Around 8 pm , that night,

Kazuya climbed out of the car and then held the door for Chizuru. They then went to the back of the car , opened the trunk and took out her bags . Kazuya, of course, was carrying most of them . They returned to the front of the car and said goodbye to their friends.

" Are you sure you're okay being dropped off here? " , Kibe asked.

" We can take you all the way " .

" No , no its fine . My place is only a few minutes from here. It's easier to walk than drive " , Chizuru replied .

" And besides " , Kazuya added ,

" You guys are headed the opposite way . So you should get going " .

Everyone said their goodbyes and Kazuya and Chizuru turned down the street and walked a little way . Then they waited for a few minutes, turned back and headed towards their apartment .

They waked in silence for a while before Kazuya spoke ,

" Today went really well , huh ? "

" Yeah it did . Like I said earlier, we couldn't have hoped for better " , she agreed .

She looked up at him, smiled a bit and said ,

" You were pretty good today too . I told you that you'll be able to handle it " .

Kazuya scratched the back of his head , slightly embarrassed by her praise and replied,

" Yeah, I guess I was okay , well except for when I nearly called you "Mizuhara" in front of them."

She laughed a bit and admitted,

" Okay , except for that. "

They walked on a little more before Kazuya asked ,

" So, how long do you think this will last ? I mean our friends hanging out and planning these kind of days ? "

Chizuru thought for some time and then replied,

" A couple of weeks probably " .

" That's it ? " , Kazuya asked surprised.

Chizuru nodded and explained,

" Yeah most likely . In a couple of weeks Sasapai will be done with his work or exams or whatever and then Yuuki will be with him most of the time . Yoko is in between boyfriends now but sooner or later she'll find a new one too. That'll be the end of it . We'll probably talk on campus and stuff, but days like this won't happen too often after that " .

" I guess that makes sense " , he agreed.

" Either way, this little happening works out in our favor " , she added .

" Eh ? How? " , Kazuya asked puzzled.

" Our friends now think that we live somewhere in the vicinity of each other right? "

Kazuya nodded .

" So if we're even seen together when I'm dressed like this , we have a plausible reason. Even if we're seen near our apartment, we can still explain it away ".

" I guess it did work out for us in the end " , he agreed

In next to no time they reached their apartment and walked up the stairs . Kazuya waited behind Chizuru as she unlocked her door and went inside . He was unsure of whether he should enter her apartment or not but then he saw her gesturing to him to come inside.

Kazuya swallowed a little, nervously and then slowly crossed the threshold of her apartment. He put the bags down on her living room floor and then turned towards the door . She followed him outside and watched as he unlocked his door . He turned back towards her and said,

" Goodnight Mizuhara " .

She nodded and replied,

" See you later " .

He was about to go inside when she spoke again,

" One more thing "

Kazuya turned towards her again as she smiled and told him ,

" Today was really fun ."

Having said that she disappeared into her room , Kazuya smiled happily and then went inside .

Next Morning ,

Chizuru finished her breakfast , washed the dishes and then set her sights on the rest of her room . As the rays of sunshine of a pleasant Sunday morning warmed her room , she set about systematically cleaning her room .

For once she had a Sunday to herself. Usually on Sundays she would have at least a couple of clients and some acting commitment that couldn't be avoided but today was an exception.

" I'm completely booked for the next couple of days though " , she thought to herself as she swept her room .

" In the evening I'll have to pick out my outfits and prepare for the "date" . But other than that I'm free to do whatever I want " .

She finally finished cleaning her room , collected her trash and went outside to throw it away . Just as she turned back to go into her room, she heard the sound of a door opening .

Chizuru felt a little flutter in heart and quickly turned, fully expecting it to be Kazuya. However it turned out to be their mutual neighbor Yaemori .

She rubbed her eyes and yawned loudly not yet having noticed Chizuru standing on the landing . Once she did , she immediately became much more excited .

" Good morning , Mizuhara-san " , she greeted her enthusiastically .

Chizuru nodded and replied a greeting as well, albeit with much less enthusiasm.

They chatted for a bit , although Chizuru remained guarded throughout the conversation. She knew very well that Yaemori had a tendency to ask her some difficult to answer questions about a certain someone

Chizuru was considering making up an excuse and wrapping up the conversation when she noticed Yaemori glancing away for a second . Chizuru could see a slight smile forming on her face for a second, which she quickly tried to cover . Then she nonchalantly asked her ,

" Hey Mizuhara-san, did you hear anything unusual from Master recently ? "

" No " , Chizuru replied pensively .

" I actually haven't seen him in a while " , she added

Yaemori at that point might as well have rubbed her hands together in sheer joy

" Oh , okay . It's just the other day, I think that it might have been last week actually, I was in my room and I heard him yelling something but when I went out to see, there was nobody there. I asked him about it but he refused to tell me . Did you hear anything about it ? "

Despite having been on her guard, Chizuru nearly blushed deep red with embarrassment . Just about managing to control herself, she quickly replied,

" No , no . I didn't hear anything. "

She then followed that with an excuse and darted into her room. Yaemori watched her go in, smiling broadly.

" I can't read her at all . As expected of a top actress , I guess . But she had to have heard something " , she thought to herself before turning back into her own room.

Inside her apartment, Chizuru sat on her bed, the deep red now plainly visible on her face.

" At least, that idiot had the sense to not tell her " , she thought to herself.

She took a few breaths to compose herself and then decided ,

" I can't put it off anymore " .

She pulled a notebook from the table next to her bed and then wrote down the words she had heard from him that day. Each word , each letter took a tremendous effort to write , her heartbeat louder and louder with each stroke of her pen .

Finally she finished writing, picked up the notebook and stared at those words in its entirety

" That wasn't just talk. I really meant it . Every single word . My perfect girlfriend is you " .

" I already knew about this " , she thought to herself, recalling that night when he had told her about his perfect girlfriend .

" But I wanted to confirm it anyway. That he hadn't just said all that stuff for my sake . That he actually thought of me like that.

I knew all along that he really admired me and my acting ability and the way I carried myself during our dates. But what surprised me was the rest of it . How much of me he had seen. Not just what I had shown him. He saw the person that I am on the inside as well and that fact that he admired and praised that me as well.. that was so surprising to me . I couldn't believe it actually. That he could see all of me and call it ... perfect. That's why I needed to make sure . And it meant a lot when he confirmed it . And I'm really happy about that " .

Chizuru felt heat spreading thorough her body and so stopped and steadied herself again before continuing

" And if I say this, you might be mad at me " .

" That I kind of understand. I told him once that we should act like adults and not be silly and immature . That was the first time I asked him if he had feelings for me I kind of get why he didn't say anything back then , if he did have feelings for me . But ... that was a long time ago. If he wanted to .. he could have said something . And I wouldn't have been mad at him or anything..

" For the longest time "

" What does he mean by longest time ? When exactly did he ... " , she wondered .

Chizuru thought back to how hard he had worked on the movie, barely eating, not even pausing to take a breath .

" Definitely before we started working on the movie .That makes sense. It fits with what Mini-chan told me back then . She also insisted that he was lying when he said that he didn't have feelings for me .So has he felt this way since then ? But that was long months before we started the movie. That was ... just after Christmas, 10 months ago .

Chizuru pushed her mind back further and continued analyzing.

" For quite some time now, he's done these things for me . Go way beyond what is expected of him, without me even asking he's been doing these things for my sake. Not just the movie , nearly drinking himself to death at my birthday party , watching my play and then promising to support my dream , all those bookings he made without giving a second thought towards how expensive it would be , following me and Umi-kun because he thought that I was in danger. He's done these things for so long. I've never understood why . Until now , I guess . "

Something pricked at Chizuru's mind and she thought,

" When did it start ? When did he change and start doing all these things for me? What was the first? "

It hit her like a tidal wave . Ironic because the memory was of her drowning and Kazuya saving her .

Chizuru wrapped her hands around herself tightly as she realized,

" That was it . When he saved my life , that was the first. But .. but that can't be when his feelings started . Up until the very moment I fell off , all he could talk about was his "Mami-chan" . Even while we were on the ferry , he was talking about getting back together with her . And he had just broken up with me . But then without hesitating he ... Even so , he was still crazy about ex back then . It's not like I've forgotten about him crying over her .

Suddenly things clicked into place for Chizuru,

" No , it had to have been then . After the beach, for a while, he was acting really weird around me . He wouldn't look me in the face and he could barely open his mouth. And then at the resort , he asked to keep renting me . He let things with Mami-san behind and then it was just me ."

This realization washed over her as she began to understand the implications.

" That was 18 months ago . 18 months. Has he felt this way for 18 whole months ? All this time has he been in .."

She picked up her notebook again and read the last line,

" I've been in lo..."

Chizuru bit her bottom lip as a little ball of anxiety grew in her stomach . She knew exactly what he had meant . What the incomplete word was and she had a pretty good idea of what words would follow the incomplete one .

" I've been in love with you "

The sentence froze in her mind , that particular word glowing bright red .

Love

Love

Love

The blush she had been mostly holding back upto now overcame her completely. She fell back on her bed and stared up at the ceiling.

" He said that he's in love with me .

But ... what does that even mean ? " , she wondered .

" Does he want to become closer to me ? But he's never, not once , said that he actually wants to be in a relationship with me . If that's what he wants , why has he never said it ?

Twice I've asked him, if he has feelings for me .Once before he said no and now he said yes . Now , does he mean that kind of love ? Does he mean that he wants to be romantically involved with me ? Or is it not that kind of love ? There are all kinds of love in this world . And really close friends do love each other. He is certainly close to me . Is that what he meant ?

But what if it's not ? If he really meant it in that way , then what about me ?

Do I have feelings for him ?

Do I love him ?

Chizuru gripped her own shoulders tightly trying to answer that question.

" I .. I don't even know what love is .That kind of love is a complete mystery to me .

I've never had a crush on anyone. I've never actually dated anyone. I've never fallen for someone. So I don't know . I don't know if I have those feelings for him ... I .. don't know " .

Chizuru pushed deep into her heart, into her soul until she found what she was looking for.

" I definitely have a feeling for him . It's different from how I felt about my Grandparents .It's different from how I feel about anyone else in my life , male or female . . It's completely different and unique. But ... I don't even know if it's love, let alone that kind of love . He is definitely the person who knows me the best . He is the person closest to me . And that's a unique relationship for me. I've never had that before in my life . I've always compartmentalized my life and shown only parts of myself to each person I met, including my friends. But he's.. different.

So could it just be that I've never had this feeling before because he's the first one to have that relationship with me ? A really really close friendship. One where we share a lot and do a lot for each other. Or is it more than that? "

A line that she had once told Umi-kun flashed through her mind.

" I don't not like him " .

Chizuru gathered up her willpower forcing herself to come to terms with what that meant .

" As ridiculous as it sounds, all things considered , that might be the most accurate answer.

I don't know if I like him in that way and to that degree but I do like him . I like our current relationship but I don't know if I want more .

Feeling frustrated and confused , Chizuru buried her head in her pillow.

"How do I give him an answer ? I don't know what to do now " , she spoke softly into her pillow .

And then a solution struck her

" If I don't know then the only thing to do is find out " .

Chizuru sat up straight and realized what she had to do ,

" I don't know what I want or what my feelings are , so I'll find out. The only way to do that is spend time with him , not just if he rents me, even otherwise. I have to keep doing that and maybe I'll find out . And if I do , then I'll be able to tell him my answer " .

A little smile formed on Chizuru's face breaking through the confusion and frustration and welcoming a sense of relief , like this whole process had been cathartic in a way .His words had been grinding away at her since she had heard them nd now she felt like she had arrived at a very fair and reasonable conclusion.

She got up , stretched a bit, smiled a little broader and was about to continue on with her day when another question popped into her mind,

" If he does like me in that way and I find out that I feel the same way then would I ... ? "

Next Morning ,

Kazuya yawned as he approached the gates of his University.

" Morning classes are brutal " , he thought to himself .

Just as he reached the gate , he heard someone calling out to him . He turned and saw Kawanaka waving at him as she walked towards him .

" Hey, wait up " , she said

He waved back and waited till she caught up with him . They started walking inside . She started chatting immediately , asking about the rest of his weekend , whether he enjoyed their time on Saturday and so on.

Soon they spotted the rest of their friends talking with each other as well and headed towards them . Kazuya and Kawanaka greeted them and joined the group.

Immediately Kazuya noticed Chizuru staring at him out of the corner of her eye , with a questioningly. Obviously she had noticed him walking up with Kawanaka. Kazuya slowly shook his head and then gestured towards the gate. Thankfully , she seemed to have understood and didn't say anything.

Suddenly Kawanaka spoke up ,

" Is that a new brooch , Chizuru? It's really cute ! "

Kazuya for the first time noticed that there was a nice little cat paw brooch , the gift he had given her, neatly pinned on her hair. He felt a little jump of happiness in his gut but was also surprised.

" I can't believe she actually wore it . I'm glad . It means she liked it " , he thought , quite pleased with himself.

The group talked a bit more and then separated, the guys and the girls each heading their own way.

Chizuru glanced back at the retreating figure of Kazuya, a little pink creeping into her face again. She had noticed the little shock and then the smile on his face when he saw her wearing the brooch. She raised her free hand and brushed past it slightly, thinking to herself,

" Of course I'd wear it, you idiot . It's such a lovely gift " .

She clutched the books against her chest a little more tightly and then followed her friends .

A/N : The Next Chapter will come out sooner than expected. Stay tuned .

Next Time : Ruka-chan...