Chizuru yawned as the bright sunshine forced her awake. She turned to the other side and was surprised to feel the rays of light still assaulting her .
"That's strange " , she thought to herself
"There shouldn't be any light on this side ".
She reached for her blanket to cover her eyes and was surprised again, this time with how big the blanket was .
The third surprise was how different her blanket felt , like it wasn't even hers, just not as soft as it should be .
"What's going on ?" , she wondered half-asleep as she yawned again and then raised her hands to scratch her eyes. Only to find her glasses still on her face .
"I slept with my glasses on ? " , she thought to herself, puzzled .
Tired of the mysteries, she forced herself up and sat up straight on her bed .
Now that she thought about it , even the mattress felt different.
She blinked rapidly, trying to speeden up her eyes adjusting to the light but her nose won the race , because she was suddenly hit with a familiar smell .
Not the smell of her apartment, perfume , shampoo, lotions or anything else she might have expected to recognize.
No , it was him .
Her surroundings smelt like him .
Slightly musty and tempered with his current cologne of choice , but warm and comforting, all the same.
It jarred her completely awake and she realized that she was still in his apartment.
"What ? " , she screamed in her mind .
"Why am I still here ? "
At that juncture, her mind helpfully provided the answer.
Last night , she had been on her way out but then had decided to stay for a while longer , just to make sure he was alright and comfortable.
The next thing she knew was waking up in his apartment
Suddenly the thought popped in her head ,
"Where exactly am I sleeping? "
Thankfully before she lost her senses trying to answer that question, she noticed his futon a little distance from herself . And that she herself was on another one .
"Where is he though ? .
And how did I get in this futon " , she wondered as she brushed her hair back and made to get up .
However , the second she brushed her hair back, fragrance had spread around her .
It didn't smell like she expected though.
Her hair smelt like him.
Not just her hair .
Her clothes, her body , herself .
It all smelt like him .
She shrieked out loud enough for Kazuya to notice, which he did .
He came from the kitchen and said with a big, but tired ,smile,
"Oh , you're awake , Mizuhara? "
Feeling her face going red , she pointed an accusatory finger at him and asked ,
"What's up with you being so casual about all this ? "
"Huh ? About what ? " , he asked , perplexed.
"What do you mean what ? I...I just spent the entire night in your apartment? " , she told him as heat spread across her face .
Kazuya stared blankly at her for a few seconds before it seemed to register and he recoiled and started blushing himself.
"Oh my ... I'm so sorry Mizuhara. I ... "
"Ho...how did I get in this futon ?" , she interrupted suddenly as vivid images of Kazuya carrying her into the futon began filling her mind.
"Uh I... I didn't do anything ,I swear " , he anxiously reassured her .
"I got up in the middle of the night and you were passed out on the floor and I didn't want you to be cold and uncomfortable so I got the spare futon and pillows and laid it out . I was trying to figure out what to do next but then you rolled into it yourself " .
Chizuru began calming down but then she glanced at the blanket and then asked ,
"The blanket ? " .
He seemed to go even redder as he scratched the back of his head and admitted,
"You seemed cold, so I... put it over you ".
The awkward tension burst like a balloon spreading itself all over the room as Kazuya and Chizuru looked anywhere but at each other.
After a few minutes, Chizuru cleared her throat and then asked him ,
"You've been awake all this time ? "
"No" , he replied.
"I went back to sleep after that and then got up about twenty minutes ago ".
He gestured to the kitchen , saying,
"I made coffee for us " .
Chizuru smiled warmly at the thought of a hot cup of coffee and was about to thank him when she remembered , all too late , about how sick he'd been .
Immediately she got up, went over to him , grabbed him by his arm and dragged him back to his futon .
"Mizuhara? What are you doing?" , he squeaked.
Only realizing then that she should have explained first , she told him ,
"Did you forget you're sick, you idiot ? Even if you're feeling okay now , it takes a lot out of you and you need to rest " .
Kazuya relaxed a bit and replied,
"I'm fine " .
Just as the words were out of his mouth, he turned a bit pale and his knees buckled but thankfully Chizuru had gotten him over his futon by then and so he sat down on it.
Chizuru knelt down beside him , confirming that he was fine before she grabbed their coffee and sat down on the spare futon , just a little distance away from him .
Warm , gently heat spread through them as they sipped their coffee and a bit of color returned to Kazuya's cheeks.
He put the cup down after draining it , looked straight at her and began ,
"Mizuhara, we should talk about what I said last night.
What are we going to do now ? Your secret is out . And my family figured out what Ruka-chan's up to . And they're furious. We have to do something ".
Chizuru sighed as she put her coffee aside and replied,
"Not yet ".
"What ? " , Kazuya asked ,shocked.
"We can't waste any time . We have to do something now ".
"Not yet " , she repeated before meeting his eyes and matching his determination.
"You have to get better first . You're past the worst of it but you still need to get back to a hundred percent. "
"But , Mizuhara.. " .
"Do you trust me ?", she interrupted.
Kazuya bit his lip in frustration but answered without hesitation,
"Without a doubt "
She smiled a bit when he said that and then replied ,
"Good . So you rest now and let me figure out what to do , okay ? "
Kazuya nodded his head and Chizuru got up , picked up both the cups and headed to the kitchen.
Just a few steps away from the kitchen, he spoke up again ,
"No sacrificing yourself "
"What ? " , she asked turning around.
"You promised " , he replied, staring at her completely determined.
"You promised, that day , we'll each take the blame we deserve. So no sacrifices " , he insisted.
After a few seconds , she smiled and told him,
"Don't worry . I wouldn't leave you alone ".
Chizuru went into the kitchen and began tidying up the mess he had made while making the coffee. She also found some food in the fridge , presumably made by Ruka and began heating it up .
She stepped back towards the living room to get something and that's when she heard him on the phone.
"Yes I'm fine " , he said .
"His family?" , she wondered .
She heard his voice again, though it was even softer,
"Yes Ruka-chan, I told you. I'm completely okay now. So you don't have to come over " .
She gasped a little,at first when he said that , but after that, a smile broke out over her face .
About ten minutes later, she stepped back out with a plate of food and more coffee and placed it on the table.
He smiled when he saw her and then told her, more seriously
"I spoke to Ruka-chan. She's not coming over anymore ".
Butterflies began dancing in her stomach but Chizuru manged to compose herself and reply
"Oh! That's a shame " .
"Mmhm " , Kazuya nodded and then told her ,
"I'm sorry , Mizuhara. I shouldn't have called her over the other day , at least without telling you first. It was a real jerk move ".
"It's fine " , she assured him .
"Let's put it behind us ".
Kazuya then asked her , hesitatingly
"If I need something , can I... Is it okay if... "
"Of course " , she replied , putting him out of his misery .
Over the next few days , Chizuru checked up on Kazuya and took care of him. He didn't ask her for too much or let her wait on him but kept it to the essentials which she duly obliged and all that comfort and care combined with a few days of rest and Kazuya was soon back at University, laughing and cracking jokes with Kibe and Kuri .
His first day back , he lasted the entire lecture without too many problems and was soon walking back home himself after that day was over.
Until he found a familiar bespectacled , braided brunette waiting for him a little way outside campus.
Chizuru walked beside him the way back , explaining that she wanted to make sure he wasn't too tired and so that she could help him back if needed .
After a short exchange about how he had felt through the day and Kazuya making sure that it was fine for the both of them to be walking together , Chizuru raised an eyebrow and told him ,
"It's probably time we tackle the elephant in the room , huh ? "
Kazuya nodded and on Chizuru's instruction , proceeded to explain, in detail , the exact specifics of what had happened on the 26th , his family , Mami , everything. The only thing he left out was his declaration of love to Chizuru that he had made in front of his family.
Chizuru listened carefully and thought to herself ,
"It's not great , not at all . But it's not as bad as I thought. I don't buy this whole thing being a coincidence. And the fact that all this information has been presented to us in this manner almost certainly means that ... we're supposed to tear ourselves apart .
And that means... "
She glanced at Kazuya before finishing her thought,
"We can't...I can't let that happen ".
She cleared her throat before replying out loud,
"It's not ideal , huh ? "
"Far from it " , Kazuya replied .
She sighed and answered,
"I think I know what to do . But it'll take a bit of time ".
"That's fine " , he told her after thinking about it for a few minutes.
"I'm not going to lie . I want to do something right now and solve everything. But I trust you . And I want to make sure that this stuff doesn't come back to haunt you , ever again.
So I'm ready. No matter how long it takes ".
She smiled and replied gratefully,
"Thank you " .
They walked in silence for a bit longer before Chizuru remarked,
"We never got to go to the shrine in the end , huh ? For New Year's ? "
"Sorry " , Kazuya apologized before Chizuru waved it away .
She was silent for a few seconds more before she continued,
"It's a shame though, isn't it ? I had been looking forward to it ".
"Mizuhara? ", was all Kazuya could reply .
She waited a few more seconds before finally asking,
"Do you want to go with me ? To the shrine ?"
"Huh ? The shrine ? Today ? " , he asked, completely taken back .
She laughed a bit at his floundering before telling him ,
"Not tonight. You should rest a bit more . In a couple of days time .
Do you want to go with me ? "
Kazuya was clearly beyond perplexed but he nodded his head all the same,
"Sure " , he said .
The smile on Chizuru's face then could have lit up the entire city and for an instant all Kazuya could do was lose himself in it .
A Few Days Later ,
Kazuya checked his phone and seeing that the time was almost seven, quickly made sure he hadn't forgotten anything. He patted down his pockets to make sure his wallet was there , he checked his reflection in the mirror for the umpteenth time , taking in the sweatshirt , hoodie , sweatpants and jacket he was wearing.
Tonight was the night he and Chizuru had agreed on to meet for their belated New Year's.
He had considered dressing up a bit more but had settled on this in the end , figuring that it was a casual affair.
He had plenty on his mind though , about recent events ,their secret nearly getting out and the danger of that happening still a reality. His mom had called him a couple of times since then but he hadn't answered, just messaged instead that he was fine but busy .
He had promised to trust Chizuru and wait but every day that went by , he couldn't help himself from becoming more anxious.
"I've got to at least ask her about it " , he told himself.
"But maybe that's the real reason she invited me . So that we can talk in private without any danger of being overheard ".
He sighed, mostly out of the guilt he still felt but before he could dwell on it any further, his phone buzzed with a message .
"Hey , I'm ready . You? " , the message from Ichinose Chizuru said .
"Yeah " , he typed back and got a very quick reply,
"Let's head out then ".
Kazuya checked once again that he had everything and stepped out closing the door behind him.
He had barely stood on the landing for a minute or so when the neighboring door creaked open.
He smelt her before he saw her, an elegant but not overpowering perfume , one that was new to him but instinctively recognizable as belonging to the class of Ichinose Chizuru.
Then he saw her and his mouth fell open in shock .
She was enveloped in a beautiful midnight-black kimono embroidered magnificently with delicate gold , weaving the most magical designs on the immortal canvas of her body.
Her hair was done up in a delicate bun , not even a single strand out of place . She had a few bangles on her wrists and on her feet the traditional Geta sandals .
The kimono fit her perfectly down to the smallest inch ,highlighting and framing her flawless figure.
The black and gold made the most stunning contrast with her pearl-white skin and her brown hair , an ethereal combination that possessed the ability to take over anyone's senses, especially when she had that heavenly smile on her face and directed it at a hapless Kazuya.
Having lost all sense of coherence, he stood in place ,gaping at her but she just smiled and came closer to him and snapped her fingers, right under his nose, momentarily breaking him out of the spell she had cast on him .
"Huh , what ? " , he managed to say .
She chuckled as she asked him,
"I guess I don't have to ask you how I look, huh ?"
"N...not at all . Y...you look unbelievable ", he managed to say before his senses returned.
Her smile widened as she replied,
"Thanks . You look nice too ."
He glanced down at what he was wearing and raised an eyebrow at her,
"What ? " , she asked, now laughing.
"I'm not lying. I like it " , she told him which made him a whole lot more relieved . And embarrassed.
Of course she was embarrassed too , she just did a far better job of hiding it .
Soon they were on the subway , where they got a few curious looks from their fellow passengers, unsurprisingly since it was about a week since New Year's, but Kazuya and Chizuru ignored them and engaged in normal conversation.
It wasn't particularly difficult for Kazuya to block out anything else , after all the woman, sitting, smiling beside him, demanded all his attention with the littlest effort.
Soon they had gotten off the subway and were walking towards the shrine .
They continued talking normally till Chizuru changed the subject .
"You know , there's a story to this kimono ".
"Huh , really ? " , Kazuya asked , needing no invitation to glance at her again.
"Yeah" , she nodded and continued,
"This kimono was a gift from Grandma. She had it made for me on my tenth birthday and told me that I should wear it for the New Year's when I would be twenty ".
She glanced down at herself and added ,
"It fits perfectly too. I didn't have to get it altered or anything ".
Kazuya was blown away by this revelation and asked her,
"Then , shouldn't you have come to the shrine on New Year's? Especially if you promised Sayuri-san?"
She glanced up at him sternly and replied,
"Are you forgetting what happened that night ?"
"You should have left me and come . This was important to you right ? " , he insisted ,feeling extremely guilty.
She sighed and told him ,
"There's no way I could have come . You were sick . And my grandmother would have been way angrier at me if I had left you like that and come by myself "
"Mizuhara" , he managed to say , sobered.
"And besides " , she continued, now smiling again ,
"This way , you've come with me , haven't you ?"
Kazuya didn't say anything but Chizuru smiled brightly and started walking ahead .
Kazuya followed her silently but all of a sudden he was enveloped with a curious feeling, a strange emotion .
One that gave him a sense of foreboding and apprehension, one that crawled across his skin telling him that something was going to happen .
An emotion that scared him and excited him at the same time as he began to notice for the first time that the stunning beauty he had spent the best part of two years with had acted this last week in a manner completely alien to what he would normally associate with her .
The image that was crystal clear in his mind and memory, invaded his thoughts again. The very image he had been ignoring since it had happened .Because he didn't know any other way to keep his sanity.
But all the same he couldn't stop the memory from invading his thoughts , from reliving that moment again and again and he was quickly losing the ability to ignore it .
Her crying , tears streaming down her face , his head on her lap , her hand gently caressing him and through all that he could hear her voice as clear as day .
"Kazuya"
His heart seized every time he heard that because he knew with absolute certainty that she had never called him by his name before.
He knew with absolute certainty that there was no possible chance that she would cry over him .
He knew with a absolute certainty that he had never felt anything like that from her before.
But everything that had happened, everything that he had seen and heard, told him over and over again that what he had dreamed of but never in his wildest dreams had genuinely believed could ever come true , just might .
"Could ... Mizuhara ? " , the thought ran through him , as he walked behind her silently but his heart bursting with emotion.
A/N: Chizuru wakes up to an awkward morning, Kazuya tells her everything and life changing decisions are made .
Unfortunately , like I mentioned at the end of the last chapter, I will be unable to write/publish a new chapter for the next 2 weeks.
Apologies and I'll be back as soon as possible .Please keep supporting Resonance .Next Time : Life Changing Centimeters.