Rental No More - Chizuru Ichinose [Mizuhara] X Reader (Kanojo, Okarishimasu)

Episode 18: Feeling At The Moment [Part 2]

'Was it all my fault?' Is what she had asked you, looking at you with her near perfect eyes and standing in front of you with nothing to hide, but all you could give her right there and then was a simple:

"I don't know... maybe?"

Mami kept her composure for a few solid seconds, but it wasn't long before a smile naturally formed on her face and she began boldly laughing at you. You decided to ignore the girl and looked to the side, down at the cars, taking a certain comfort in the noise those few cars passing by made. It was all that nearly identical sound that would slowly fade away as they moved further that you found oddly soothing. While Mami calmed herself down, you picked up on her spontaneous happiness and found it to be endearing, as much as you wished it weren't so. Maybe if she hadn't been lying to you about herself, in another life, you would've been great friends.

Mami: "Sorry, sorry! You just sounded kinda funny, that's all!"

Not knowing what you were even doing there anymore, you were about to turn the other way and leave, but you heard her tell you to stop moving in a very serious tone, a complete 180 to how she was behaving a second ago. She inched closer towards your direction and you took a step back in response.

Y/N: "W-What am I supposed to say? Is there a correct answer to your question or what?"

Mami: "Of course not, I'm just... a very curious woman. Tell me."

Mami crosses her arms, awaiting for a more concrete answer that'll put her confusion about this whole subject at ease. The only reason why you were out here with Mami is because she wanted that from you, an answer, and the sooner you could find something like that, the faster you could go home and spend the rest of your day polishing your script.

So you used your words and told her what you thought, trying not to butcher anything while talking, of course.

Y/N: "...I'm not mad at you. I don't think any of this is your fault. Things just... work like dominoes, one event leads to another, and they all happen for a reason. I don't believe in fate or anything too crazy like that, but I'm sure there must be a reason I met you in the first place. I'm not going to say that I'm glad I did, but... I have to admit, it's been different than what's happened in my life before. There's your answer."

Mami: "... That was deep. You should write a book or something, you'd be an amazing writer!"

Her voice had gotten a lot more cheery, probably trying to show that she somehow meant that, but you weren't really caring all that much about it.

Y/N: "Right..."

Mami returns to a more somber, serious tone.

Mami: "You never answered my question about Chizuru."

Y/N: "I didn't... feel the need to do so."

Mami: "One last answer... and you won't ever see me again. I promise."

Looking to the side once more, you took a deep breath and tried to calm yourself. You didn't know why you felt hesitant to answer something as simple as that. Who the hell is Mami going to tell? You didn't think she would tell anyone, at least. So you went for it.

Y/N: "Yeah... I guess I like Chizuru. I love her, and... I'm sure of it."

You began to feel strange... butterflies in your stomach, you thought. Your mood got somewhat better after saying that, and you almost felt like smiling for whatever reason. Love really is a weird thing. After finally giving her an answer, Mami smiled in such a charming way that you thought she was serious about it at first, but then she shook her head and looked at you.