Unfamiliar Territory (Chizuru Ichinose x Reader)

(18) Possible Feelings?

Chizuru's POV:

The next day arrives and I wake up overjoyed. I spent the last night thinking of ways to solve my dilemma and after putting my ideas into action, it seems to have worked! I sacrificed one of my 'free days' so that clients could book me almost every day of the week now. After doing this, I quickly received bookings form 2 new clients. I also allowed for more advertising of my profile on the 'Diamond' app. All in all, this may even make me a little more money than I originally had. It'll all be worth it once I make it onto the stage! I tell myself cheerfully.

I quickly have breakfast and get dressed, ready to go to the hospital to visit grandma. Soon enough, I arrive. I enter, greeting her straight away.

Chizuru: "Hello grandma. How are you doing?" I ask as she turns her head towards me, smiling.

She's looking a little worse... I hope I'm just seeing things... I mutter to myself, hoping for the best.

Sayuri: "Ah, Chizuru, how kind of you to see me again so soon! I'm feeling less tired than I had the past few days, so I'd say I'm doing well!" She says, beaming.

"How about you?  I see you're by yourself this time." She says politely

Chizuru: "I didn't tell him I was coming. I thought you only wanted to see him that one time." I say, surprised at her asking about Y/n.

Sayuri: "That's alright. I was just hoping you had gotten closer is all." She laughs, causing me to get a little embarrassed.

Chizuru: "It hasn't even been a week!" I yell, to which she laughs a little me before continuing:

Sayuri: "Well, I guess there's no rush. From what I heard from him, he cares about you very much. I honestly thought he'd be your boyfriend by now." She says gently, causing me to quickly put a 'wall' between myself and the very idea that Y/n may have feelings for me.

Chizuru: "It's not like that grandma. He's never once indicated that he's in love with me. We're just neighbours, nothing more. And for the hundredth time, I don't need a boyfriend. I'm fine on my own." I say calmly, while maintaining a serious stance on the matter.

Sayuri: "My dear, of course you're fine on your own. But everyone needs another person in their life to be with, to experience times of happiness and times of sadness, they're what allow us to get up so quickly after falling down. Surely he'd help you feel better if you were going through bad times?" She says sweetly.

A text I received 2 nights ago comes to mind, causing me to steer myself further from such thoughts so that I don't blush in front of my grandma.

Chizuru: "Anyways! I'm going to see a play at the theatre in about a week, so I may not be able to see you then. Sorry." I apologize, to which she simply waves off.

Sayuri: "Don't worry about that, go and enjoy yourself! You deserve a treat every now and then after you work yourself to the bone every day." She replies, leaving a relieved smile on her face.

I thank her, giving her a hug before getting ready to leave. As I'm about to open the door, she says one last thing:

Sayuri: "Chizuru, why don't you bring Y/n along. Of course, the choice is his, but at least ask him. I'm sure he'd love to watch a play with you!" She says, surprisingly not trying to tease me.

I stand there for a few minutes, completely lost in thought looking for excuses. Sadly, I find none... I suppose simply asking him can't be bad, it's his choice after all.

Chizuru: "...Fine." I say, defeated. 

I hear my grandma celebrating as I walk out, checking my phone for the date of the play. I look up afterwards. It's a couple of days after the ferry trip... I guess I'll just ask him then. I finalize internally as I walk back home. I've got a client today, so I'll have to get changed into something more befitting of a rental girlfriend.

- - (3 Days Later) - -

The day starts with me slowly waking up, still quite tired, which is unusual for me. I get up exercise, hoping to wake myself up a little more, which seems to eventually do the trick. I send Y/n a quick text regarding the ferry event in which I'd promised to go with him today.

Chizuru: [Hello Y/n, what time does the ferry ride start?] 

20 minutes later, he answers:

Y/n: [Hi Ichinose, sorry for the late response. I forgot that I disabled notifications since they annoy me when I'm writing. It starts at **:**, I'll meet you outside your apartment 30 minutes beforehand and we can walk there if that's alright with you.]

Chizuru: [That's fine, see you then]

I quickly take a bath and get dressed into one of my 'rental clothes'. I've got a client this morning, and I've got 15 minutes to be at the meetup point. After double-checking my makeup, dash out of the door in an attempt to get rid of the tiredness that seems to have come back.

Once I get there, I quickly meet with my client and the date begins!

(5 Hours Later)

After another successful date and yet another 5-star review, I go back to my apartment, deciding what to wear for the ferry trip. I don't want to go super casual, since it's quite an expensive event. Nowhere near as high-status as the restaurant we went to, but still far greater than the usual places I go to. 

I decide on a baby blue top accompanied by a beige skirt. Formal enough, and comfortable. I debate on doing my hair the same way I normally would for my 'dates' but I decide to just brush it a little, keeping it natural. When the time comes, I exit my apartment, to find him waiting, dressed in a short-sleeved grey shirt accompanied by black jeans. The muscles in his arms are quite visible. Has he been working out? I'm surprised I just noticed it now. Thinking about it, this is the first time I've actually seen him wear something without long sleeves. Usually he's always wearing a jumper or something that covers his arms. I note internally.

He looks at me for almost half a minute before speaking:

Y/n: "Shall we go?

I nod, replying:

Chizuru: "Lead the way." I say as we both walk out of the block, headed towards the coast.