Unfamiliar Territory (Chizuru Ichinose x Reader)

(23) Christmas Eve

(The Next Morning)

Y/n's POV:

Christmas Eve arrives! I jump out of bed and start packing a small suitcase for the trip to my parents house. I'll be there for 2 days, so I'm going to need to pack some extra clothes. After all, who wouldn't want to spend Christmas with their family? Once done, I get dressed and skip breakfast. If it's going to be anything like last time, I better save as much of my appetite as possible for later. I think, remembering the Christmas dinner my mother cooks. Probably the most delicious thing I've ever tasted!

When the time comes, I leave the apartment, gifts in hand, seeing Ichinose waiting for me with a bag of her own. We quickly greet each other before my parents arrive. We get into the car as they drive, the journey taking around half an hour.

Once we get inside the house, I show Ichinose around, pointing to the many different rooms and showing her the bathroom in case she ever needs to go. As we walk back, she speaks:

Chizuru: "Are you sure it's okay to interrupt your family time?" She asks, with a look of sad guilt on her face.

Y/n: "Hey, you're not interrupting anything. For the past few years it's always been 'the more the merrier' anyways." I say, calm but firm, in an attempt to reassure her.

We walk back to the living room, only to be shouted at once seen. Here we go... I thought, unamused.

Hiroto/Hana: "Y/n! Who is this!?" They shout in unison, pointing towards the girl standing next to me.

I was about to answer before she beats me to it:

Chizuru: "Hello, I am Chizuru Ichinose, a friend of Y/n's." She says sweetly.

My two siblings look at each other, then at me with massive grins on their faces.

Hana: "Oh Y/n! Who knew you had such a hot girlfriend?" My younger sister says, whilst my brother just laughs.

Y/n: "Did you not hear what she just said? F-r-i-e-n-d." I pronounce, only feeding their teasing further.

We sit on the sofa opposite to my siblings, with Ichinose being a respectable distance away from me.

My parents then enter the room and it begins:

Harumi: "Alright everyone, time for early presents." She says, to my siblings' delight.

Fuyuki: "Remember, you can only pick one for now. The rest must be opened tomorrow!" My father warns them.

Before they get up, I quickly take all of the presents I brought out of my bag, placing them under the tree, my gift for Ichinose still being in my suitcase. I labelled the presents so that they don't accidentally choose to open those for my mother or father.

Hana picks out a present that mother had bought; an light green dress. She hugs her, thanking her before running upstairs, I assume she's done so to try it on.

Hiroto goes next, picking out one of the presents that I laid down. They open it, revealing the video games, causing him to jump up and down in excitement. He leaps onto me while I'm sitting down, hugging me.

Hiroto: "Thank you big bro! Sorry for teasing you earlier." He says, to which I just laugh, ruffling his hair. 

He also runs upstairs, presumably to get started on one of them. This leaves only me, my parents and Ichinose left.

My mother takes the opportunity asking:

Harumi: "If it's not uncomfortable with you Ichinose, why aren't you with your family for Christmas?" She asks gently. 

I gulp, wondering if we'll have to make up an excuse. There's no way she'll say something so persona-

Chizuru: "That's because I don't have any left. My mother died when I was very young and my father left. I was raised by my grandparents and m-my grandma's the only one left... She's in the hospital at the moment and... i-it doesn't look like she'll make it." She stutters out, seemingly on the verge of tears. 

The surprise that she would give out such information quickly leaves as I try to calm her down. After that, my mother speaks:

Harumi: "I see. I'm incredibly sorry for your losses Ichinose. You've gone through so much, you're a very strong woman. Just know that if you ever need some support, my husband and I will be happy to help, be it references for jobs, or even advice. We'll try our best." She says softly.

Ichinose looks back up, a small smile now visible on her face as she replies:

Chizuru: "Thank you for your kindness. Please, call me Chizuru." She says, her directed towards my parents only.

Dinner comes and passes and the night finally arrives, the sky enveloped in a beautiful black with the faint shining of stars being the only thing breaking through.

Harumi: "Right, Chizuru. You're more than welcome to stay the night if you want. We've got a spare guest room you can use." She says, merrily.

Chizuru: "Thank you for the offer but I'm going to see my grandma tomorrow morning, so I will have to pass." She says, bowing.

Harumi: "That's perfectly fine. I'll get the car started, why don't you say goodbye to everyone." She says, unlocking the door.

Ichinose goes upstairs, saying goodbye to my brother and sister, before doing the same to my father, shaking his hand in the process. Lastly, she approaches me. She takes something out of the bottom of her bag, handing it to me.

Chizuru: "Here. I usually get my friends gifts for Christmas, so I got you this." She says, handing me a box of cookies.

"I couldn't decide on what to get you, so I settled on something homemade." She admits, getting quieter the more she goes on.

Y/n: "It's perfect! Thank you, Ichinose." I say happily

"Wait here for a second, I've got something for you too!" I say, walking towards my suitcase and getting out the 4 books I bought just for her.

Y/n: "I also didn't know what to get you, but after some help from Sumi, I decided on these." I say, handing her the books.

"It's just a couple of books about acting techniques and other stuff." I say, brushing it off.

Her face goes red as she moves forward, then suddenly jumps back. After a couple of minutes, she takes the books.

Chizuru: "Thank you Y/n, it's a great gift!" She says, sporting her signature smile, holding the books close to her chest.

She speedily says goodbye, rushing out of the house, leaving me a little confused as to why she was acting a little weird.

Her smile seemed more akin to that of her rental persona. Did she not like the gift, causing her to to pretend as to not hurt my feelings? No, that can't be. Even 'girlfriend' Ichinose is still a part of her actual personality, so what was the problem? I wondered for most of the night, until I finally asleep.

Chizuru's POV:

I leave Y/n's childhood home as quickly as I can. I don't think I can face him for much longer and keep my appreciation back. I almost hugged him... I thought, shocked. 

Once I arrive back at my apartment, I wave goodbye to Harumi, thanking her once again for her kindness and for such a nice time. 

I dash inside, extremely happy. I pick up the first of the books: 'Advanced Acting: Tips and Techniques' and start reading.

An hour later, I close the book, enlightened by the sheer amount of knowledge it contains. There's so much stuff that I've still yet to learn. How exciting! I thought to myself. However, it's too late now. I put it on the drawers next to my bed and finally go doze off, smiling in my sleep.