeans , her signature twin braids and a pretty little flower brooch through the front of her hair
She locked the door and checked the time. It was just after 9 . She and her friends had agreed to meet a little before the guys were supposed to turn up. She slowly started walking before briefly pausing outside his door . She then waited for a minute or so , just to see if he was early but soon realized that wasn't the case . She couldn't hear a single sound coming from his apartment
" Knowing him, he must still be asleep " , she guessed correctly .
She turned and continued walking,
" It's not like I was waiting for him or anything. I was just making sure that he wasn't coming right behind me . Yoko and Yuuki would have found that suspicious" , she told herself trying to ignore a faint twinge of disappointment.
She headed steadily towards the mall without looking back .
Kazuya and Kuri sat in the backseat and watched as Kibe pulled the car into the mall parking lot. They were running a little late and so quickly got out and headed to the ground floor . They soon spotted Kawanaka and Shinbo and headed over to them .
Immediately Kazuya noticed that Mizuhara wasn't with them . As soon as they reached each other , Kazuya was about to blurt out the all important question of where she was , but then managed to bite his tongue.
" Don't be suspicious" , he reminded himself .
The group exchanged greetings and then a minute later , Kuri asked,
" Huh ? Didn't Ichinose come ? "
Shinbo pointed to the centre of the mall . There was some kind of attraction set up there and a long queue of people lined up waiting to get tickets .
" They've got some kind of special aquarium thing set up there . Apparently it's really amazing . As soon as we heard about it we figured ou guys might want to go there. And Chizuru volunteered to brave the onslaught and get us tickets " , she explained
" That's a really big crowd though. Will we even get in ?", Kibe asked.
" Oh , we got here much before you guys. She's been in line for quite some time. In fact she should be near the front of it " .
Kazuya was quiet , taken aback by Mizuhara's actions . He knew exactly why she was doing this. She knew how much he loved anything and everything aquatic.
" That's really nice of her" , he said out aloud.
Shinbo smiled and told him,
" Then tell her that directly " .
After a few minutes, a text pinged on Kawanaka's phone and the five of them headed towards the crowd. Soon they spotted Ichinose standing close to the entrance of the aquarium and joined her.
The three guys chorused both their greetings and thanks to her which she waved away .
The six of them then entered the exhibit. It was truly stunning. They were surrounded on both sides by two huge aquariums which cast an ethereal blue hue on them. Fish of different species , swam all around them . Brilliant colors, magnificent features all made for a incredible spectacle.
The group then automatically split up as each person went in different directions. Kazuya waited a little, made sure that it was crowded enough not to be seen and then followed Mizuhara . Once he reached her , he glanced around once again and then spoke ,
" Hey " .
Her eyes still fixed to the glass , she replied,
" Hey " .
" Umm.. thanks for this . You didn't have to trouble yourself so much . But anyway .. Thanks " .
"You're welcome " , she replied matter-of-factly
She then turned to him , smiled a little, mischievously and said,
" I'm sure you won't be feeling so grateful to me in the evening , once we start shopping".
" You're probably right " , Kazuya admitted, returning her smile.
She turned back to the glass and continued admiring the fish . Kazuya however couldn't take his eyes of her. Despite all the attractions there , she seemed radiant to Kazuya. Eye-catchingly so . Like a spot of bright white light amidst the brilliant blue of the water .
After a few minutes, she seemed be satisfied with what she had been watching and started walking ahead . Kazuya hesitated to follow her till she turned back and gestured to him.
" Come on " , she told him
" Shouldn't we walk separately? " , Kazuya asked.
" I mean , won't the others get suspicious if it's just the two of us ? "
" It's fine " , she assured him .
" It's too crowded in here to be noticed anyway . And we can just say we found each other as we were walking around " .
Kazuya agreed , glad to not offer some more resistance , and caught with her . They walked together a bit and then she pointed out a certain fish .
" So what species is that ? "
" Oh , yeah . That's a ... "
The rest of the morning passed uneventfully. The group went to the VR arcade after the aquarium and spent most of their time there. Then they went to the Apple Store and spent as much time as they could trying out the latest IPhone and MacBook. They wandered around for some time , buying a few things here and there. Kuri even managed to snag a couples discount on some video games by posing with Shinbo , an opportunity both Kazuya and Kibe seized on to tease both of them by threatening to tell Sasapai .
Both Kazuya and Chizuru managed to chat casually with all the others there. Things had gone swimmingly well until Kazuya nearly referred to Chizuru as "Mizuhara" . Fortunately the very second, the first syllable left his mouth, Chizuru had unhesitatingly stamped on his foot causing Kazuya to let out a cry of pain . Of course , Chizuru profusely apologized for the "accident" and everyone ended up laughing it off .
Lunch also passed without a hitch . The guys offered to pay for their own food but the girls insisted and so they ate from the food court , not wanting to blow a hole in their pocket .
And then the shopping began . Store after store after store . Trying on clothes and accessories and sampling makeup and perfume . The guys either sat in the store or waited outside but either way it was relentless. Kazuya lost his fighting spirit little after a couple of hours but both Kibe and Kuri were undeterred and remained cheerful and enthusiastic throughout.
Finally after looking at the number of bags that they were now carrying, the girls chose to take a break . The guys decided to make a trip to the car, unload all the stuff and come back . While they were doing that, the girls discussed their next plans and realized that each of them now wanted to go to different stores .
" There's not too much time left as well " , Chizuru pointed out .
" So , shall we each take one of the guys and then split up ? " , Yuuki suggested .
Both Chizuru and Yoko nodded in agreement and then Yoko spoke,
" I call dibs on Kibe-kun. He seems the strongest out of the three " .
" Then I'll take Kazuya-kun " , said Chizuru immediately not wanting to risk getting stuck with Kuri . And, of course she preferred going around with Kazuya.
" Kuri-kun for me then " , Yuuki accepted.
The guys came back and were told of the plan which they also agreed to . Then they separated , Kazuya and Chizuru heading a couple of floors up while the others headed down and then split up further .
Kazuya leaned over the railing and watched both sets of people go into different stores. Then he turned and reclined against the railing, letting out a sigh of relief .
" Looks like we got away with it " , he told Chizuru, relieved.
" We probably couldn't have hoped for better " , she agreed .
They both stood in silence for some time before Chizuru gestured to him ,
" Come on , let's go " .
" Ehh? "
She turned back and flashed that mischievous smile again,
" You didn't think that I was finished did you? "
" I'd hoped that you were " , he replied defeated .
She laughed and asked him,
" So , did you gratitude and goodwill vanish ? "
" Mostly " , he admitted .
With an excited glint in her eyes, she told him ,
" Let's see if I can't do something about the rest " .
The two walked around for a bit, while Chizuru zeroed in on exactly which store she wanted to go in next . Then something caught Chizuru's eye . A crowd of little children and their parents gathered around a stage. On the stage were five "heroes" in bright clothing fighting against the "villain" . The kids were screaming and laughing, clearly having the time of their lives watching their favorite heroes come to life .
" A hero show , huh ? " , she thought to herself.
" It's been a while since I did one of those. The last time was definitely before we started working on the movie".
She glanced at Kazuya and was surprised to see that he was suddenly anxious. He kept glancing nervously at the show and then sneaking peeks at her. She couldn't figure out why he was acting like that.
" Hey , something wrong ? " , she enquired, slightly concerned .
" N..No . Everything's fine" , he barely managed to squeak , not looking her in the eyes .
In a flash , it clicked in Chizuru's mind. She stopped walking and punched Kazuya in the shoulder.
" Ow ! What was that for? " , he cried out.
She was silent for some time as the flame of embarrassment spread through her and then she asked,
" You saw me didn't you ? As one of those Mighty Morphin Rental Rangers ?" .
Now , Kazuya turned red with embarrassment and a little guilt and then stammered out ,
" W...Well kinda . A few months back , I was in the mall and Sum... Uh , I mean somehow I saw the show happening and I recognized you and .. Uh.. well "
Chizuru turned an even deeper shade of red and marched off. Kazuya ran behind her apologizing and promising that he hadn't told anyone and finally she calmed down .
Still blushing red and not looking directly at him , she muttered ,
" Don't even think about that again, understand? "
" Yes Ma'am " .
They shopped for some more time without much happening and then Chizuru realized that the next item on her list was one that she could not possibly shop for with him beside her. She quickly grabbed him by the shoulder and dragged him in the opposite direction until she came a suitable distance away . From a nearby stall , she bought him a egg salad sandwich and a tea and then told him ,
" Listen carefully to me . Eat this and wait here. I need to go buy... something. You just stay here. And don't even think of following me. If you even turn to see which direction I went, I'll make sure you regret the day you were born " .
After threatening him successfully she grabbed a couple of bags from him and walked away . Kazuya unwrapped his sandwich, took a bite and then wondered,
" What could she be going to buy? " .
He , shivered a little as he ,remembered her threat and then decided that he was better of not knowing.
He finished his sandwich and then was about to take a sip of tea when suddenly he heard a voice ,
" Kinoshita-kun ? "
Kazuya turned around and saw a face that he hadn't seen for almost three years .
" Riko-san ? "
Chizuru stood in line at the checkout of the lingerie shop waiting patiently for her turn . As she waited, she reflected quite happily on what had been a pretty successful day for her.
" We've handled things well today . I managed to get most of my winter shopping done as well . And I didn't spend that much money either ."
Before too long, she managed to pay and leave the shop . She headed back to where she had left Kazuya, her face once again tinted with the slightest shade of red , flustered over the item she had just bought and hoping that he wouldn't ask her about it .
As she neared where she had left him , Chizuru began to scan through the crowd , trying to spot him . She couldn't make out his silhouette standing by himself anywhere . Then suddenly she caught a glimpse of his orange hair . But he wasn't alone . He was apparently talking to a bunch of people. Three girls and two guys . But they weren't their friends . Chizuru had never seen them before .
" Does he know these people ?" , she wondered .
Chizuru slowly walked towards them , unsure if introducing herself to them was the right thing to do or not .
" Probably not . I'll just complicate his life further " , she decided and was about to turn when a snippet of their conversation managed to float its way to Chizuru's ear .
" Pathetic" .
Chizuru turned around and stared at them .
" What on earth are they talking about? Pathetic ? "
She moved closer, trying to figure out what was going on and then saw things more clearly. Kazuya was staring at them , without saying a word .The group wasn't talking to him , they were laughing. One girl in particular , with medium length blonde hair , seemed to do the talking while the others seemed to be enjoying what was happening.
A cold shiver ran down Chizuru's spine as she moved even closer so that she could hear what they were saying .
" Honestly, so pathetic. I can't believe I ever let this guy ask me out " , the blonde said .
" What ? " , a shocked Chizuru thought .
" And that too three times? I felt sorry for him the first time , so I told him he could call me by my first name. With honorifics of course . I had no idea that would encourage him " , the blonde continued.
A memory poked through Chizuru's mind. Kibe-kun telling her something. About his and Kazuya's time in high school .
" Even I couldn't believe it when he got rejected three times in a month. By the same girl too " .
As Chizuru finally understood what was going on , a cold fury descended on her.
" This person . He confessed to her in high school and now she and her friends are here mocking him. Trying to humiliate him . How dare she? What right does she have ? ", Chizuru raged as the group continued laughing at Kazuya.
" I have to do something " , Chizuru decided .
" I'll call him, so that he can pick up his phone and then pretend that he has an excuse to leave " .
Chizuru hurriedly rummaged through her handbag , looking for her phone but the next sentence from the girl stopped her in her tracks.
" I bet you don't even have a girlfriend. Of course you don't. Who on earth would ever want to date you? "
Chizuru stood still for a few moments . Then a wave of clarity flooded through her. She knew exactly what she had to do . She turned and ran to the nearest washroom. She got into the stall and pulled her hair out of her braids. She then shed her sweater and stuffed it in her handbag . Next she tucked her shirt into her jeans and then pulled the jeans up a little higher.
She unbuttoned a couple of buttons off the top of the shirt and folded her sleeves . She quickly brushed her hair , in no particular style , just so that her hair hung over her like a silky coat. She took of her glasses and put in her contacts and then left the restroom heading straight towards Kazuya.
" You have no idea " , Chizuru , thought in her mind addressing the blonde girl .
" You have no idea what kind of person he is".
Kazuya stood facing the group, not saying anything as Riko and the others continued to make fun of him . He didn't feel particularly angry or hurt. He kind of ... accepted it .
" I just hope Mizuhara doesn't come back now " , he thought to himself.
" I don't want her to get caught up in this " .
Riko pointed at one of the guys standing next to her and said ,
" He's my current boyfriend but maybe if you confess again , I'll dump him and date you . So come on Kinoshita-kun , confess again. I promise, fourth times the ... "
Suddenly a voice cried out from behind Kazuya,
" Kazuya-kun "
Kazuya recognized that voice immediately. It was hers .
" This is bad . I need to get her away from here " , he thought and turned around and was stunned . He had expected to see her as " Ichinose" but that wasn't the case . Kazuya gaped at her approaching him with his mouth wide open. Her glasses were no longer hiding her mesmerizing eyes , her hair hung around her , free from its shackles , her slightly unbuttoned shirt and folded sleeves revealed her beautiful skin and her jeans and tucked in shirt showed off the full extent of her long legs and alluring figure .
As soon as she reached him , she locked her arm around his and asked him apologetically ,
" Were you waiting long ? Sorry . I got caught up at the store " .
" Oh , n..no problem . It wasn't that long " , Kazuya managed to reply.
" Really ? I'm glad " , she replied with a bright smile .
Chizuru then turned to Riko and the others who had been shocked into silence, unable to say a single word . Chizuru, as if she hadn't noticed them until now , asked with a puzzled expression on her face,
" Do you know these people?"
Kazuya nodded and replied,
" Yeah , that's Riko-san and her friends. She went to the same high school as me " .
" Oh , is that so ? "
Riko nodded her head in agreement.
" Nice to meet you guys then . My name is Chizuru " .
Riko swallowed a couple of times and then asked,
" Umm, Chizuru-san ? "
" Yeah ? "
" How do you know Kinoshita-kun? "
Chizuru laughed a little as she replied,
" Isn't it obvious? "
She then poked Kazuya's cheek with her free hand , gently scraping his face with her nail ,
" I'm his girlfriend " .
Riko and her friends sunk a few levels deeper into confusion and astonishment .
" G..G.. Girlfriend? How.. how long have you been dating? " , she manged to ask .
Chizuru put her hand on her chin like she was thinking and then replied ,
" Almost two years now " .
Riko just stared blankly at them unable to respond to that. Both Kazuya and Chizuru could see her turning green with envy , unable to comprehend how he had ended up with a girlfriend who was several times more beautiful than she herself was.
Kazuya glanced at Chizuru who was still holding onto him. He was as confused as the others.
" Why would she do this ? " , he wondered .
" Is it because she's looking out for me ? She heard what they were saying and she wanted to help me ? " .
Kazuya felt his heartbeat increase as he was filled with gratitude . And admiration. He thought to himself ,
" Her acting is so amazing . It's not just her look or what she says . It's how she says it , it's her little gestures that make it so perfect . It's so convincing that all these people don't doubt that she's with someone like me " .
After a couple of minutes of awkward silence, one of Riko's friends made up some excuse and they all but ran away from there.
Kazuya and Chizuru watched carefully until they were out of eyesight and then Chizuru let go of his arm . They were silent for some time and then Kazuya started to say ,
" Mizuhara, I'm..."
" Why didn't you say something? " , Chizuru interrupted.
" What ? "
" Why didn't you say something " , she repeated .
" Why did you let her say that stuff about you? Why didn't you stop her? " .
Kazuya glanced at her and saw anger in her eyes. She was pissed at him too. He took a couple of deep breaths, looked away and then explained ,
" I didn't say anything because I.. deserved it . Back in high school I confessed to her thrice. All in the space of a month. I basically harassed her. And I'm sure people made fun of her because it was me confessing . So ... basically I felt like Riko-san was justified and that... "
" That's nonsense " , Chizuru cut in .
" That's absolute nonsense . Just because you confessed to Riko-san , it doesn't give her the right to trample all over you like this . You gathered up your courage and confessed to her. That's an unbelievably difficult thing to do. After that it's her responsibility. She has to assess her feelings and decide whether to accept or not. Whether she likes it or not , she can't attack you like this afterwards. She did that because that's the kind of person she is
It's not your fault at all . So stop acting like it is " , she asserted .
Kazuya was quiet for some time and then he turned back to her,
" Sorry for making you do all this . Change your look and telling people that I'm your boyfriend. Especially because our friends are here and it's a huge risk . I'm really sorry. And grateful to you as well . Thanks" .
Chizuru sighed and let some of the anger leave her,
" It's fine " , she told him
Then she took a step closer, looked him in the eye and said ,
" Besides, I told you back then didn't I? I'll be by your side as long as you need me " .
Even though he didn't say anything, Chizuru could see the happiness creeping into his face and a little shimmering in his eyes.
" Thanks " , he said again.
He glanced at her again and added , tentatively
" Shouldn't you , umm..., change before anyone sees you ? "
Chizuru looked down at herself and agreed .
" I may take some time " , she warned him as she headed back to the washroom .
Kazuya gazed at her walking through the crowd . He thought to himself,
" Everytime I'm in a bad spot , she always helps me out without stopping to think of how it affects her . Without a second thought, she jumps to my rescue . She's so.. kind and amazing. And .. perfect . "
Kazuya grinned a little and admitted to himself ,
" I'm falling for her all over again " .
Suddenly an idea popped into Kazuya's head . An idea which he liked and so he set off deciding to follow it .
In the washroom, Chizuru began reversing the process this time, unfolding her sleeves , untucking her shirt , putting her sweater and glasses back on and finally tying her hair back into braids .
As she was doing it , her conscience pricked her about what she had just told Kazuya.
" You gathered up your courage and confessed to her. That's an unbelievably difficult thing to do. After that it's her responsibility. She has to assess her feelings and decide whether to accept or not. "
" I said all that with great enthusiasm, but in the end I'm just a hypocrite . After all I did exactly the opposite of that. I ignored it and tried to act like it didn't happen . But that's not right. It must have been so difficult for him to say ... all that , especially after the impossible situation I put him in.
So ... I should. I owe it to him.. to at least... think about it", she thought to herself.
After she was back in perfect "Ichinose mode " , Chizuru returned to where she had left Kazuya but couldn't find him.
" Where's he gone of now? " , she wondered for a couple of minutes before she spotted him coming down the escalator from the upper floor . He was holding a smaller bag in his hand in addition to the bags he had already been holding.
Once he reached her , she pointed to the bag and asked,
" Did you buy something for yourself ? "
He shook his head and then answered, a little nervously ,
" No . It's...It's a gift. For you . Because I put you through a lot . And I wanted to show how much I appreciate what you do for me".
Chizuru looked at the bag and then back at him and and then told him , slightly reluctantly and apologetically
" I really appreciate the gesture. It's very nice of you. But I'm sorry . I shouldn't. It's not.. "
A little disappointment flitted through Kazuya's face for a second, but he hurriedly covered it up .
" Oh it's fine . No problem " , he started to assure her .
Chizuru looked up at him, a little uneasy, because she knew that he wanted her to take the gift . And a part of her wanted to as well .
" It's not right of me to take gifts from him . He already spends way too much money on me . I'm just his rental girlfriend after all" , she tried to convince herself.
She looked into his eyes and saw the disappointment and sadness again and she realized something
" Right now, he's not giving this to me because I'm a rental girlfriend. Or because I helped him this time. The real reason is ... "
Kazuya's voice echoed through her mind once again
" I've been in lo..."
She swallowed and then asked him hesitatingly,
" It's not something super expensive right?"
Kazuya was taken back but assured her that it wasn't.
" Then okay " , she relented and stretched out her hands. Kazuya placed the bag in her hands and then she added ,
" But just this once okay ? "
Kazuya nodded happily , a cheerful smile now on his face .
Chizuru looked up at him again and found herself a little too pleased with the happiness in his eyes.
She asked him ,
" Can I see what it is ? "
" Yeah sure " .
She put her hand into the bag and pulled out the gift . It was a brooch . A cat paw brooch . The outline was black and the paw print itself was a delicate shade of pink.
Chizuru looked up at him , felt herself getting a little flustered but managed to say ,
" Thanks" .
" Is it okay ? " , he asked anxiously
She nodded and asked,
" Why did you choose this? "
He scratched the back of his head nervously and explained,
" Well I know that you like cats and that you like wearing brooches . You have one now actually. I've noticed that you have quite a few of them, butterflies and flowers and stuff . So I thought that..."
" It's so beautiful " , she gushed over it .
" Thank you so much " .
Kazuya smiled , finally relieved, as Chizuru put the brooch back in the bag . Then they started walking briskly . Once Kazuya realized that they were headed into the next store , he cried out ,
" Wait , you're not done ? "
Chizuru turned, smiled playfully and replied,
" Of course not " .
She then walked straight into the store . Kazuya blinked a few times, disbelievingly then he smiled and followed her in.
A/N : This chapter came out a day late because it turned out quite longer than I expected . Apologies for the delay .
While the Riko-san in this chapter never actually appears in the Manga, she is mentioned by Kibe in Chapter 13 . Kibe didn't tell us her name though or anything else about her except that she rejected Kazuya thrice in one month. So I gave her the name Riko and a rather unpleasant personality.
Chizuru bares her claws once again to protect Kazuya and is rewarded with a symbolic cat themed accessory.
Like I mentioned, this chapter is quite a long read . Hope everyone enjoys it
Next Time : Chizuru finally forces herself to think about Kazuya's confession