"Hey , why don't you come over today ?"
Her question reverberated though Kazuya's mind , freezing his hand in place an inch away from his doorknob
"To your apartment?" , Kazuya asked
"Yeah ", Chizuru nodded brightly .
Part of the routine they had settled into over the last few days was spending some time together before they would head onwards towards their respective jobs or Chizuru's classes .
So far this time had been spent in Kazuya's apartment and so Kazuya was a little taken back but he responded with an enthusiastic
"Okay " .
Chizuru's eyes lit up even further as she darted into her apartment ,telling Kazuya ,
"Give me a few minutes and then come right in ".
Kazuya smiled at her disappearing figure before entering his own apartment.
He threw his bag on his mattress ,then headed back outside and stood outside her door .
He hesitated for just a couple of seconds before kicking off his shoes and entering.
He had barely entered when he was nearly shoved out of the way by a bustling Chizuru who disappeared into another room before re-emerging with two large cushions which she placed right in front of the table in her living room .
She then promptly hurried back into the kitchen, summoned by the shrill whistle of a boiling tea pot .
Taking that as his invitation to sit down , Kazuya did so , just in time for Chizuru to return with the tea and a plate of cookies.
She finally sat down and took a few seconds to catch her breath, before glaring at him , poking him in the chest before reminding him ,
"I said a few minutes " .
"Sorry ", a smiling Kazuya apologized .
"I was just so excited to come over ".
She smiled too before replying.
"Good answer , you're forgiven ".
They talked and watched some TV until the tea had vanished and only crumbs remained of the cookies.
That didn't stop them from enjoying each other's company though.
Day by day they had found themselves indulging in each other's warmth and laughter and happiness more and more .
Today was no different . Add the fact that neither had any other engagements and they might have been lost in each other all night.
But the blaring light and vibrations of Kazuya's phone stopped them in their tracks .
Kazuya glanced at the caller ID fully expecting it to be one of his friends but recoiled sharply when he saw the lit up word.
"Mom" .
Kazuya glanced at Chizuru, as a little fear crept into his heart. He found the same fear and a little guilt reflected on her face but she nodded her head giving him the courage he needed to answer.
This was the first time he would be talking to anyone from his family since the 26th of December when he had stormed out of his house .
He answered the call ,
"Hey mom " .
Five minutes later ,
Kazuya ended the call and tossed his phone on the table , staring at it blankly for a few seconds.
Chizuru immediately drew closer to him and tapped him on the shoulder gently.
He glanced at her , sighed and began ,
"Apparently Grandma's decided to stay with my relatives till the end of the month " .
Chizuru bit her lip slightly and asked,
"That doesn't seem like the kind of thing Grandma usually does , is it ? Staying away from the shop for that long ? "
Kazuya sighed again and answered,
"It isn't but Mom insisted that it isn't because of what happened , that it was my relatives idea and that Mom and Dad had to convince Grandma to agree .
But ... I know Grandma well enough to know that she can't be persuaded or forced into anything ".
He paused for a moment and continued ,
"Mom says that it's best that we leave things be for now and that once things have cooled down a bit, then we can figure things out .
She also wanted us to know that whatever the situation they're still happy about us being together ".
They were both silent after that as they tried to ignore it , but eventually the same wistful sadness fell upon both of them as the topic they had been pushing to the back of their mind, forced itself to the front.
Kazuya sighed loudly before Chizuru spoke,
"We have to do something about Ruka-chan.
We can't keep pushing it away " .
Chizuru's words took Kazuya back momentarily to the day they had visited Grandma Sayuri together.
After visiting Sayuri's grave the two of them had come to the shared conclusion that Ruka had to be told the truth because she was the one who would be most affected by it .
They had no idea how to proceed with the idea though and ultimately despite their conviction, they had been unable to make any headway.
"So have you heard from her ", Chizuru asked bringing him back from his short stroll in the past .
The sentence was a simple one but it carried a mountain of shared guilt between the two .
The guilt of what their happiness would do to that young girl.
Kazuya grimaced before replying,
"I tried calling her today , but there was no reply just like the last couple of days.
She hadn't replied to my messages either, so I asked my boss if he had seen her.
Turns out she's gone somewhere. He didn't know the details but said that she asked him for a week's leave ."
"So what do we do now ?", Chizuru asked.
"Turns out she'll be back at work tomorrow ", Kazuya answered.
"So I guess I'll take her somewhere after that and ... tell her ".
Those words brought the same recoil of pain in both of them ,silencing them for a couple of minutes before Chizuru asked,
"Are you sure you don't want me to come ?
After all I ..."
She hesitated slightly before continuing,
"After all ... I'm equally responsible ".
Kazuya shook his head and replied,
"Truthfully I would love to have you with me
.
But ... I feel like that would be more difficult for Ruka-chan to take .
Seeing both of there like that, as if we're rubbing it into her face..." .
His voice trailed off but she nodded in agreement.
The Next Morning,
Kazuya woke up with a sinking feeling in the chest but ignored it , got ready for University and headed out of his apartment .
The day soon flew past, faster than his panicking heart wanted .
Each second heightened the fear in his chest but before he knew it he was on the bus headed into the city.
Soon he was at the Karaoke Bar . He changed as quickly as he could and started his shift , waiting patiently .
His shift was an afternoon one and would get over by 4 which was usually when Ruka would reach the Bar after her school.
Kazuya had convinced the Boss (by agreeing to take three extra shifts that week ) to let Ruka have today's shift off as well .
The plan was simple .
As soon as she came, he would take her out .
And then he would tell her.
But soon it was well past 4 and there was no sign of her .
A confused Kazuya pushed his way into the Boss's office and was about to ask him when the man himself spoke,
"Is this about Ruka-chan ?"
"Huh?", a surprised Kazuya reacted before continuing ,
"Yeah she hasn't come yet and I wanted to know if ... "
"Yes ,I know ..." , he interrupted Kazuya .
He paused for a second and then spoke ,
Kazuya blinked for second.
And then another .
His eyes widened in shock but still unable to understand , he asked again,
"What did you say?"
The older man sighed almost knowingly before repeating,
"I'm sorry but Ruka-chan handed in her resignation today " .
Lost in thought, ignoring his surroundings, Kazuya half-walked half-ran back to the apartment, barely taking a breath as he stormed up the stairs and straight into Chizuru's apartment.
She jumped in fright when she heard the loud bang of the door as Kazuya came in but almost instinctively grasped that something was wrong.
"What happened?" , Chizuru asked after she had first convinced Kazuya to sit down .
Kazuya took a few breaths before repeating what the manager had told him .
Chizuru gasped in shock ,
"What ? She quit ? But why ? "
"I have no idea ", Kazuya helplessly admitted.
"Apparently she didn't even come to the Bar , she sent a text to the Boss today morning saying that she was quitting and an hour later she sent her official resignation by email .
I tried calling and messaging her but no luck.
But if she's quit her job and she's ignoring me on purpose then ... ", Kazuya's voice tapered off but Chizuru finished .
"It's most likely she found out about us " .
Kazuya nodded and after a few seconds of trying to ascertain what exactly that meant for them, Chizuru continued, worriedly
"If she's angry and upset , then... she might just go to your family . And ... especially now in this volatile situation ... that could be bad".
Kazuya nodded again and Chizuru asked him,
"So what can we do now ? I mean what are our options to get out of this mess ?"
Kazuya grimaced before answering,
"There's only one way .
I have to find her .
I have to apologize to her .
And hope that she forgives me and let's this go .
But truthfully whether or not she does forgive me I have to own up to everything and apologize to her .
She deserves at least that much . "
The guilt that they shared seemed almost too powerful in that moment but Chizuru reached out and firmly squeezed Kazuya's hand .
He met her eyes and knew what she was saying,silently
"I'm with you ".
"Thanks" , Kazuya whispered.
Next Day,
Kazuya woke up much earlier than usual .
He had been plagued all night and after a restless few hours he had woken up feeling even worse than the previous day .
He forced himself up, forced himself to get ready and forced himself to leave his apartment, just stopping for a second to glance at the framed photo of himself and Chizuru to steel his resolve.
He walked out and was surprised to see Chizuru waiting for him in her red hoodie and glasses .
"Didn't you say you didn't have classes today ?", he asked.
"Mmm", she nodded before turning to the stairs along with him.
"I thought I'll walk with you for a while ", she explained.
The two of them began their walk slowly, not talking much but fully aware of the weight on them
"So what exactly is your plan?", she asked eventually.
"After college I'll go wait for her outside her school and I'll try my best to talk to her ", he answered.
Chizuru's lips suddenly curved into the smallest of smiles as she asked,
"So you're going to stand outside a high school all afternoon, suspiciously ,looking for a seventeen year old ?
What if somebody calls the cops ?"
Kazuya opened his mouth to answer and then closed it again as he slowly realized how right Chizuru was .
"I had not thought about that ", he admitted
Just for a second or two they both laughed and the weight lifted off their shoulders
About five minutes later, Chizuru stopped and gently tapped Kazuya's shoulder .
"After you're done ... " , she began softly and then continued caringly ,
"Hurry back ,okay ? I'll make you a really special dinner tonight."
Kazuya turned back and replied,
"I will ".
He stopped for a second and smiled before adding,
"Thank you, Chizuru ".
Chizuru turned and started walking back while Kazuya continued forward .
Chizuru glanced back as she watched him slowly stride away from her.
She suddenly felt it again.
A feeling of dread . Of fear . And of something more .
The same feeling that struck her every time they had talked about Ruka-chan.
The feeling she had been left with for the last day or so , every time she and Kazuya were apart .
She didn't know exactly what it was but she knew she didn't like it .
Talking about Ruka, reliving the moments of Ruka's intense relationship with Kazuya. And how it had affected Kazuya.
She didn't like it all .
But she knew Kazuya was right . She knew that Ruka had not been treated right by either of them and that to apologize was the right thing to do .
Chizuru was even fully aware that she herself ought to apologize to Ruka .
But still, this whole thing, she didn't like it .
She thought back to the earnest honesty on Kazuya's face when they had talked about her ,the worry etched on him.
It was obvious that he cared about Ruka.
Not romantically , not in the same way that Kazuya cared about her .
But it still bothered her
She knew that Kazuya had chosen her , that she was the only one he wanted, he had waited for her , pushed aside all other advances , stuck by her, fought for her even when she had refused to fight for herself.
She knew that and she loved him for it .
But she still didn't like this . This whole thing.
She bit her lip a little too fiercely because she knew it was irrational, she knew Kazuya was completely trustworthy, that he was most definitely going to end things with Ruka once and for all .
She knew that whatever happened, Kazuya would come back to her by the end of the day .
But she still didn't like it.
A/N : As the title states , a sandstorm of emotions for Chizuru and Kazuya to sift through as they attempt to start unraveling the web of lies they had spun around themselves.
Will they sink or will they survive?
I didn't intend to elaborate so much on the events of this chapter , I had originally planned to have the events of what will now be chapter 30 as well here in chapter 29 but as I wrote I felt that the emotions that the couple felt here merited more elaboration.
I hope that the chapter is clear , concise and enjoyable.
Next Time : The pain of a solitary heartbeat.