Okay here's Chapter 3 ^^ I really loved the ramen guy from episode 827-828 who totally shipped Yumi and Chukichi together, so naturally I had to include him in my story hehe. Seriously, Yumi's all, "HE'S MY EX MY EX!" (Which btw, Yumi, you aren't foolin' anyone XD) And Katsumasa is just all, "Oh is that so? What a shame, you made such a nice couple." Like ahhhh my heart T/T lol. I really want more of Yumi and Chukichi's past from when they were dating 10 years ago. Or now in the current timeline, since we know they are basically back together (And sleeping together as of chapter 1015 hehehe.) They could go out for ramen, and Katsumasa will be like, "Ah, so that breakup sure didn't last long, huh Yumi-chan?" And she'll sit there with an angry blush and Chukichi will be confused but chuckle with a blush or something
Ah, anyways! lol I could headcanon for days XD Let's just get on with the chapter lol
As Yumi and Shukichi arrived at Ramen Ogura, they were instantly greeted to a familiar face.
"Ahhh! Yumi-chan and her boyfriend with the round glasses! Long time no see!" Katsumasa Ogura, the owner of the restaurant boasted loudly.
Yumi hid her face in embarrassment and gritted her teeth while whispering. "Ugh, why the hell did you have to choose the place we went to all the time when we dated?"
Shukichi waved politely at Katsumasa and reassured Yumi as they made their way to their table. "It'll be okay, Yumi-tan, I know how much you used to love this place."
Yumi followed behind Shukichi while still trying to keep a low profile. "Tsk, yeah right, you're the one who always insisted on coming here." She silently muttered loud enough for Shukichi to hear, but decided not to waste any more breath arguing further as they made it to their seats.
Katsumasa approached their table with a friendly smile. "So! It's great to see you two again! I haven't seen you in ages, what's kept ya?"
Yumi sunk in her seat and sighed with a hand covering her face. She knew it would be awkward to explain that they were broken up, yet together on what looked like a date. She decided to put her pride aside and just get this over with.
"I guess we've both just been busy with other things.." she shrugged with a half assed smile as she regained her posture.
Shukichi looked at Yumi somewhat impressed she didn't immediately exclaim he was her ex-boyfriend now.
"Ah, Is that so? Well what'll it be? The usual?"
"Yes, I'll get the yakisoba." Shukichi said happily. "Yumi-tan, are you going to get the miso like usual?"
Yumi rolled her eyes "Sure, whatever." "tsk, why does he have to act like such a smartass."
"Haha! Things never change, I'll have them right out for you! Katsumasa said cheerfully.
There were a few moments of silence as Katsumasa walked away. Shukichi fidgeted with his chopsticks and glanced nervously at Yumi who was sitting with her fist resting on her cheek unamused as if she was waiting for him to break the awkward tension first.
Shukichi cleared his throat. "Do you still have the envelope I gave you back then, Yumi-san?" he asked rather abruptly.
Yumi perked up by the sudden question. "No 'tan' huh? This must be something really important.. Yes, I still have that useless envelope. Why?"
"Oh, good. I was just curious. Knowing you the way I do, I half expected you to have thrown it away or something. I should thank you for actually hanging on to it all these years." He said with a faint smirk on his face adding to the suspense.
Yumi raised an eyebrow confused and taken aback by where he was going with this and why he was acting so smug about it. "W-wait why? What the heck is that envelope even supposed to mea-"
"Here you are! Enjoy!" Katsumasa interrupted appearing with the ramen.
"Thank you, Ogura-san! It looks great as always!" Shukichi beamed excitedly.
Yumi's face fell with frustration. She glanced at Shukichi from the corner of her eye who had already begun scarfing down his ramen. "What are you hiding from me, Chukichi…If you would've just been honest with me from the beginning.. We could have just avoided all this drama..Please just tell me what's really been going on with you.."
After several moments, Shukichi put his bowl down to catch his breath. "Ahh this place has the best ramen, right Yumi-tan?"
Yumi quickly looked away and switched to a bored expression again. "Hmm, I guess so."
Shukichi detected the subliminal hurt in her voice and was overcome with immense guilt. "Oh my precious, Yumi-tan..I always hated making you wait for me..yet it's all I ever make you do. I have to put a stop to it right now."
"So um…back to my previous question, I was asking that question because it was going to lead up to what I really brought you here to talk about."
Yumi's opened one eye showing slight interest. "Oh wow, you're actually going to tell me something instead of leaving me in the dark for once? I don't know whether to be impressed or annoyed if this turns out to be another game. I mean, after all if we hadn't stumbled into each other earlier, you probably wouldn't have even thought to contact me and I'd still be waiting for nothing." She said bitterly.
Shukichi sat for a moment as if to think of the best way to explain himself. "Ah, well it is true that our little chance meeting today did reignite my desire to explain things to you. The reason I haven't attempted reaching out to you sooner was because I decided to take our little.." He paused for a moment since he couldn't bring himself to say the words 'break-up'. "-time apart from one another as an opportunity to devote to collecting the seven things, and since I'm extremely close to obtaining them all, I figured now was the perfect time to finally tell you. But enough of that, no more games, Yumi-tan. I'm going to be completely honest and tell you everything about myself that I kept secret from you back then." Shukichi said seriously.
"Fine, just spit it out then." Yumi said with her legs crossed and her fingers tapping impatiently on the table just wanting the build up to end.
Shukichi cleared his throat. "Alright. The truth is, I am a professional shogi player, and the seven things I was collecting were the seven shogi titles in an attempt to impress you."
Yumi blinked in confusion. "…Shogi?"
He continued. "Yes. Do you remember when we were dating, you were really impressed by that sumo wrestler, Tehno, for winning all six basho titles in a row?"
Yumi, still hesitant, looked at Shukichi skeptically. "I…guess? That was ages ago, I was a lot more needy and easily impressed back then. In any case, what's that got to do with anything?"
Shukichi took note of her confused reaction and tried to explain himself fully without skipping any details to help her better understand his intentions.
"Well, I had it in my head that you'd be really impressed if I won all seven shogi titles for you in secret. I was planning to tell you the truth about my profession a lot sooner into our relationship, but then you said whoever Tehno's future bride is would feel like such a queen being with a champion like him, so I made it my goal to make you feel the same. That's why I kept it hidden. I wanted it to be a surprise, but I understand how you thought I was sneaking around behind your back." He said remorsefully.
There was a brief silence before he continued. "Yumi-tan, I hope you know I would never leave you. Even now, my objective is still the same. I'll always love you with all my heart, and I want nothing more than to make you feel like a queen." He said while boldly placing his hand on top of hers. "I'm sorry I haven't exactly been the champion I hoped to be for you."
Yumi stared deep into Shukichi's eyes with an immense blush consuming her face. She looked like she had a lot to say, but all the words were sucked from her face. "I…" she looked down at his hand on hers, and after several moments of contemplation, she slowly retracted her hand away.
"Chukichi…I.. slow down, this is a lot to take in. So, you were secretly playing shogi all that time? That's why you were late to practically all our dates and not telling me things about yourself? I-I thought you hated making me wait, I don't get why you thought keeping it a secret knowing it would make me less trusting of you would impress me instead of just telling me.." Yumi looked down fighting the emotions she had been bottling up for years. "I felt so ignored and pushed aside without understanding why.." She turned her head to avoid making eye contact.
Shukichi moved closer and gently placed his hand on her back in an attempt to comfort her. "Yumi-tan..I-"
"Oh wow! it's Taiko Meijin!" a young voice boomed from behind their table.
Yumi and Shukichi were both startled out of their intimately close contact and turned to look at the source of the unexpected interruption.
"I can't believe it's you! Could I have your autograph?" the kid happily exclaimed while holding out a piece of paper and pen, obviously unaware of the moment they'd just ruined.
"Uhm…sure." Shukichi said nervously while noting Yumi's perplexed reaction.
"H-here you are." Shukichi said awkwardly while handing the autograph to the fan.
"Thank you, Taiko Meijin! You are my idol; I look up to you so much! I'll treasure this forever!" The kid said while leaving.
There was an awkward silence between Yumi and Shukichi after that sudden exchange that killed the emotional mood from a few moments ago. Yumi face palmed in disbelief. "Taiko Meijin? So what, you're famous or something now too?"
Shukichi spoke uneasily. "Um.. yes that was another point I was about to bring up-"
"And what about the envelope? Are you finally going to tell me what was in it?" she bluntly asked before he could finish.
"Ah yes the envelope, perhaps it's best we continue our conversation back at your place for me to explain that part.." Shukichi looked and noticed Yumi had hardly touched her ramen.
"But please take your time and eat before we leave, I don't want you going hungry.." Shukichi said with concern.
Yumi sighed and picked her chopsticks up. "Fine..but since you're paying I'm gonna eat as much as I want."
Shukichi chuckled placing his hand on his cheek while looking at Yumi lovingly. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Yumi-tan."
The atmosphere grew quiet and peaceful in the final minutes they spent at Ramen Ogura. He knew it wouldn't last forever since there was still a lot to talk about down the line, but he was enjoying the moment while it lasted.
Alright sorry to end this one kind of abruptly, but the next chapter will be a lot more heavy on the conversation and whatnot, so bear with me XD Hope you liked it! Please review! Thanks ^_^
