Through the stillness of the night , the two young adults , Kinoshita Kazuya and Ichinose Chizuru made their way towards the shrine, absolute silence between them . Kazuya was only a few paces behind Chizuru, close enough to see that she was still smiling, but far enough that she couldn't see him staring at her .

It might be rude to stare at her like that but Kazuya couldnt help it , he was transfixed . Not just by her beauty ,which was enchanting enough on its own but her actions , everything she had done and had been doing was utterly mind boggling to him .

A cold shiver ran down Kazuyas spine as he wondered to himself ,

" What's Mizuhara doing ? Did she really just invite me because I missed New Year's or is it ..."

The image filled his mind again , distorted, but crystal clear . The tears running down her face , the sobs from her lips , he could almost hear them again.

" It cant be" , he muttered

"It's her . Mizuhara . Mizuhara Chizuru . There's no way I'm that important to her . But ... she's been so different these last three months . It's not like we didnt go out before that, but recently she keeps on inviting me places and the feeling I get isn't just that she doesn't mind me coming along .

It almost feels like she's... happy that I'm there .

But thats impossible" , he muttered again , this time a bit too loud because she turned and asked with that radiant smile of hers ,

"Did you say something ?"

" No , nothing" , he quickly told her .

She chuckled a bit almost like she could see the thoughts that were swirling around his head before she turned and continued walking .

All Kazuya could do was follow her , as spell-bound as the day he had met her .

After walking a bit longer they reached the shrine grounds . Only a large banner held any evidence that a celebration had occured here, days ago . The grounds were immacculately clean , the stalls cleared out and the entire place empty with only a few lights here and there .

FInally at the shrine steps , they found an old woman , the shrine caretaker , sweeping the steps .

They smiled and talked with the woman for a couple of minutes before heading up .

Kazuya was still lost in thought and confusion and so didn't see Chizuru glancing back at him or the worry that slowly crept into her smile . He only snapped out of it when he haerd her asking him ,

" Hey, are you alright ?"

He blinked a couple of times before answering ,

" Yeah , I'm fine ".

She glanced at him again and this time he saw her but she continued ,

" It's just .. you've been really quiet and you've got this expression on your face like you're worried about something ".

Kazuya was quiet for a couple of seconds , fully intending to play it off but before he could , she spoke again , this time a bit softer ,

" But it makes sense .

I mean... all this, for us ... it's really weird right ?"

Kazuya just about managed to nod his head .

She looked at him and replied ,

" I'm sorry for doing all this without much of an explanation but can you bear with me a little while longer ? "

Kazuya could barely believe what she was saying , confirming and acknowledging the very signs he was trying to ignore but he somehow instinctively replied ,

I don't mind .

She smiled a thanks and the two continued up the stairs ,side by side , without pause till Chizuru stumbled and nearly fell off the stairs , just about managing to keep her balance .

" Are you okay" , a panicking Kazuya asked her

" Yes , I'm fine " , she told him , slightly embarrassed.

" It's just difficult to walk in these " , she explained pointing at the Geta sandals on her feet

"Makes sense " , Kazuya agreed before adding,

"Be careful " .

They resumed walking and almost immediately their hands brushed against each other .

And then the most curious thing happened .

There was no conscious decision or action from either Kazuya or Chizuru but almost instantaneously, Kazuya's hand opened and Chizuru's slipped inside his.

This curious sequence had happened just once before , as they were walking back from their first rental date .

There were absolutely no words spoken but the second they consciously felt each other's hand , they gasped in shock , internally but also tightened their grip on each other , automatically.

Every subsequent second that passed , baffled Kazuya more and more .

"Why isn't she pulling her hand away ? ", he wondered .

" Why isnt she saying something ? Mizuhara, usually would have at least threatened me by now but ... "

The thing that surprised and confused Kazuya the most was that he could feel how tightly she was holding his hand.

Almost like she wanted him to .

" It's so that she won't fall , right ? That's why she's..." , he tried to tell himself.

Neither of them acknowleged what they had done and so continued to hold hands till they reached the shrine where they finally let go , clapped their hands twice , prayed for a few minutes and then headed back down . This time , however Chizuru gripped the railing but it didn't dissolve the tension that was almost palpable at this point .

What seemed like an eternity later to Kazuya , they reached the foot of the stairs . Kazuya picked up the pace of his walking , his mind still spinning but a curious fear building in his chest as well .

It took him a few steps to realize that Chizuru wasn't behind him . He turned to find her talking to the caretaker woman, both gesturing to the other end of the shrine grounds.

Kazuya stood in place , confused , barely able to stop himself from turning and running tiil Chizuru finished talking to the caretaker and came over to him .

She smiled and told him,

"Come on , we're going this way" .

Kazuya gulped , nodded and despite his fear , followed her to the other end of the shrine grounds .

Just like the rest of the night , they didn't exchange a word as they walked, a far cry from the easy, natural conversation that usually flowed between the two .

They walked till Chizuru stopped at a particular spot, right at the edge of the grounds . Kazuya glanced around trying to figure out why they had come there and failing to do so , turned to ask Chizuru.

However , he was met with the biggest surprise of his night.

" Are... those fireworks" , he asked nervously , staring at Chizuru .

She nodded as she continued pulling out small fireworks from the cover she had been holding onto all this time .

" I thought we could have our own litle show" , she explained .

Once his confusion cleared up , Kazuya helped Chizuru lay out their entire stash before choosing a couple to start off .

They moved a little distance away from the other fireworks and crouched over them , fixing them in place.

It was then that a memory struck Kazuya .

A memory of the last time the two of them had attempted to set off some fireworks , at the end of the cheer-up date .

He couldn't help but be filled with sorrow when he thought of how the seemingly infallible young woman next to him, had begun to tremble , her shoulders shaking before breaking down completely that night.

He immediately turned towards her , concerned but found her seemingly fine .

However, she also turned towards him at almost the exact time and caught his concerned look before he could hide it .

They both looked at each other silently , mere inches away from each other before a slightly sad smile grew on Chizurus face as she told him,

" You dont have to worry .

This time I'm fine ".

Kazuya didnt know how to respond and so nodded .

He could however see that she wasn't lying. This time she was okay . Sure there was a longing sadness in her face but she wasnt hiding it nor was she overwhelmed by it and so Kazuya smiled back and turned back to the fireworks.

Soon , one by one their small crackers hissed and crackled in a prism of vibrant hues and with each sound and colour , laughter and happiness grew on their faces and for the first time that night , the two were unburdened .

Eventually it was over and they both sat down on a nearby bench .

Out of nowhere , Chizuru pulled out a flask of steaming hot tea which Kazuya gratefully accepted and they both shared.

Soon , the tea was over as well and the two were left sitting on the bench staring at the sky for a while before Chizuru broke the slience.

" Thanks for being worried about me" , she told him , softly .

Kazuya immediately understood that she was talking about earlier with the fireworks and so hurriedly told her that it wasn't a big deal.

He watched her fidget a bit before she replied ,

" No it was . To me at least . It meant a lot ".

Kazuya didn't respond for a few seconds and so she continued,

" I never told you why this bothered me so much last time right ?"

Kazuya shook his head , nervously.

Chizuru sighed deeply before looking away and explaining,

" Grandpa loved fireworks. Any festival, the smallest reason was enought for him to go buy as many as he could. So i grew up loving fireworks too. The three of us used to go to this abandoned field near our house and set them off, together. And I used to have to the greatest fun.

So.. on that night... "

Her voice trailed off and so Kazuya spoke up ,

" Its fine , Mizuhara. I get it . You don't have to say anything more ."

" No I do " , she replied, firmly .

" That made me really happy you know. What you did that entire day and the fireworks and what happened afterwards, even though I never told you , it made me really happy ."

" Mizuhara..."

She turned back towards him , now smiling again and told him ,

" I've never told anyone else about that memory or that I love fireworks . Nobody knew.

But still somehow you picked exactly that .

Somehow, some unexplainable way, you realized that it meant something to me .

Almost like you peered into my soul and saw that memory ."

She chuckled a bit and admitted ,

" But that's impossible right ? "

Kazuya nodded and she continued,

" But you did the same thing with the ice rink .

You've been doing these things all the time for the last two years

Maybe that's what makes what you did so special .

Because somehow you saw exactly what I needed and you gave it to me without hesitation.

You've always had this amazing ability , you've done it again and again since the day we met. "

She stopped for a second barely realzing the pit of fear, and worry she had thrown Kazuya in, to the point where his thoughts were barely coherent.

" What is she ... Why... What is this... MIzuhara ,what are you ..., he wondered ".

Chizuru turned away from him , trying her best to gather whatever courage she had . She was riddled with fear , all her old demons cackled in her ear , gleefully telling her that she was making the biggest mistake of her life.

And for a second she nearly gave up but that very second she turned back towards him and was filled with his warmth and his unshakeable iron determination.

She stared right at him , slightly quivering , but refusing to turn away from him .

She saw the shock in his eyes when he saw her shaking, when he saw whatever expression was on her face , when it began to dawn on him what exactly she was going to say .

Chizuru opened her mouth to speak but the words caught in her throat, reminding her of their consequences .

Chizuru knew that there was no going back after this, that she was risking everything , that once she uttered those words, she would be changing both Kazuya's and her lives in ways she had no way of predicting.

The weight of the world might have been on her shoulders but the power of her feelings gave her her the strength she needed to speak and so she did .

Looking right at him , watching his brown eyes widen with shock and the expression on his face freeze with every syllable she spoke ,

" That's one of the many, many reasons why... I fell in love in you . "

A/N : Tension , tension and more tension as the star crossed pair inevitably tiptoe towards each other.

So elated and excited to be back writing after some busy weeks .

Thanks to everyone who kept supporting Resonance through the break .

Resonance will return to its usual weekly releases every Wednesday.

Next Time : Chizuru speaks from her soul .