Chapter 7 — The Heart Grows Fonder

One spoonful of sugar and a light pour of condensed milk over hot coffee. Ripples of light brown formed at the nucleus of the darkened surface, then broken, then mixed to a beige swirl as her spoon twirled against the ceramic rim. Not too quick, as to savor the delicate aroma. Small little details made for the quintessential part of a morning routine. On occasions when work seemed almost endless, Ichika could always count on the rich taste of coffee to make it through the day's end. Though, she had grown accustomed to the taste and scent that Ichika would even enjoy it on her much-needed days off from work. At times, she would enjoy it with a little something extra in the form of whipped cream, or cocoa powder. Warmth took her over. Wrapped in a comfortable shawl, she leaned against the soft cushions of their living room couch, letting out a low sigh.

"You're sleeping in a lot more than usual. You aren't pushing yourself too hard, are you, Ichika?" Miku took a seat beside her, carrying her own warm cup of matcha tea.

"Me?" Ichika stretched her arms. "No, I wouldn't say so. Work is just work, after all. Just glad to finally be back home."

"It feels like for the past few weeks you've been in and out of the place. You know, it gets really quiet when you're away. That last trip to Shiga was probably your longest one yet."

"You don't have to remind me..." Ichika groaned. "The whole thing was a scheduling nightmare from the start. The director is lucky we finished on time." She leaned her head back, letting her pink hair carelessly brush past her ears. "Things were just so busy. I hardly had the time to look around the city, or talk to all of you and Fuutarou as much. I thought I'd never be able to relax again after all of that." She glanced to the dining table behind them. "Though, speaking of not relaxing, what are those two up to over there? Have they been like that all morning?"

Miku nodded. "They've been sitting there refreshing the page practically every few minutes. They really must be getting impatient."

Seated at the dining room table were Itsuki and Nino, both at either end of a laptop screen. Brows furrowed and knuckles pressed against their cheeks, the two girls muttered a sound of annoyance after another click of the keyboard and mouse.

"That's easy for you to say, Miku!" Nino called from across the room. "You were actually there for Ichika's movie premiere, three weeks ago! If only Itsuki and I weren't too busy with school. We never miss any of Ichika's movies..."

"Refreshing the page...? Oh, did the review embargo lift today?" Ichika took another sip of her coffee. "I almost forgot."

"Yes it did, and how can you be so nonchalant about it, Ichika?" answered Itsuki, clicking another time on the page. "Darn. Still nothing... What's taking them so long?"

"I learned to not really worry so much about those kinds of things. I mean, it's not like I could get offended if a movie I was in didn't do so well with critics. I'm not the director or anything, and plenty of the ones I've been in have had some pretty lackluster reviews. But you know, actresses gotta start off somewhere."

"But this was your biggest role yet! The most screen time!" Itsuki retorted. "None of your other small roles can compare to it. You aren't at least a little worried?"

"She's just being all humble and stuff again." Nino crossed her arms over her chest. "Yotsuba just couldn't keep her mouth shut about it for almost an entire week. She kept going on and on about the movie, and even though I explicitly warned her, she just had to let it slip that—"

"Stop, stop, stop!' Itsuki covered her ears. "No spoilers! I don't want to hear it!"

"If I have to get spoiled, then so do you! It's not fair that you're the only one who doesn't know!"

"How is that fair?! It's not my fault that—"

"Hold on a second, hold on a second!" Eyes widened, Nino scooted herself closer to the screen. The reflection of the bold-lettered titles could almost be made from the look in her eyes. "Is that... there it is! It just got posted!"

"Really? Where?" Itsuki scooted in. Today marked the final day of the review embargo for The Vermilion Riddle, the feature-length film that Ichika had previously starred in and had premiered exclusively in the Tokyo region. Through word-of-mouth and social media, the film had garnered much attention from all sorts of moviegoers, especially among young adults. Popular bloggers, movie reviewer video channels, shared posts from their peers, and eventually, the eye of professional movie critics all across Japan. The Vermilion Riddle would eventually earn its place across several more theaters—local in the Tokyo and some of the neighboring prefectures—as well as extended screenings to accommodate its rising popularity.

For weeks now, Itsuki and Nino had eagerly anticipated the embargo to be lifted and the reviews to be publicly released. The unprecedented popularity had made the small-studio film a lot more apprehensive in giving copies of the movie to its actors. Not while it was still airing in theaters, anyway. With no other options, Nino and Itsuki could only wait for the curated reviews of reputable sources. Anything to satisfy that impatient urge for something out of their reach, as well as to give them a little perspective of what to expect when they could finally watch the film in a few more weeks.

"What does it say?"

"Hold on, I'm still reading." Nino bit her nail. Her eyes quickly moved left to right as she scrolled down the page. "Wow... there are so many good reviews here. Look here—8.2 out of 10... 8.4 out of 10... 4 out of 5... 89 out of 100."

"Masaki Yusa..." Itsuki quoted from one of the articles. She adjusted the frame of her glasses as her eyes trailed further down the article. "...without a doubt, one of the most promising young directors to have come out in the recent decade... 'The Vermilion Riddle' came as a huge surprise to moviegoers all across the Tokyo region, as the film aired in theaters on... Masaki Yusa masterfully portrays an engaging and thrilling story. Her clever use of distinct camera angles, sound score, and most importantly, the script, are a cut above others in its genre in recent years." Itsuki cleared her throat. "A lot of these reviews look like they're praising the director of the movie. Is she really that impressive of a newcomer?"

"Apparently so," answered Miku. "The premiere at Tokyo was surprisingly crowded. She's been getting a bit of buzz around social media, video channels, and film blogs. Fuutarou did mention that she was a junior to Ichika's manager."

"Really? She's that amazing? It says here the director has only—"

"Blah, blah, blah." Nino muttered. "Who cares about what they say about some director? What are they saying about Ichika? That's what's really important! Here, let me see." Pages and tabs quickly opened, then perused, and repeatedly closed with every click under Nino's finger. "Why does everyone talk about the director and the plot?"

"Isn't that kind of what people go to movies for...?" Itsuki said.

"Well, yeah... but like, there's gotta be more to it. There should at least be some people out there talking about how amazing Ichika's performance was."

"Nino, you didn't even see the movie," Miku said. "How do you know great she was?

"Rub it in more, why don't you, Miku?"

"You guys..." Ichika snuggled further into her warm blanket. It was difficult to determine whether the look on her face was the pure satisfaction of a leisurely morning, or a poor attempt to hide a smug smile. "Stop it, you'll make your big sis blush. Besides, you won't really find anything like that there. It's still a film from a small studio. The articles don't go nearly as professional and in-depth as nationwide films. You won't find any—"

"I found one!" Nino blurted out.

"Where?!" Both Itsuki and Miku quickly placed themselves shoulder-to-shoulder beside Nino. Three pairs of eyes fixated themselves to the screen, accompanied with banter over where each of their individual attention was at , and who should control the mouse.

"You too Miku?" Ichika groaned, pressing her palm to her forehead. "You guys... is anyone even listening to me?"

"This review over here!" Nino pressed her finger onto the screen. "There's a longer one here that talks about the actor performances. Scroll down a bit. Right there, right there!"

Hovering over her shoulder, Miku leaned closer so that she could observe the screen. "It's an A- score," she said. "From an independent film reviewer. Almost a million subscribers, too. What kind of stuff are they saying?"

"...what really surprised me—that I feel not a lot of reviewers talk about—was the performance of some of the young and upcoming actors and actresses of The Vermilion Riddle..." Nino quoted the article. "It seems almost fitting that an upcoming director brings in some fresh, new talent with them to break into the scene. Despite being a cast of mostly university-aged actresses—the youngest of them apparently just graduating high school—I was pleasantly surprised by their performances. Them being—Morioka Misako as Natalia Rustfield, Yuuma Misao as Vincent Chambers, Nakano Ichika as Charlotte Lilia..."

"They said her name!" Itsuki did her best to muffle a squeal. "Do they say anything else?"

"Hold on, hold on, I'm still reading..." Nino skipped a couple of lines describing the other actors and actresses. "...And I could not talk about the cast's performance without mentioning the captivating role of Charlotte Lilia, played by Nakano Ichika. From her introduction and across the entire runtime of the film, Charlotte's presence added an immeasurable layer of depth to an already beautifully-crafted storyline. Her delivery was on such a professional level, I found myself deeply engaged with this... fictional character, that by the end of the film I was left with nothing but raw emotion. It was so... enigmatic, so mystifying that I cannot express it in words without spoiling the entire plotline. And this is no small feat. Charlotte's role in the story can easily fall apart if the wrong person were cast, and in today's independent films, could prove to be quite the task for a newbie to handle. One of the greatest pleasures in partaking in indie films is finding some diamonds in the rough every now and then. So, it looks like I'll have to keep an eye out for more of Nakano Ichika's performances in the future. Because I think I might have found another one of those diamonds."

Nino cleared her throat. "That's what it says..."

"No way..." Itsuki read some of the lines over again, then looked past the screen. "Ichika, did you hear that?! Did you hear what they're saying?!"

"Oh... well, that's surprising." Ichika took another sip of her coffee. "I wasn't expecting something like that. That's... really flattering to hear. Oh, by the way, was there any leftovers from breakfast? I haven't eaten yet and I'm starving."

"How can you be thinking about breakfast at a time like this?! Come on, get more excited! This is really big, isn't it? Forget the leftovers; we should celebrate with something, we should—"

Ichika laughed. "It's not a big deal, really. I'm sure they've written some good things about my colleagues in there too. I was just giving it my best effort. I'm happy as long as it means I get to land a few more roles in the future."

"Humble until the very end, huh?" Nino said, mixing something between a smirk and sneer. "More like stubborn if you ask me. You've earned the right to gloat at least a little bit, Ichika. We won't judge you if you do."

"Now, now. I'm not saying I'm not flattered. Really, I am. But I shouldn't let myself get too worked up over a couple of good reviews. It would make taking criticism and harsh reviews a little harder, you know? Like, I can think of a few things I could still improve on, so I'd like to keep myself a little more grounded at first. It's still only good 'for a newbie' after all."

"I mean... I suppose..."

Miku continued to look at the screen while they conversed beside her. She had her hands on the mouse, clicking through a couple of web pages. "What are you doing, Miku?" Itsuki asked.

"Oh, don't look at the screen right now ," warned Miku. "I found a couple of discussion topics somewhere talking about the film. There might be spoilers for you guys. I got curious to hear what some people are saying online."

"They have some of those?"

"Yeah. Quite a bit of them. Here, I found a couple that don't look like spoilers. Take a look at some of these." Miku directed them to the comments section.

「 Luuna_1 」:"Charlotte's actress was great! Like, wow. I was so into her character the entire time, and the actress was gorgeous. Hard to remember that she's still a newbie."

「 Gorillalala 」: replying to Luuna_1 "Finally, someone mentions the casting! I watched it a second time with a couple of friends who didn't see it the first, and there were so many things I didn't notice the first time. Charlotte's actress especially! Are there are more films from her?"

「 TheViciousHopper 」: replying to Gorillalala "Almost all the actors are new and never heard of in the film. Her actor, Nakano Ichika, doesn't have a wiki page anywhere, but there's a database site [here] that has some of the roles she's in. Lots of small films I've never heard of. Did she really just graduate high school?"

「 Greyy_X 」: replying to TheViciousHopper "Oh god I feel so old now LOL"

「 RainFilmz 」:"Is it just me or was Charlotte's actress [censored] HOT?! I want to marry her!"

「 JeLL012345 」: "Plot-line and production were pretty great. But honestly, I found some of the actors to be pretty lackluster and amateur in certain scenes that really mattered. My friends thought so too. Only one who really delivered was Charlotte's actress. Props to her."

「 myUsername77 」:"Something about Charlotte's actress really does something to me, man. Don't get me wrong, everything about the movie was fantastic! I just can't help but think... wow. She really stole the show."

「 silverDRUID 」:"I'm kinda confused. It was pretty good for an indie film, but it all seems a little...overrated? Maybe I'm just a little nitpicky, but bringing in an entire cast of newbies felt like it hurt the film more than it helped. Vincent's actor, for example, looked like he was trying a little too hard and the illusion was broken after that. Just my thoughts. No need to flame me, please."

「 UesugiFuutarou 」: replying to silverDRUID "I encourage you to go see it again, this time, focusing more on Charlotte's character. Nakano-san is an incredibly talented actress, and you can really tell just how much of her heart and soul she puts out in all of her performances. Even for a newcomer, she demonstrates clear prowess in all varieties of roles she has even been cast in. Just take a look at some of her other works. You would not be able to tell it was the exact same person. That is exactly how talented she is, and she is only getting better. To elaborate on a few points from The Vermilion Riddle, I think one of her best scenes is probably somewhere in the middle, when it was revealed that... [Click to expand comment]"

「 filmjunkEE117 」:replying to UesugiFuutarou"Whoa, you really know your stuff, huh? You sound like a real dedicated fan! I do agree though, I don't have any complaints about her. It was mostly just the others. Know any more of Nakano-sans's films? Any recommendations?"

"...all that and a little more." Miku continued. "Looks like Ichika is starting to attract a lot of attention. Isn't that gre—"

"Hold on, HOLD ON!" Itsuki shoved herself between Nino and Miku. "Am I reading that right?"

"Huh? Reading what?"

"That really long comment right there. You see it? The one you have to click to expand it. See it?"

"Wow," said Miku. "It looks like an entire essay."

"What about it?" Nino looked to the screen. "Man, that guy really poured his heart out, huh? Better watch out, Ichika, you might have just attracted some kind of weird stalk—" There was only a brief lapse of silence, followed by the loud noise of hands slammed against the table. "Wait, NO WAY! Are you kidding?!"

Startled by the sudden commotion, Ichika looked back to her three sisters. "What happened? Is something the matter?"

"That guy with that username..." Nino covered her forehead with the palm of her hand "...that is... so stupid..."

Itsuki sighed. "I thought so. Honestly, that doesn't surprise me, now that I think about it."

"Someone wanna clue me in?" Ichika asked.

"UesugiFuutarou..." Miku read aloud, hardly able to contain her laughter. "H-he-he actually... he actually used his... he used his real name as his screen name! That's hilarious! Who does that?"

There it was, front and center on that little laptop screen. 3,182 characters long. 522 words. Typed in meticulously proper grammar and format as if it were straight from a homework assignment. Bodies of text that carefully worded their old tutor's thoughts and analysis over something so niche. Simply put—praise. Words of admiration and adoration from a side of Fuutarou neither of them were exactly accustomed to, that Miku, Nino, and Itsuki could not help but fall into amused laughter as they read some of his well-researched, painstakingly-written discussion over what appeared to be,quoted, "The most gifted and most beautiful actress I had ever seen."

For a while, Ichika could only sit still. The adrift gaze in her eyes as she tightly held onto the shawl blanket around her shoulders. "Fuutarou-kun..." she muttered quietly. "He wrote something like that? About me?"

"Ichika, you really got to take a look at this." Miku swiped away a single tear from her eye. "It's actually really sweet. Since when did he know so much about cinematography?"

"He doesn't, I don't think..." Itsuki added. "Or at least, he shouldn't. Remember when we first invited him to watch a movie Ichika was in? He seemed pretty disinterested the first time and said something along the lines of 'not being that into watching movies' and that they were 'too expensive entertainment'. But I'm reading it right now, and he really sounds like he knows—OH NOO!"

Loudly, Itsuki slammed her head and fist onto the dining table. Her voice reduced to low, frustrated whines. "I-I I think I just read a huge spoiler! Even when Uesugi-kun is all the way in Tokyo, he still manages to ruin everything for me! UGH! I'll never forgive him!"

"Just who does he think he is?" said Nino. "Where does he get off coming out like a professional film critic? Talk about being way in over your head. Does he even know what he's talking about?"

"Fuutarou-kun is probably just being a little... biased." Ichika closely hugged her knees, gently caressing the warm ceramic of her coffee mug with her other hand. "I mean, Fuutarou-kun doesn't know a lot about films in the first place. He told me so. He probably doesn't even like movies all that much. I mean, he hardly can name an actress, so it makes sense that he would think and say something like that, considering I'm his girlfriend and all. It makes sense. And, and... who knows, right? Maybe the surname and given first name aren't exactly uncommon. You sure you read that right? Maybe, it's all just..."

Nino raised a brow, peering over from behind the laptop screen. "You're mumbling an awful lot, Ichika. That's not like you."

"M-M-me? Mumbling? About what?"No, no, I was just— Wait, hold on. Why are you getting out of your seat? Don't come—"

Across the other end of their couch, Nino had already seated herself down. She leaned closely towards Ichika's turned-away face. "Oi, Ichika. Look at me for a sec, will ya?"

"What for? We have the same face, so you can just look at Miku's or Itsuki's. Haha...ha..."

"Even Yotsuba could fake better than that. Come... here!" Nino reached over, tugging the blankets away from Ichika, and doing so, pulling Ichika along with her.

"Wait, wait!"

Exposed brightly red from one cheek to the other, Ichika sat with both of her hands poorly covering her face. Tiny peaks of her dark blue eyes—looking desperately off into the distance—were visible between the gaps of her fingers. Warmth of rushed blood tinged the tips of her ears to match her rosy cheeks. "Wh-what? What's...everyone looking at me like that for...?" The structure of her words were almost gelatinous in a way, breaking apart with every additional sound that came out of her mouth. "I-I was just a little... surprised. That's all. No need to overthink—"

"Ichika, you're blushing!" Itsuki stood up from her seat. "I've never seen her that red before!"

"So, critics raving about you aren't good enough, huh?" Nino mischievously grinned. "...but something from Fuu-kun works its way all up to your head? Is what I'm guessing right?"

Miku laughed. "Ichika is a lot more proud than she lets off, huh?"

"Ahh..." Ichika whined. "You girls..."

"Quick!" Nino turned back, pointing to the rest of them. "Someone take a picture! I'll hold her!"

"Miku! Have you seen my phone anywhere?!"

The sound of the door clicked open from the other side of the room, accompanied with the ruffle of plastic bags and the clatter of shoes being organized. "Tadaima!" the boisterous voice echoed from down the hall. "What's going on here?"

"Yotsuba! Just in time!" Nino called over. "Hurry! Come and take a look at Ichika's face!"

"You GIRLS!"

After a short—though Ichika would protest otherwise—bit of teasing, the rest of the morning at the Nakano apartment was more or less the same. Her sisters had returned to their own routines. Nino and Itsuki had left to study at a nearby cafe, and Miku and Yotsuba had left with Ebata to drive further into the city for the last remaining cookware and chef's attire Miku needed before her first day of culinary school. As for Ichika herself, she had come to realize that maybe Miku did have a point. Fatigue from her busy work schedule had finally caught up to her, and nothing could beat the idea of an afternoon spent lazing about in their apartment. Iced coffee made from the leftovers of morning, her digital tablet on her lap, and the fading background noise of classical music to fill the empty space.

Although, the past few hours was not exactly something Ichika could describe as relaxing. For some odd reason, the thought of this morning had stuck by a little too comfortably in her head, and all she could think about was Fuutarou. Between his part time job and his diligent studies, just where had Fuutarou found the time to sound so passionately acquainted with films, actors, and cinematography? Fuutarou had never once let on any implication that he knew a lot about the topic. In fact, it was more so the opposite. There had been many times she had to explain to him the fundamentals of what separated an amateur from a pro, a good actress from a great actress. There were times when they had watched movies together over their online dates, and she would always have to rewind the movie, because Fuutarou did not quite understand aspects of a certain scene.

Looking back at it now, just how much time had passed since then? More specifically, how quickly had the time gone? Between her busy schedule, the constant movie shoots, and going from location to location, Ichika had always had the bad habit of not enjoying the quiet, still life. It has been months already. Months of constantly moving forward, looking ahead to the next milestone, that there just was not enough time to appreciate herself and those around her. These short text messages and phone calls between her and Fuutarou reflected their busying lives accordingly.

And yet, there was that little detail. That one, tiny thing that neither Ichika, nor her sisters would have noticed otherwise. But it was more than enough to know that despite being so far away, Fuutarou was always thinking of her, even in moments unnoticed.

Ichika tiredly sighed. For some reason, Fuutarou had his way of catching her off guard. From patting her on the head unexpectedly, to seeing through the lies she had put up, to managing to be the only one to make her blush as brightly as she did. And now, to the ringing of her phone when her thoughts and face were at their most bashful.

"Good morning, Fuutarou-kun," Ichika greeted.

"Morning? You know what time it is, don't you? Sounds like someone's been enjoying her day off."

Ichika chuckled. "You caught me."

"Well, I wouldn't blame you, Ichika. You've been pretty busy lately. Are you making sure you get enough sleep? Enough to eat? Don't overdo it if it's too much."

"Miku said the same thing. Is it really that obvious? It's not like you can see me or anything." She clicked her screen. "There I sent you a video request."

"I think I hear something? Am I supposed to press something on the screen?" Ichika heard a tired groan from the other side of the speaker. "Man, I can never get this complicated thing to work. Can you send it again?"

"On second thought," Ichika huddled against one lifted knee, burying her nose and cheek against her thigh. "We'll fix it another time. Don't exactly want you to see the look on my face right now."

"Did something happen?"

"Mm... nothing in particular. Say... Fuutarou-kun. I got a question for you..." Ichika explained the events from earlier in the morning. She told him of her much needed day off from work, and the new coffee recipes she had been trying out. She told him, with great amusement, of her sisters' eager anticipation of the movie's public reviews, pausing shortly every now and then as she recalled funny little details. Then, she carefully lead in to the little discovery they had made concerning Fuutarou. Ichika made sure to include as many details and descriptions as she could, pulling in from the excerpts that her sisters had blurted out loud. Though, some of it was easier said than done, as Ichika herself had her own hesitancy for reading his academic-level synopsis.

"Oh, you all saw that?" Fuutarou replied. "I didn't know any of you went to that website. That's surprising."

"That's all you have to say? Thought you'd at least be a little embarrassed, seeing as we caught you pouring your heart out for your one-of-a-kind girlfriend. I figured you'd at least try to deny it a little, or something like that. Well, that wouldn't make sense since you actually used your real name."

"Why would I? I'll admit, I didn't expect you all to find it, but it's not like I was lying about anything I said, so why would I be embarrassed?"

There it was again. It seemed like more and more times, Ichika could hardly manage to get the upper hand when it came to Fuutarou. Was she just getting a little rusty with this? Imaging that flustered face of his was what made him so adorable in the first place. Or was it, in some weird way, a means for Ichika to get a little payback for making her feel embarrassed, by throwing something back at him as well?

"...and I even went back to watch it a second and third time." Fuutarou continued. "Really opens your eyes to a lot of things I didn't notice at first."

"Oh? You watched it that many times?" said Ichika. "I'm honestly surprised. Well, people going to watch a movie twice isn't uncommon. But three times? You must have been a really big fan of it!"

"The second time, I was admittedly confused over a couple of things. The third... well... I wasn't sure if I should say anything because—knowing you—you'd tease me for it, but..." Fuutarou softly chuckled. "I... I just missed seeing you, so I wanted to go one more time. That was all."

Okay. Twice in such a short time was outright unfair. Fuutarou should not have been able to steal away the thoughts that ran through her mind, and yet here he was, already in possession of her head and her heart. Just plain unfair.

"You're too sweet, Fuutarou-kun." Ichika mustered every bit of her composure to keep up an amorous, playful tone. It was this one time she was glad they did not have their cameras turned on. "To think, my performance alone was enough to squeeze three full-price admission tickets from THE Uesugi Fuutarou, whose wallet is practically airtight. You must really miss me that much, hmm? What would you do when we finally see each other, after all this time? What are you imagining?"

Fuutarou laughed from the other end, somewhat in a stagger to mask the hesitation in his voice. Good. Those kinds of reactions would never get old, and it did her some comfort to know that she was not too rusty with her quick teases. There was a short silence between the two of them, until Ichika spoke again. Quieter. More cautious, despite the fact that she was the only one in the entire apartment. "...I... I miss you too, Fuutarou-kun. I miss you... so much."

"...I miss you too, Ichika."

"What are you saying? You already said that to me, you dork!" Ichika laughed, much harder and much longer than she had anticipated. Flutters of some bizarre, unknown feeling filled her stomach and the ends of her cheekbones started to get a little sore. "And just when did you learn so much about movies? I thought you weren't really that into this kind of stuff."

"Oh, that's right. I forgot to mention it a while ago, but I enrolled in a course about film study. First years are required to enroll in courses about Cultural Representation, but besides that, I found this stuff to be kind of interesting. I even picked up a few books that my professor recommended to me. Figured it was time I educated myself a bit more on the topic, since I do, after all, know one heck of an actress."

"Your flattery has gotten a lot better, Fuutarou-kun. You been practicing that too?"

More than better, Ichika thought to herself. It was just right. Many times, Ichika had taken the role of a young girl in love. A naive schoolgirl, a daydreaming romantic, a hopeful admirer. It was a common role, especially given her appearance and age. An actress was one who puts on many different faces, and throughout those times, Ichika could only interpret those feelings. That was, before she had met Fuutarou. How was it that just about any words that came through the other end of the phone was enough to turn her into that lovestruck character Ichika had only been able to imitate?

"I feel a bit guilty, actually," Ichika continued. "You're doing so much just for me, and you also started a part time job, right? Things must be busier than ever for you, and you're still taking your time to—"

There was a short pause in their conversation. Fuutarou glanced at his phone, trying again to get through. "Hello?"

"Sorry, I was getting a call from work. Even though it's my day off..."

"Oh, go ahead and take the call. I don't mind."

"But..." Ichika hesitated. Of course, the commitment to her job was one of the most important things to her right now. It might not be the best habit to get used to, but Ichika would not mind the occasional phone call during her days off if it were for something important. But right now, she really wanted to spend this short amount of time with Fuutarou.

"Hello? Still there?"

"Sorry. That was Oda-san calling again. I'd hate to cut our conversation short... I could just get back to him later."

Again, there was another short pause. From the other end of the phone, Fuutarou can hear the click of Ichika's teeth and the tap of her thumb against the screen.

"Sounds like it could be something important if they keep calling, right? I wouldn't want to get in the way of an important work call We can always catch up later."

Ichika sighed. That sort of attitude was of someone who had no trouble working themselves to the bone, and honestly, it came to no surprise coming from Fuutarou. Just for a little while longer, she wished to spend a bit more time with her lazy self. "I'll see what he wants, and I'll call you right back, okay?"

"Yeah. No problem. See you, Ichika."

"Bye bye, Fuutarou-kun."

Ichika switched her attention to the fourth repetition of the annoying buzzing. Admittedly, there were things that brought out a bit of a childish nature within her. Like a bratty child that was told they could not have something, and the underlying annoyance in her tone proved it. "Hello, Oda-sa—"

"NAKANO-SAN!" The vocal impact of his voice was enough to disarm her thoughts. "Are you there? Hello?"

"Oda-san? What's wrong? You sound out of breath. Is everything alright?"

"Nakano-san!" Oda repeated. "Sorry, sorry. I don't mean to call you on your day off, but I just got some news and I had to tell you. I apologize for inconveniencing you."

"It's okay, Oda-san, just slow down a little. Now, what is going on?"

"Have you seen any of the reviews online? For The Vermilion Riddle? Have you?"

"The reviews? I've... seen a couple of them. Mostly just the score, and it looks like it did really well. What about it...?"

"Well, ye-yes, but more importantly it's..." There were some small disturbances in the background of Oda's side. Bumping of an office chair, murmurs of Oda's daughter passing by, slipping of his fingers as he adjusted his phone. "I-I just got off the phone with Masaki-san."

"The director?"

"Yes." Oda took the time to gather his breath. "The movie received a lot of press, it seems. I could hardly get my thoughts straight before I received the phone call. Masaki-san called to inform me that...th-that you've been invited, Nakano-san! Masaki-san, and rest of the main cast, have been invited to a late-night talk show in Tokyo! You've all been invited as guests! It will be a live interview!"

Ichika's eyes grew wide. "An... interview...?"

Author's Note:

Phew, a little dusty here, but nothing toooooo bad. I think? Anyways, with May having been such a busy month, and the usual 4-5 week pacing, it's good to finally finish another chapter. Hardly able to duck my head into the 5toubun fandom to see what's been going on, but that just means a lot more goodies to indulge in after a short break.

I had originally planned this chapter to be a lot larger, but had a little too much fun with the characters and ended up reaching the end before diving into the idea of Ichika's first broadcasted, live interview. It's been a fun idea bouncing around my head, and there had to be some takeoff point in Ichika's career that needs to be explored soon. That was the plan, at least, but with a small little cliffhanger chopping the idea into a two-parter.

Distance is probably going to be one of the strongest hurdles to deal with. When imaging possible fan-routes for every possible quint, it's hard to imagine a pairing that has a harder time tackling the issue than Ichika and Fuutarou. Both are on the way to bigger things with their young adult lives, and separation and longing is something not everyone can be ready for. Now, does that mean I got myself quite a lot on my plate? Yes, yes it does. Does that mean I'd be able to handle it well. Ye—actually, who knows? It's just fun to think about, haha.

With that said and done—as usual, thank you all and glory to Ichika! Now, where is my rock?

_φ(。。) "No, you don't have to make your author's note into another chapter. Yes, rambling is fun. Okay, do what you want."