Little over an hour later ,
Kazuya sat on a bench outside the theater, waiting. About 15 minutes after the play had ended , he had gotten a message from Mizuhara telling him that it would take some time for her to get out from there and if he minded waiting.
He of course had replied that he would wait and that was precisely what he was doing.
Finally he spotted her coming from a little while away and for more than a moment he was stunned. She was wearing a bewitching, sleek black dress and a jacket but that wasn't it . He had only ever seen her that happy, once before . The day they had finally reached their crowdfunding goal for the movie .
" Of course she'd be happy " , he thought to himself.
" Acting is the most precious thing in her life . And this was as great a performance as possible ".
The second she caught up to him, without even waiting to say hi , Kazuya exploded ,
" You were unbelievable " .
Taken aback slightly by his volume but still smiling happily , she replied,
" Thank you so ...
Kazuya continued furiously ,
" You were freaking amazing. It really felt like you were the character , rather than just acting . Your mannerisms and expressions were superb as well. Your lines were faultless. You were funny as well and you were serious and angry and irritated at all the right moments . You... "
" Calm down, you idiot " , she interrupted, laughing.
" You'll make me die of embarrassment " .
Kazuya finally stopped more breathless than anything else and Chizuru seized the opportunity to speak , albeit hesitatingly
" Hey ,listen . I ..wouldn't have been able to do this if it wasn't for you . I was really demoralized back then and I needed your encouragement. So ... thank you " .
" It was no big deal " , Kazuya muttered, now the embarrassed one.
" And what's up with all this? " , she suddenly asked .
" With what ? " , he asked confused .
" This " , she gestured towards his clothes and continued,
" Where were you hiding these clothes and fashion sense all this time ? "
" Well , uh ... I just got this stuff , so I wore them" , he told her .
" Well you look really good " , she told him sincerely .
" Th.. thanks " , Kazuya manged to reply .
She looked around and seemed to realize for the first time that it was getting dark. Then she checked her watch and remarked ,
" It's getting pretty late , huh ? We better get back home " .
Kazuya cleared his throat, awkwardly, worked up the courage and then began ,
" Mizuhara ? "
" Yes ? "
" I know you've really worked hard for this. Probably ten times harder than you needed to. Barely talking a breath, in between. I know you gave a hundred and twenty percent to this play
So ... you should allow yourself to take a load off ".
She glanced at him, slightly confused, before replying,
"Yeah , I wasn't planning on auditioning again till January . There aren't too many plays in December anyway and.. "
" That's not what I meant " , he interrupted.
" What I meant was , you should have a reward . You deserve it . For all the effort and dedication and hard work you put in , not just today, this whole year " .
He stopped for a few seconds before continuing, steeled by his determination, meeting her eyes,
"So will you let me do that for you ? Just this once ? "
He shivered slightly at that sweeping gaze of hers as she stared at him for a while, not saying anything, seemingly thinking it over .
Finally after a few painful moments for Kazuya, she relented,
" Fine " .
Kazuya smiled, relieved and then spoke ,
"Let's go then ".
Chizuru stared at Kazuya's back as he led her through the subway station.
" What's he up to now " , she wondered and was about to ask him when she caught a glimpse of his face as turned and her words stuck in her throat.
She had done a good job hiding it but she could barely think straight in front of him . Not when he looked like this .
" It's not like he wasn't good looking before and I quite liked the way he looked. He is always handsome but now... dressed like this ... it's all I can do to not act like an idiot " , she thought to herself , desperately trying to remain coherent.
After a couple of minutes of composing herself, she asked ,
" So , where are we going ? "
He glanced back at her before replying ,
" Ginza " .
( Note : Ginza , a district in Tokyo , is considered to be one of the most luxurious city districts in the world )
" Ginza ? " , she repeated.
" Isn't that a bit too ... upscale for us ? "
" It's fine " , he assured her .
" We aren't going anywhere expensive ".
They got onto the Ginza line and soon were speeding towards their destination. Once they got there, they set off on foot and a minute later they had reached .
Kazuya pointed at a building and told her,
" We're here " .
Chizuru glanced up at it and read the name
"Kanimitsu ? "
" Yeah " , he nodded quite excited and continued,
"It's a restaurant. They serve some of the best crab in Tokyo here"
" Crab ? " , she asked .
" Yep, that's your favorite isn't it ? "
Chizuru didn't say anything for a few seconds. She saw the worry grow in Kazuya's face but a second too late and he blurted out ,
"Is it not okay for some reason ? We can go back. It's fine. I ... "
"No , no " , she stopped him ,smiling just a bit .
" I was just surprised . Crab sounds perfect. And I haven't eaten since morning. Let's go " .
They headed inside and climbed the stairs . Chizuru smiled at Kazuya's back and thought to herself,
"Geez , the way he was talking back there , I was worried he went and splurged on Kabuki-za tickets or something. But dinner together ? That sounds perfect to me . And he made sure to pick my favorite. As always he knows exactly what to do " .
Note : Kabuki-za is a famous theater in Tokyo
Kazuya glanced back at Chizuru as he walked up the stairs . Thankfully she seemed pretty happy and eager which made him relieved. But he reminded himself to be careful .
" Mizuhara will flip out if she knows how much I'm paying. So I have to make sure she doesn't find out " .
They walked into the restaurant and Chizuru gasped as it was much more posh than she had expected . Kazuya had made a reservation and so they were immediately taken to their table.
"This ... " ,she stammered as they sat down .
" This is way more expensive than I thought " .
" Eh ? It's not that much or anything " , Kazuya tried to play it off .
" Don't act dumb. Look at everyone else here and how they're dressed " .
Kazuya glanced around and saw well dressed men and women. Thankfully he also spotted something over her shoulder and replied,
" Well there's two people behind you , they definitely aren't rich ".
Chizuru glanced back and saw a young man and woman in their mid twenties, who were clearly out on a date . It was obvious by looking at the way they were dressed that, like the two of them , this was the sort of place they saved up to go to
"Fine" , she relented.
As soon as the waiter came over with the menus , before Mizuhara had even looked over the appetizers , Kazuya pointed to an item on his menu and told the waiter ,
" We'll have this course set " .
He then looked at Mizuhara and asked ,
" You don't mind me ordering right ? "
" Eh ? No . It's fine " .
Kazuya nodded at the waiter and then ordered two glasses of white wine as well , again making sure with her first .
After the waiter took his leave, Kazuya could see and feel Mizuhara's scrutiny on him .
She asked him ,
" How much was the course set you ordered ? "
" Not that much " , he tried to assure her but she wasn't fooled .
" It's a lot right ? " , she asked after a while.
Kazuya looked at her and admitted,
" It's a bit expensive, but not more than I can handle " .
She sighed and relented finally but with a condition.
"When we go to see the movie , I'm paying for everything , got it? " , she told him firmly.
Kazuya agreed knowing that she wouldn't accept anything else .
Soon their food arrived . First a variety of assorted appetizers , all of which they both tried and found extremely delicious.
Next came round after round of individual dishes. A plate of sashimi ( fresh raw fish eaten with soy sauce ) , was followed by the main event, crab.
Plates filled with boiled crab, charcoal grilled crab and crab gratin ( a baked dish of crab, cheese and vegetables, topped in white sauce) , soon filled their table.
Kazuya enjoyed the food himself but he watched happily as the surprise and delight grew on Mizuhara's face with every bite of every dish
The two ate nearly everything, drinking a few glasses of wine in between and finally they were done and their plates were cleared.
They then got their dessert , chocolate hazelnut pastry and slowly bit into it.
" That was amazing " , Chizuru told Kazuya with a broad smile .
" I don't think I'll be able to look at a normal meal again " .
" It should be mind blowing " , Kazuya thought to himself.
" I paid 18000 for this " .
They both leaned back on their chair and was slowly relishing the chocolate when suddenly a waiter came and placed some sort of card in front of Chizuru.
Chizuru looked up at the waiter, confused , before suddenly, another waiter came by , took the card and apologized to her .
Both Kazuya and Chizuru were confused and then they heard the second waiter telling the first,
" Not these two, the other young couple " .
The two waiters made their way toward the young couple behind them .
" What was that about ? ", Kazuya asked
" I don't know " , she replied equally confused .
" The card just said "yes or no" . That's all " .
They turned to the other young couple and watched the waiter deliver the card to the young woman . They saw the same confusion reflected on her face .
Simultaneously Kazuya, Chizuru and the woman turned towards the boyfriend. And immediately they had their answer .
Kazuya heard a loud gasp from Chizuru as they watched the young man get up from his chair bend down on one knee and pull something out from his front pocket.
"He ... asking ... it's... a ... " , Kazuya heard the words come out of Chizuru's mouth but in a voice he had never heard before . Like she was overcome , but he had no idea with what.
They watched as the young woman burst into tears and nodded her head. The entire restaurant had caught on by now and they applauded as the man put the ring on his now-fiance's finger.
" Well , that was a surprise ", Kazuya remarked with a smile . But even after a few minutes he didn't get a response from her .
" Mizuhara ? " , he called her, now glancing at her and found her still staring soundlessly at the engaged couple.
" Mizuhara ? " , he called a little louder and finally she turned around, her face filled with an unrecognizable happiness and joy and wonder .
Kazuya felt something in that moment. Something from deep inside him , telling him something ...
Kazuya glanced at Chizuru as they walked the last mile or so to their apartments. She had barely said a word since the restaurant. She just seemed caught up in what she had seen . She had this curious dreamy , wondrous expression on her face and for some reason it bothered him .Something was just eluding his understanding and he didn't know what .
" Hey Mizuhara ? " , he spoke ,
"Yeah " , she replied .
"Are you alright? "
" Why wouldn't I be? " , she replied smiling quite happily.
" You just seem a bit ... different " .
She stopped and turned towards him ,
"Didn't you see what happened ? "
" What ? The proposal ? Yeah " .
" Then why are you so normal about it ? "
" Eh ? It's no big deal , right? "
" What do you mean? It's huge " , she insisted.
"That was such a beautiful moment . The kind of moment you wait your whole life for . Can you imagine what it would feel like if the person you loved , promised you their life and asked you to give them your life ? "
" Mizuhara... " , was all Kazuya could manage , but she went on ,
" And the way, both of them cried, you could tell they both wanted to be married, so badly .
They must love each other so much . I hope they have a long and happy married life " .
Kazuya was silent for some time and then remarked,
" Mizuhara, you're really happy about this " .
" Of course I am " , she adamantly responded,
"There couldn't possibly be a more happy or magical moment in your life , than the moment where the person most important to you in the world , promises to be with you forever " .
Kazuya stared incredulously at Mizuhara as the two resumed waking , hardly believing the words she was saying.
" Who would have thought that Mizuhara Chizuru of all people would get so happy over someone else's proposal " , he thought to himself.
And then it hit him. What he was bothered by . Not just her words , not just her actions but the expression on her face at that moment.
He knew immediately. He had never seen her that happy before.
" Wait a minute " , he thought suddenly.
" I've thought those same words today. When I saw her after the play . But ... it doesn't compare . Her happiness then and her happiness now ... it's light years apart.
She's so much more happy now . I don't get it . Acting is what she loves the most. Then why would a proposal make her so much more happy? Not just happy . She's overcome with joy".
Kazuya's confusion suddenly disappeared and was replaced with a single memory and he heard Mizuhara's voice ringing in his mind .
"There's no one alive who doesn't get lonely. Just a lot of people good at hiding it. They all fill the void in their heart with work or significant others."
The shock of realization made Kazuya stop and stand still. The remnants of confusion left him and he was filled with a strange clarity.
" I'm such an idiot " , he thought to himself.
"All this time , I thought that she was talking about me . But that was only half of it.
She was also talking about herself " .
Kazuya continued walking but wave after wave of realization assaulted him .
" I knew all along. I knew exactly what she's like. She'll do the kindest , most caring things possible and then she'll pretend like it's no big deal. No matter how bad a situation gets, she'll smile through it .
I know exactly how good at controlling her emotions , she is .
I knew .
But all this time , I kept telling myself that Mizuhara Chizuru isn't interested in love. That she wouldn't want someone by her side . That acting was what she cared about the most and that it filled her heart.
But that's not true.
She told me the truth after all
She was lonely and so she filled her heart with her work .
Of course she was lonely . She lost her whole family. She lost everyone she loved and everyone who ever loved her.
So what Mizuhara Chizuru has wanted , what she's longed for all this time , "
Kazuya glanced around and saw that he was now walking up the stairs of their apartment as he finally realized,
"What Mizuhara's wanted all along
Is love .
And not just some temporary, short lived love .
Unconditional, lifelong love " .
He watched as she turned around and faced him , just before going in her apartment.
" Thank you " , she spoke.
"Everything , the whole day was amazing " .
Kazuya just about managed to smile in return before she entered her apartment with the customary "See you later".
Kazuya walked into his apartment and say down, reeling under the weight of his realization but at the same time it made perfect sense to him and because it did he couldn't help asking himself the question,
"How do I feel about that ? "
The words had barely left his mouth when he knew the answer . Or rather it was an answer he always knew .
"I've always told myself " , he spoke to himself.
" That whenever things ended between Mizuhara and me , I would be fine . Because as much as I wanted it , I never thought that there was any hope for a future for the two of us together. Because I told myself that Mizuhara was not a person who would ever want or need someone by her side.
But that was a conclusion I came to out of fear.
Fear that if I ever told her how I felt or what I wanted from her , she would cut ties with me.
I would be rejected again, just like with Mami-chan.
And so I made that conclusion and that allowed me to just stay by Mizuhara's side, without any pressure .
But ... I can't ignore it any longer .
And honestly I haven't been ignoring it at all .
That's why every so often , my real feelings burst out and I said something like " I want you" or "Let me stay be your side" to her.
That's why I lost control and tried to confess my feelings to her .
Because what I've wanted all along Is... Mizuhara.
I want her ... forever .
I won't be satisfied with just dating her.
I want her forever .
There's no way that I would be able to smile and pretend like I'm okay if she chose some other guy.
Even now ,I hate the thought of her other clients.
I hate the thought of her being with anyone else .
I want her. Forever .
Kazuya stopped for a few seconds ,breathing heavily , as every part of him screamed about his love for her .
He looked at the wall between their apartments. The wall that was flimsy enough for both of them to hear what was going on in each other's apartment. And at the same time , the wall that was more than strong enough, to separate them.
" I know " , he told himself.
"I know that I'm not the kind of guy anyone, let alone Mizuhara, would be proud to have by their side " .
Unbeknownst to Kazuya, across the wall, in the apartment next to his , Ichinose Chizuru had made her way straight to her bedroom , still overcome and dazed by what she had witnessed.
" I know that no one on this planet would ever want me in their lives forever " .
Chizuru ignored everything else in her room and walked straight to her little shrine , but her eyes didn't even notice her grandparents.
Her longing gaze went straight to the small black box , just behind the photos .
" I know that Mizuhara would never dream of me asking her that question " .
As she opened it and the stunning diamond engagement ring sparkled , she couldn't stop that image from filling her mind .
And she didn't want to stop it .
She could see ... him . Down on one knee , that ring in his hand , asking her...
" I know that even if I did ask her, Mizuhara would never say yes to me " .
She could see it ... the tears that would flow from her eyes in that moment.
She could see ... him slipping that ring on her finger.
" I know that Mizuhara would never want to marry me " .
She could see it ... her vision now tinted by a transparent veil , as she walked down an aisle , towards him .
" But .. "
Kazuya stood up now with the force of his assertion.
" There's no one on this planet who loves her like I do
So what I can give her , the only thing I can offer Mizuhara , is ...
My love . Forever .
Chizuru sat on her bed , staring lovingly , at the engagement ring that was now on her finger,
" One day , okay ? " , she whispered.
A/N : A chapter that has been weeks in the making and along with Chapter 14 , took a lot of research to get the details as accurate and fitting to the story as possible
I hope I've done justice to the emotional crescendo that Kazuya and Chizuru both felt .
Like I've mentioned at the end of the last chapter as well , due to unavoidable circumstances, I will be unable to write or publish for the next two weeks.
My sincerest apologies and as soon as I can, I will be updating this story again .
Cheers and stay tuned. It might take some time but Resonance will return .
Next Time : Kazuya makes a tough decision and Chizuru worries that he did it for her.