That Evening,
Just around 4 pm , Kazuya was looking through his phone as he walked back home . He wasn't in that much of a hurry , despite having a shift at his job later that evening . Soon he reached the building, climbed the stairs and got inside his apartment , closing the door shut behind him . He went straight to his fridge, grabbed a can of soda and sat on his bed after switching on the TV .
A few minutes later , his phone buzzed . He considered ignoring it but then decided to pick it up . He found a Line message on his phone. A message from what was now becoming a much more frequent source .
Ichinose Chizuru.
He gulped and opened the message ,
" If you're free now, could you come over ?"
Chizuru waited patiently, looking at her phone as she saw the "read" appear next to her message. There was no reply but she could hear him rustling around in his room and so she expected him to come. She glanced anxiously at what she was wearing ,
" My usual home clothes and my hair is let down " , she noted .
" That's fine " .
Sure enough a couple of minutes later ,there was a knock on her door .
" Come in " , she invited.
She watched as he entered slowly and spotted her sitting at the table in her living room . He kicked off his shoes and inched towards her , glancing at her every few steps to see if she would object to him coming closer . He finally stopped a couple of feet away from her.
" Do you mind helping me with something?" , she asked.
Kazuya nodded and replied,
" Sure , no problem " .
" Thanks " , she smiled at him and then continued ,
" I lost one of my contacts " .
" Your contact lens ? " , Kazuya asked concerned.
She nodded and explained,
" I was taking them off when it slipped from my hand and it fell somewhere . The problem is that it's a tricky thing to find . It has a tendency to stick to places . You have to flash a light at it to see it clearly . So can you help me look for it ? "
Kazuya nodded and she continued,
" But first , do you mind getting my glasses for me ? I still have a contact in my left eye and I can see alright but it would be easier with my glasses " . And I don't want to move , just in case it's somewhere near me and I accidentally step on it or something. "
" Where are your glasses ? " , he asked.
" Oh they're in my bedroom. That way ..." , she began before she remembered something.
" The ring is in my bedroom. His Grandma's ring . He doesn't know that I've had it all this while. If he goes in and sees it ... "
She cleared her throat and said out aloud,
" On second thought, there's no need . Let's just search for the contact now " .
Kazuya looked a bit confused but then agreed . He slowly sank to his knees, switched on the flashlight on his phone and began methodically searching on the table and around her while Chizuru checked her arms and torso to make sure it wasn't stuck on her own body .
After about twenty minutes without success , Chizuru glanced up and saw Kazuya still searching every square inch around her trying to find it . She watched him silently for a few seconds as she felt that familiar rush in her chest that appeared every time he did something for her sake .
She sighed loud enough for him to glance at her and then she told him ,
" I guess it's a lost cause . Thanks anyway for helping " .
" No , I can definitely find it if I keep looking" , he insisted and resumed his search .
She watched him again, not saying anything, thinking to herself,
" There he goes again " .
After another ten minutes, he was still unwilling to stop but she put her foot down and he finally relented. He got up and sat next to her, looking very frustrated. She tried to assure him that it was fine but to no avail .
" I can just buy a new one . It's fine " , she told him " .
He glanced at her and suddenly he started staring at her. His eyes were fixed , locked onto her. Chizuru felt a little panic settle in and quickly asked ,
" What ? Why are you ... "
" Mizuhara, don't move " , he interrupted, still looking straight at her .
Chizuru swallowed a little but obeyed . Slowly he inched closer to her, he raised his hands slowly and placed one on her right shoulder. She felt her heartbeat exploding against her chest and wondered,
" What's going on ? Why is ... "
As he moved as close as possible to her , her mind desperately searched for an answer and could only come up with one .
" Is he trying to ... Is he going to ... " .
She opened her mouth to protest but it died in her mouth as she watched his free hand coming closer to her face . His fingers stretched out, nearing her skin, his other hand still clamped on her shoulder, holding her in place
She watched unable to look away as his fingers came right up to her... and then suddenly descended downwards. She felt his gentle touch on a strand of her hair that hung loosely on her side . She felt his fingers running through them and then zeroing in on a particular spot .
" What is he doing? " , she wondered desperately as she looked down .
Finally she saw it . Kazuya neatly picking her missing contact lens out of her hair . He gently placed it on his open palm and smiled in success. Then he looked over at her . For a few seconds he didn't notice anything. Then he saw her bright red face, the distance, or lack thereof, between the two and then the realization of what he had done , hit him .
He almost jumped backwards and immediately began apologizing. Chizuru was still glowing bright red , but she waved of his apology and took the lens from him. She then cleaned it, put it in its case and then repeated the process with her other lens. She then got up and marched into her bedroom .
Kazuya watched her retreating back and wondered if he should take the opportunity to run back to his apartment but before he could do so , he saw her coming out and then going into her kitchen.
She then emerged with two plates of cake , one of which she placed in front of him .
" It's strawberry cheesecake and it's really good " .
Kazuya slowly reached for the fork , still unsure if he should take advantage of her hospitality further.
Chizuru could see his eyes fluttering towards the door and she told him , with a smile ,
" After all that effort to help me , I'm not letting you go without a reward " .
Kazuya relaxed , visibly glad to see that she wasn't mad at him and started biting into his cake . As did Chizuru.
" So , any plans for later today ", she asked him.
" Yeah , I've got a shift in about a hour's time . You ? "
" I just finished two bookings and came home ".
" This cake is really good " , she added .
" Yeah it is " , Kazuya agreed and continued,
" Two clients on a Monday is pretty unusual, right ? "
" It's because I declined the requests for last Saturday . Everyone rescheduled over this week " , she explained.
Chizuru suddenly noticed that Kazuya was occasionally glancing at her forehead. She raised her hand automatically and touched the brooch on her hair. Even though she had changed out of her University clothes , she had kept the brooch on .
He immediately looked away but she smiled and told him , gratefully
" This is a really nice gift " .
Kazuya blushed a little but didn't say anything.
Something occurred to Chizuru and so she asked ,
" How did you know that I like cats? I didn't tell that " .
Kazuya thought for a little while and then answered,
" I kinda guessed it . Your Line profile picture is a cat and I don't know, I just got a sense that you liked cats ".
Her curiosity was piqued and so she asked him,
" Do you know what my favorite color is ? "
Kazuya was surprised at the question but answered almost immediately,
" It's red right? "
Chizuru's mouth fell open in shock and she asked,
"It is. How did you know that?
Kazuya scratched the back of his head and explained ,
" Again ,it's mostly a guess . But you wear red colored stuff a lot . If not clothes, then your handbag or your accessories , something is usually red . "
Chizuru blushed a little as she thought to herself,
" He noticed all that ? "
She was silent for some time and then glanced at him and said ,
" I bet I can guess your favorite color too "
" Sure , go for it " .
" It's orange isn't it ? "
Kazuya smiled and replied,
" Nope . My favorite color is black " .
" Black ? But your hair is dyed orange . And that orange T-shirt is your favorite ."
" Well I dyed my hair because I wanted to stand out. And the T-shirt is just a T-shirt . I have black ones too ."
Chizuru was silent as she thought to herself,
" I'm not doing enough . I have to learn more about him . I know that fishes are his favorite but he told me that .He's figured out so much by paying attention to me.
I should do the same" , she resolved
They chatted a bit more and then Kazuya decided that it was time for him to go. They said their usual goodbyes and then he left, Chizuru smiling gently as she watched him going inside his apartment.
" That idiot " , she thought to herself as she remembered him moving closer to her and touching her hair
" Next time, give me a warning before you do something like that" .
She smiled a little more and thought again ,
" Black, huh ? I'll remember that " .
A Few Hours Later ,
Kazuya walked back home, after a long shift feeling very tired. He stopped at the convenience store and bought some instant Ramen . He had almost reached his apartment when his phone rang . He ignored it till he reached home and then pulled it out to check who had called him.
" Sarashina Ruka "
" Ruka-chan ? Why's she calling now ? "
He scrolled through his call log and found that she had actually called him five times.
" Damn it , she's going to be mad " , he thought to himself.
He called back and she picked up on the second ring . He waited for her to say something but she didn't and so he spoke up ,
" Um , Ruka-chan? " .
" Oh , you remember my name . I guess I should be happy about that " .
He sighed internally ,
" She's definitely angry ".
" Of course I know your name . Why wouldn't I? " he replied .
" Well you wouldn't know it from the amount of time you spend with me , your girlfriend. "
" Ruka-chan, I told you I was busy "
" Last Saturday , you were supposed to take me to a movie but you canceled . I bet you rented Chizuru-san and had a nice time " .
" No , no . I didn't rent Mizuhara last week " , he told her, technically not lying .
" And somehow, most of our shifts are at different times now " .
Kazuya swallowed a bit . That was on him . He had changed around his shift schedule so that most of their shifts didn't coincide. And the few that did were at the Karaoke Bar's busiest hours , so that she couldn't try anything.
" I told you that my schedule changed. College and high school routines are different " , he explained, this time completely lying .
" Well I don't care . I'm going to talk to the manager. And more importantly, you have to take me out on Wednesday to go see that movie . Understood? "
" Fine" , Kazuya agreed. Then he added ,
" Good luck on your science test tomorrow".
Ruka was quite for a bit and then softly asked,
" You remembered that ? "
" Uh ? Yeah, you have a test right ? "
Ruka was silent for some more time and then replied,
" I'll see you on Wednesday " .
She then cut the call. Kazuya threw his phone on the bed and thought to himself,
" Another date huh ? ".
Wednesday Evening,
Kazuya and Ruka met outside the theater and went in. She insisted on them buying one large popcorn so that they could share it and then went in . The movie was a sappy romantic one and Kazuya could see many other couples, albeit unhappy looking boyfriends , alongside them .
Kazuya felt asleep twenty minutes in and was woken by a sharp pinch from Ruka . He propped himself up and steeled his way through the rest of it . He was shocked when many in the theater burst into tears by the end of the movie. He even joked to Ruka that another five minutes and he would have joined the crying brigade , which earned him a furious glare from her .
As he left the theater, Kazuya couldn't help thinking back to another girl that he had taken to the movie theater and had come out gushing about how amazing the movie had been . That movie itself had been as boring as this one but her presence and her holding his hand throughout it had made it quite an enjoyable experience for him.
" Ruka-chan is great, but ... when I'm with Mizuhara it's just ... amazing . I'm just so happy " , he reflected.
He took Ruka to a Cafe for coffee and a pastry before ending the date. As they walked back she talked animatedly and Kazuya listened, occasionally saying something. After some time, Ruka suddenly said ,
" Kazuya , it's nearly our anniversary you know? "
" Is it? " , he asked surprised .
" You forgot? " , she asked, slightly irritated.
Kazuya didn't reply but obviously he had forgotten. Suddenly a thought struck him
" If it's been a year with Ruka-chan , then with Mizuhara... 18 . It's been 18 months and still... ", he realized .
" Hey are you listening to me ? " , Ruka asked .
" Yeah " , he nodded hurriedly.
" You have to plan something for it . I won't take no for an excuse. And it has to be really good . I need ... "
Suddenly Kazuya's eyes drifted and he spotted a girl, about 170 cm tall,with long brown hair, walking a little away from them . Kazuya knew that it couldn't possibly be Mizuhara and it wasn't. But he still couldn't take his eyes off her.
Ruka stared suspiciously at him and then followed his eyes and saw what he was looking at . She immediately realized what it was. After all this wasn't the first time. A wave of anger rose in her as she thought,
" Again ? Does he have to keep doing this? At least when he's with me can he not think about her? "
Ruka took a deep breath and told him ,
" Forget it. I'm going home" .
Kazuya immediately snapped back to her.
" No , I was just distracted. I'll walk you home " .
" It's fine . Don't worry " , she said as she turned and started walking away.
Kazuya sighed deeply as he watched her.
" I'll make it up to her next time " , he resolved .
Kazuya turned and was about to head home when he spotted something that shocked him . The short blonde hair of his ex-girlfriend, Mami , coming out of a Karaoke bar nearby . He held his breath and stood like a statue , watching her carefully. Thankfully she hadn't spotted him or Ruka-chan. Kazuya waited a little longer as she stood there waiting for someone . Once he was satisfied, he was about to leave when he received his next shock.
The person meeting her.
His oldest and closest friend , Yoshiaki Kibe .
Kazuya was frozen once again . He watched them exchange greetings and thought to himself,
" Mami-chan and Kibe ? What are they doing together?"
A cold shiver ran down his spine as his mind jumped to the worst-case scenario.
" Mizuhara. She could tell him about Mizuhara " .
The two of them had started walking and so Kazuya quickly followed them . He had no idea what to do or how to stop them but nevertheless he followed them. Finally they came to a Mr. Donut and they went inside .
Kazuya watched from inside as they sat down inside .
" I have to listen to what they're talking " , he decided and was about to go inside when his eyes spotted something.
The long flowing brown hair of a 170 cm tall girl . But this time , it wasn't a stranger. This time it was Mizuhara Chizuru herself . And she wasn't alone . Kazuya watched in horror as she held hands with a young man a couple of years older than them . Clearly one of her clients .
Kazuya couldn't breathe as they walked past the Mr Donut . He prayed that neither Mami nor Kibe would spot Mizuhara through the window. Thankfully his prayers were answered . Mizuhara walked past them without them even noticing her.
Kazuya breathed a huge sigh of relief.
But not for long .
Fate had other plans .
It was like watching a train wreck in slow motion. Kazuya could suddenly see the chaos that was coming. He watched in silence, unable to do anything as slowly Mizuhara raised her hand and pointed at the Mr.Donut .
" No . No . Don't " , Kazuya pleaded desperately.
The client nodded and pushed open the door of the shop .
Kazuya watched powerless to stop them as he watched Mizuhara walk inside .
A/N :
The Rental Girlfriend, the Ex-Girlfriend , the Best Friend all in the same place . What couldn't go wrong?
Unfortunately , I will be very busy over the next two weeks . So this week's chapter is released early and as much as I hate to say it , there will be no chapter next week.
Hope you guys enjoy this chapter and that you won't mind a long wait to the next one .
Next time: Kazuya needs to think fast but can he stop this disaster?