Okay so here's Chapter 4. This is the longest chapter so far. I made it longer since this one is very heavy on the conversation with Yumi and Chukichi, and i'm really hoping it's not too OOC. Haha. Well, here comes the drama! XD


The drive back to Yumi's apartment had been relatively quiet. Shukichi could feel the tension in the air, so he would periodically take quick glances to observe Yumi's expressions, but she had been deeply lost in thought just staring out the window. He understood she was probably still just taking in all the information she'd just learned and trying to make sense of it and figuring out how to feel about it. It wasn't like she was just going to accept everything in one night, and he realized that.

"I'll respect whatever Yumi-tan says. Looking back, I was a fool for keeping things from her. I know she's waited a long time for me to collect the seven shogi titles, so I have to be able to wait however long it takes for her to accept the truth about me so we can continue on in our relationship. I only hope it's not too late and she's actually willing to take me back.. even if I don't deserve her.." Shukichi's face fell as that last sentence crossed his mind because he knew the possibility of remaining Yumi's ex-boyfriend still existed.

Yumi detected the despair running through Shukichi's mind as she caught sight of his saddened reflection in the window. She mentally sighed knowing to a degree she was being a bit too harsh on him. As she was reflecting on everything Shukichi told her at Ramen Ogura, she was beginning to find his actions admirable and flattering, but at the same time she couldn't help feeling lied to all those years ago.

"Alright Chukichi, i'll try to ease up on you, but not until you tell me about the envelope.." Yumi thought to herself as they made it back to her apartment.

Shukichi got out of the car and quickly went over to Yumi's side to open the door for her.

Yumi rolled her eyes, but remembered to heed her own advice she just gave herself. "Thanks, Chukichi.." she said with a touch of sincerity.

"Of course." Shukichi smiled while holding his hand out.

Yumi looked at Shukichi and sighed. "…Whatever." She uttered while taking his hand, but for only a moment as she stepped out of the car. She couldn't stand feeling incapable of doing simple things for herself, even if it was meant to be a polite gesture.

Shukichi followed behind Yumi as she began walking with a hint of urgency trying to make it to her apartment before he did. He took note of her body language and could tell she was forcing herself to act this way. He tilted his head and added a sprint to his step to keep up with her as he pondered what was going through her mind.

"Y-Yumi-tan, wait up what's the rush?" Shukichi exclaimed from behind as he chased her up the stairs.

Yumi remained silent as she arrived at her door and began unlocking it. Shukichi caught up with her and rubbed his neck anxiously since he wasn't sure how she'd react to what he had to say.

Yumi kicked her shoes off and entered the kitchen. "Alright give me a second to find the envelope, hell only knows where I put it.." Yumi said as she began digging through old magazines she kept on her kitchen table.

As Shukichi entered behind Yumi, he took this moment to observe her apartment as he was taking his shoes off as well. Everything looked almost exactly the same from when he'd last been over about three years ago. Yumi was a pretty predictable person, so he hadn't expected much change.

As he was walking around, suddenly something caught his eye. "Huh? What's that?" He thought as he discreetly moved closer. It was a framed photograph of himself and Yumi from when they first started dating. Yumi had such a beautiful glow in her smile as she looked at him lovingly while clutching his arm, and he was smiling at her so with a blush on his face. They looked so happy and in love, like they didn't have a care in the world. They had each other and that's all they needed.

Shukichi blushed immensely as he looked at the photo. His eyes began to drift at the other photos she had framed on the same shelf, and he noticed they all looked like they had been taken fairly recently. Several of them were of Yumi and her fellow police colleagues with the current year dated, and the other one was Yumi and her best friend, Miwako Sato, that looked like it had come from a festival that was held in Tokyo only a few months ago.

Shukichi continued staring at the photographs dumbfounded while still blushing as the realization hit him like a ton of bricks. "Y-Yumi-tan..there's a reason you kept this..you-"

Yumi snuck up behind Shukichi and picked the photograph up and set it face down. "Geez, stop being so nosy. I've been doing some decorating, and I've been meaning to get rid of that one.. Now enough of that, you got some explaining to do!" She said with a slight blush while waving the envelope in his face in an attempt at changing the subject.

Shukichi's jaw dropped slightly as he stared intently at Yumi, completely baffled at the thought of her keeping a photo of them still around her place after all these years, especially since she'd been so adamant that she was over him. He couldn't pass the opportunity to pretend like this hadn't happened, so he decided to get playful with her.

"No no, I think it's you who has some explaining to do, Yumi-tan. There's no way you'd keep this photo up for three years after we 'broke up'." He said adding quotations with his fingers while smirking.

Yumi's face got red. "I-I was just lazy that's all! You know me, I don't really change things around here much." She began to sweat frantically.

"Is that so? Is that why all your other photos have been taken recently?" he pointed to her photos while still smirking smugly.

Yumi anxiously bit her quivering lips knowing he had her cornered. There really was no explanation except for the obvious. She was about to admit the truth, but at the last second felt a lie choke up out of her instead.

"W-whatever don't flatter yourself, Chukichi. It's not like I kept that photo displayed to look at you or anything, I just really looked cute 10 years ago and didn't wanna throw it away." She said in a cocky yet obviously forced manner. "But never mind that, please just let's get back to the task at hand.." She said visibly still embarrassed as she held the envelope to cover her cheeks that were still hot red.

Shukichi felt disappointed at Yumi's lie, but still found it cute she was trying so hard to cover herself up when he didn't even need to use deductive reasoning to see through her. He decided to cut her a break, but he would never forget this with his perfect memory.

"Alright, whatever you say Yumi-tan. Though I must agree you were really cute back then, and still are just as cute to this day." He smiled sincerely hoping his compliment would make her feel more comfortable and not cornered anymore.

Yumi blushed, but scoffed it off. "You don't have to suck up to me all the time you know, Chukichi."

Shukichi's face lit up. "But it's true! In fact, I have a photo of you from years ago that I carry with me as a good luck charm for my shogi matches. I never lose when I have it, so your cute charm never fails!" Shukichi said with a flirtatious wink as he pulled the photo out of his jacket pocket to show her.

Yumi looked confused as she took the photo from his hand. It was a photo of her smiling with a peace sign while wearing the heart locket necklace Shukichi bought for her when they first started dating. "Oh my gosh you're such a dork, you seriously use this as a good luck charm? And you just happen to have it on you at all times?" Yumi blushed stubbornly at this new revelation.

"Of course! It helps remind me what I'm doing all this for in the first place." He said while looking at her affectionately.

"Oh my gosh stop being so sappy!" Yumi said as she slapped his shoulder in a playful manner. She couldn't fight the blush and smile that engulfed her face, so she turned the other way and started heading for the living room. She coughed and tried to regain her composure. "Anyways, we're getting distracted, lets just get back to the envelope." Yumi said authoritatively as she sat down with her legs crossed.

Shukichi sat on the couch opposite to the one Yumi took and felt a drop of sweat trickle down his face. He knew she wasn't going to like what he was going to say. "Okay, about the envelope.. there's something about it that I need you to understand."

"What." Yumi said bluntly as a statement opposed to a question.

"I know you're not going to be happy, but I need you to keep holding onto it until I get all seven." He said while avoiding eye contact since he knew she'd be angry.

"Chukichi, seriously?! Why the hell can't you just tell me! I thought! -" Yumi stood from her seat and began to yell before he cut her off.

"Please Yumi-tan, I know it's frustrating, but I am super close. You've waited for me this long. Besides I have six of them now, and I made a promise to my late stepbrother, Kohji Haneda.. that I would 'stick to the plan.' And that's what I intend to do."

Yumi's face fell for a moment and she looked at Shukichi with sympathy at the words 'late stepbrother'. "'Kohji Haneda'? But, you never mentioned a stepbrother to me once in all the years we dated. And that's bold of you to assume I've been waiting for you this long. Who's to say I haven't gone to my fair share of singles parties to move on from you! You'd be surprised to know I've had plenty of opportunities to stop waiting for you, you know." Yumi said smugly with arms folded stubbornly.

Shukichi disregarded her attempts at lying about moving on. "Well, I've kept a lot of things about myself private from you, but now I know it's not good to withhold information, so yes I had a stepbrother and two biological siblings, Shuichi Akai and Masumi Sera."

"You have siblings too? Then why do you all have different last names? H-how the heck am I supposed to take anything you say seriously? You have so many identities and lives I'm so confused!" Yumi shouted with confusion.

"Well, I was born Shukichi Akai, but when my father passed away, I took on my mother's last name, Sera. But eventually I went on to live with my stepbrother and took on Haneda as a last name." Shukichi said almost sadly as he was reflecting on his past.

Yumi looked at Shukichi now feeling a weight of guilt on her shoulders as she had no idea he had experienced so many losses. "Y-you lost your father too? I-I'm sorry, Chukichi.." She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. "I don't understand, why did you hide all this from me? Why did you think it was a better idea to withhold information from the person you are supposed to love and trust more than anyone? You know, you could have told me about all this when we dated, I would've tried comforting you.." Yumi said compassionately while looking at him with slightly dejected eyes.

"I know..I just didn't want to burden you with it. Back when we dated, seeing your smile and making you happy made me forget all those things I've been through. I'm sorry, Yumi-tan. Truly I am." He said with guilt knowing she was right to feel upset.

Shukichi walked closer to Yumi and took the envelope from her hand. "Yumi-tan, please. I'm begging you to trust me and be patient for just a little bit longer. I've never loved anyone the way I love you, and I really want to fulfill what I swore I'd do." He handed the envelope back to her and held onto her hand as she took it. "After all, men don't like to go back on their word." He smiled.

Yumi's eyes widened deeply as she again felt at a loss for words. She had learned so much about the man she had met on the subway one fateful day a decade ago in just one night, and so much of it was so unexpected she didn't know what he'd say next. Although she knew she still had a lot of thinking to do, just the sheer look of determination and fire in Shukichi's eyes reassured her that he was serious about whatever he had planned for the envelope.

"Okay fine Chukichi, you win. I guess I have no choice but to keep waiting since apparently I'm pretty good at that." She said bitterly yet in an almost heartfelt way.

"Thank you, Yumi-tan, this really means everything to me." Shukichi said happily as he began heading for the door and putting his shoes back on. "I really do hate asking you to wait for me again, but hopefully someday you'll fully understand my intentions."

As Shukichi opened the door to leave, he turned back dramatically to get his final word in. "Besides, now that you know the truth about my shogi career and the seven titles I'm trying to collect, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out what my envelope might contain." Shukichi said with a confident smile.

Yumi stood with a perplexed look on her face from the foreshadowing of Shukichi's last statement. Rather than demand answers from him like she normally would, she shifted her gaze to the ground as she began pondering what he could've meant. Shukichi smiled at Yumi knowing his words were working in the way he'd hoped as he firmly closed the door behind him.

Yumi remained by her doorway for a few moments just reflecting on everything from this day. She gradually moved to her bedroom feeling overwhelmed with a sudden urge to do all the digging she could on Shukichi to find out how she could've missed everything involving his supposed "fame".

"If Chukichi's really all that famous, shouldn't I have heard something about it somewhere at least once?" Yumi thought curiously. She sat by her desk and logged on to her computer. She typed Shukichi's name in the web browser with slight amusement.

"Heh, maybe he's only famous in some small nerd community in Japan or something. I know he got a signature from some kid at the ramen place today, but I mean how popular could a guy like Chukichi-EHHHHH?!-"Yumi exclaimed in shock as more than 100,000 results popped up on the screen.

Yumi's hand began shaking on the mouse while her eyes rapidly wandered every corner of the screen as she began taking in the full velocity of all the news headlines and images of her now undeniably famous ex-boyfriend. Many of the images depicted Shukichi dressed in kimonos with stern expressions on his face with what appeared to be his shogi opponents he'd defeated looking disappointed by their losses in the background. As she scrolled, her attention was caught by a blog titled, "Taiko Meijin Fangirl Page!" that was plastered with hearts and kissy face emojis.

"What the hell.." Yumi scoffed with a hint of jealousy. The blog was full of photos that were obviously photoshopped of Shukichi with random fangirls who looked mostly underage. Despite being annoyed, she couldn't resist the urge to read some of the posts.

"Taiko Meijin is so gorgeous! I want him to have my babies! :D"

"Taiko Meijin needs to leave whoever he's with cuz she doesn't deserve him!"

"OMG He's flawless! Anyone who'd make this sweetie wait isn't worth it! Be with me, TAIKO MEIJIN AHHHHH! :DDDD"

Yumi gritted her teeth angrily. She couldn't take it anymore, so she exited off the page. "Urgh…it's not like I'M the bad guy here! For your information you obnoxious brats, He's the one making me wait! Ugh….." Yumi yelled standing up from her seat getting worked up before realizing she wasn't exactly talking to anyone but herself.

Yumi took a moment to sit and cool down. She sighed realizing she couldn't really blame Shukichi for having overly obsessive fans like this. Apparently, that's the price one pays for being a celebrity. She decided to keep looking, so she clicked on a more legitimate source. It was the first news article she saw which read, 'Taiko-Meijin Becomes Sixth Title Holder in This Ground-Breaking Win!'.

Yumi furiously scrolled as she began reading. Most of the article went right over her head since she didn't understand the first thing about shogi, but her attention was caught when she noticed a video link titled, 'Post Match Interview with Taiko-Meijin.' She clicked it and began watching.

"So, Taiko-Meijin, what are your thoughts on today's match and your amazing achievement of claiming the sixth shogi title?" The interviewer asked him excitedly.

"The match today was quite formidable. My opponent gave a very fierce and worthy game, and I barely came out on top." Shukichi said professionally.

"Oh, don't be so modest! You are now the sixth title holder. Not even many of the professionals can claim that! You are a house hold name, and your fame only continues to rise with each success! Once you win the seventh title, there's no knowing how far you'll go!" The interviewer exclaimed.

Shukichi folded his arms and remained dignified. "It isn't the fame that matters to me. Obtaining the sixth shogi title today was merely another stepping stone for me to achieve the thing that's truly the most important to me."

"The thing most important to you, huh? What might that be, the seventh title?" The interviewer elbowed Shukichi cheekily not realizing how invasive they were being.

"No, that's not it.." Shukichi responded distractedly.

"Oh? But for a shogi master such as yourself, what could possibly be more important than the seven shogi titles? What are you really trying to achieve then, Taiko Meijin?"

Shukichi was silent for a moment as if hesitating to reveal his true intentions publicly. He sighed and then smiled softly. "Well…there's someone who gave me the inspiration to do this in the first place. She means more to me than anything else in my life, and she truly is my reason for continuing each day. Even though she doesn't know exactly what I've been doing this whole time, just knowing someday I can tell her everything has really made this journey worth it." Shukichi said with a mild blush present on his face.

"Oh, you're doing it out of love then huh? That's so sweet, Taiko Meijin!" The interviewer said bashfully. "But she doesn't know you're doing this though? How's that possible? You're all over the news?"

Yumi's face fell bitterly feeling personally attacked by that comment. "Tsk…"

"Hehe, she's quite the woman when it comes to being oblivious. I think it's cute she hasn't figured me out yet. Maybe if she's watching this, she'll finally know the truth." Shukichi looked at the camera and smiled knowingly.

Yumi's heart skipped a beat after hearing that. Did he plan for her to find out this way all along? She clicked off the interview without finishing it, but her curiosity didn't end there. The remainder of the night was spent researching and reading everything she could about Shukichi until her eyes felt so heavy she couldn't keep them open anymore.


Ahhh okay so tell me what you think! This one was hard because I wasn't sure if Shukichi should straight up tell her everything, but then I thought it'd be cute if she finds out about the envelope on her own. You'll see later! XD hehe.