"Cold " .
A first coherent thought , somewhere in the midst of a rather satisfying dream in which he had been a fish, swimming in the ocean seeing the most vibrant colors and meeting a rather alluring yet quite familiar fish who wore glasses and called him an idiot as she smiled at him .
"It's cold " .
The thought echoed thought his dream but he tried to ignore it .
"It's really cold " ,his consciousness echoed a third time and finally he gave in .
Using the least effort possible , with his eyes closed, he somehow found the blanket that was barely over one shoulder and pulled it towards himself.
But it didn't budge .
He pulled it more forcefully and nearly succeeded but just as he was about to , he heard it .
A soft sound. Rhythmic. Slow .
A sound coming from somewhere on his left side.
More of his consciousness began to wake and as it did , he quickly realized.
He wasn't just hearing the sound.
He could feel it too .
An oscillating warmth on his left shoulder .
A sensation which left but always returned.
The shock jarred him fully awake as he opened his eyes.
Immediately he was shocked again .
He was not on a bed .
He was half-sitting, half leaning on a couch
He was not even in his apartment.
But this one felt oddly familiar .
He was sure that he knew this apartment but frustratingly his brain refused to remember.
He felt the sensation again. Now that he was fully awake , the warmth was almost all-encompassing, radiating through his body, each time it descended on him.
He was suddenly aware of a weight on his left arm .
He slowly, almost fearfully turned towards his left side .
He saw the blanket first. Then it truly came into focus .
The outline of a person under the blanket . A person pressed against his left shoulder.
He gulped and slowly lifted the blanket.
Long, silky, brown hair tumbled put first before he could see Ichinose Chizuru pressed against his shoulder , blissfully asleep.
Kazuya nearly jumped up in fright but just about managed to stop himself before taking a few deep breaths and calming himself down .
He heard that sound again and looked down at her peaceful face and realized what the sound was .
"She snores ?" , Kazuya realized before quietly watching it a few more times , completely captivated by her as she purred like a cat.
Somehow , somewhere deep in her consciousness Chizuru must have felt his gaze on her because she suddenly stirred.
Kazuya watched in horror as she slowly raised herself, blinked a few times and then finally saw him.
She smiled at him , seemingly unperturbed before greeting him,
"Good ... " , she began before she put things together and her face started to flush a delicate pink .
"Wait ... how did we ... ", she managed to get out
Watching her mouth fall open in surprise, Kazuya
thought desperately, trying to recollect how this had happened.
Thankfully his mind was cooperative this time and provided the memories he was looking for.
"Last night we were watching TV ,right? And you brought the blanket.
We must have fallen asleep ", Kazuya guessed.
Chizuru suddenly pointed at the floor and muttered, almost incoherently.
"The remote, it must have fallen down and turned off the TV " .
"Yeah ", Kazuya nodded in agreement .
They stewed in embarrassment for a while , Kazuya especially who felt slightly guilty as well .
It must have showed on his face because Chizuru poked his cheek, smiled and told him ,
"It's fine . I don't mind anyway " .
"Huh ? ", he managed to respond before she added ,
" Such an idiot."
"Eh , why ? " , he asked her .
"Because you are ", she asserted smiling broadly at him .
Kazuya also grinned unable to help himself.
They laughed together for a bit more before Chizuru asked him ,
"What's the time ? "
"Just past 9 " , he answered before asking hurriedly,
"Do you have to go somewhere now ?"
"No, no ", she replied
"I was just asking because I'm starting to feel hungry again. "
She then got up from the couch before her legs wobbled slightly and she sat back down.
"Are you okay ", a worried Kazuya scrambled next to her .
"Yeah I'm fine " , she assured him .
"Just pins and needles . And I'm pretty stiff which is to be expected from sleeping like that ".
Despite her assurance , Kazuya still frowned , before he himself got up , ignoring his stiff muscles.
"I'll make you some coffee ", he decided and went to the kitchen .
Five minutes later he came back with two steaming cups of coffee and a plate in his hands.
He sat down , handing the stronger of the two coffees to her and offered her the plate as well .
"Yesterday's brownies?", she asked .
Kazuya nodded before explaining,
"I thought it'd be a good breakfast ".
"That's probably one of the best ideas you've ever had ", she replied enthusiastically before she grabbed one and bit into it, relishing it .
She then took a long sip of the coffee before sighing contently .
Kazuya watched Chizuru carefully as they ate delighting in the content happiness in her eyes .
After they were done eating. Kazuya washed the plate and the cups ,while Chizuru folded away the blanket and straightened up her couch.
Soon they had finished that as well .
Kazuya walked slowly to the door having already heard the customary ,
"See you later " .
However he couldn't help himself .
He could feel his heart sinking with every step he took towards the door.
Away from her .
"What are you doing?", he scolded himself.
"I spent the whole night with her . She put herself through a lot of trouble for me .
Even if I want to stay ... I owe it to her to give her some time " .
Despite trying to convince himself, he found himself having stopped moving, unable to reason with his heart.
He turned around quickly and was just about to speak when he heard Chizuru begin,
"Kazuya, I.. " .
She stopped , the second she saw him turning around.
Their eyes met and somehow they transmitted their desire .
Their shared desire .
And they agreed .
"I really want to spend more time with you " , he admitted.
"I don't want you to go ", she replied softly.
They were both silent before she asked ,
"Do you have somewhere else to be today ?"
Almost immediately, he answered truthfully,
"Even if I did , I would drop them all in a second ".
She nodded , smiling happily before affirming
"Okay then .
We'll cancel everything.
Let's go on a date together ".
Kazuya sprinted into his apartment, threw his clothes off and climbed into the shower .
They had agreed to get ready as quickly as possible and then meet up before heading out .
Kazuya did just that and so twenty minutes later, he stood in front of his mirror ready to leave.
He had decided on his usual double shirt combo with a black full sleeved shirt underneath and a dark blue t-shirt topped with a dark jacket .
He had chosen a comfortable pair of joggers as well as a nice pair of sneakers .
Feeling rather pleased with how he looked , he grabbed his phone , wallet and keys and headed back to Chizuru's apartment.
He knocked on the door but heard no answer and so kicked his sneakers off before entering.
He could hear the sound of a blow dryer and so he followed it till he found Chizuru hunched over her makeup table , drying her hair .
He tried to get her attention but she couldn't hear him and so he tapped on her shoulder , which unsurprisingly frightened her.
That resulted in a scream and punch on his shoulder for good measure before she realized it was him at which point she descended into a combination of laughter and apology .
Kazuya sat down smiling even while rubbing his smarting left shoulder.
"Sorry ", she told him again.
"I'm not used to people in my apartment ".
"It's fine ", Kazuya assured her .
Chizuru then glanced up and down at him , taking in his outfit before exclaiming,
"You look great ! I told you that a dark layered look would suit you !"
"Thanks ", Kazuya replied, embarrassed.
After all he was not used to receiving compliments on his appearance.
"But you really made some good choices ", she continued excitedly ,
"I picked a more casual outfit this time too . Seems like both of got that casual feel for this date , huh ? ".
She beamed at him again before going on ,
"I haven't gotten ready yet . Do you want to go back to your apartment and wait? Because I will take a bit more time .
I had a shower and picked out my clothes . I just need to set my hair, then change and I'll be done, okay? "
Kazuya frowned in response because he didn't particularly want to go .
"You want to wait here ?", she asked
He nodded firmly.
She smiled again before nodding as well , telling him ,
"Okay , but you'll have to wait in the living room "
Kazuya nodded again before scampering to the living room .
He played on his phone, but the wait was still agonizing for him making the twenty minutes Chizuru took seem like twenty hours.
But eventually she stepped out of her bedroom and on cue, Kazuya's jaw hit the floor .
She wore a white top tucked into perfect form-fitting blue jeans and a luscious cherry-red , knee-length coat .
She wore comfortable sneakers and no other jewelry except for a black flower necklace.
Her hair was her most striking feature though, not because it was a new complex style .
Rather it was an all too familiar one , twin braids on her sides and the rest of her hair shimmering around her like the most mesmerized of coats.
"So , how do I look ? ", she asked playfully, twirling around a bit .
"Wow ! You look amazing", Kazuya replied, awestruck as usual.
She smiled ,warmly as the most tender of pinks appeared on her cheeks
"So where are we going? " , Kazuya asked her as they left their building behind and walked slowly.
Chizuru chuckled , patting herself on the back for the idea she had thought of before playfully replying,
"I wonder where ".
He looked at her quizzically before continuing,
"I was searching on my phone while you were getting ready and ... "
"No , that's not allowed ", she interrupted.
"Huh ? "
"There's no need to search" .
"So where are we going ? ", he asked again
Chizuru smiled mischievously before answering,
"You don't need to know that yet . All you need to know is that I have a great idea ".
He raised an eyebrow questioningly before she added ,
"Or maybe I have no idea at all "
She chuckled again, this time loud enough for him to hear.
Kazuya grinned too , knowing full well that his girlfriend was enjoying teasing him .
They walked together slowly , enjoying every single second even when they were just walking silently
The only information Chizuru had given up was that they were headed to the nearest subway station.
She continued to relish her plan as they walked but not as much as she enjoyed stealing glances at her boyfriend.
She was quite dazzled by him .
This wasn't a one-way street however and soon they caught the other's eye as they were glancing at each other .
"What are you thinking now?", Chizuru pounced, not giving him a second to breath .
He smiled, accepting his defeat before answering,
"Your hair "
"What about it ?", she asked, feeling slightly self conscious as she ran her fingers through it .
"I really like this hairstyle ", he explained.
"Don't get me wrong , I like all your hairstyles but this one always felt more special .
It always felt to me like it was both Ichinose and Mizuhara ".
"Huh ? ", she asked puzzled .
"You know ", he continued.
"The braids are like Ichinose and the rest of your hair is like Mizuhara .
So whenever you styled your hair like this on our dates and you would be yourself, I always felt that I got to be with the real Chizuru.
I felt really happy . And lucky of course , but more than anything just happy ".
Chizuru stopped walking abruptly as her breath got caught in her mouth.
"This guy... ", she thought to herself as she felt her face heat up .
"He always... "
She raised her head and looked at him , letting him see the effect of his words on her face , which made him smile in return .
"Thank you ", she told him .
"I didn't start using this hairstyle with that intention but I guess somewhere along the way that became the truth .
Somewhere along the way it became special .
Just like you .. and me ".
Her smile became ever more radiant as she slowly reached out and took his hand in hers , before they started waking again.
"I've only ever used this hairstyle with you , you know?", she added .
"Really ? ", a surprised Kazuya asked .
"Mmhm ", she nodded before asking in return,
"Do you remember the first time I used it ?"
Without taking a second to breathe , he answered,
"Our second date , the one where we ended up going to the hospital and kickstarted our whole relationship".
"Correct ", she replied before commenting
"Seems absolutely implausible now right?"
She suddenly laughed a bit before asking,
"You don't know how I came up with this right?"
Kazuya shook his head and Chizuru explained ,
"Well after our first date and your totally unfair review ".
She paused for a second to glare at him before resuming,
"I was so annoyed and determined to get my five star rating back that I did a ton of research on fish and picked out a special dress and all that .
But I also searched on the internet for hairstyles and went through a bunch of videos that were all titled something like
"5 hairstyles guaranteed to wow your boyfriend"
And so I tried them but it didn't really come off, so I put my own ideas into it and eventually came up with this "
"Well I'm glad you did , because it's awesome ", Kazuya replied.
"Thanks", she beamed at him before noticing a cheeky twinkle in his eye .
She didn't have to wonder about it that long because almost immediately after that , he remarked
"It's nice to see how determined you were to make me fall for you even back then ".
That singular remark took Chizuru to the very heights of embarrassment
"I ... I did not " , she sputtered in vain as Kazuya laughed at her.
She squeezed his hand extra hard , causing him to yelp before they both smiled at each other and continued on .
A/N : After a few intense chapters, Kazuya and Chizuru have a fun and enjoyable morning and decide to make a day of it .
The main aspect of this chapter is how Kazuya and Chizuru are slowly getting attached to each other, unable to leave the others side .
I hope everyone continues to enjoy Resonance.
Next Time : A fun , unplanned date.