Unfamiliar Territory (Chizuru Ichinose x Reader)

(32) The Planning

Y/n's POV:

I am woken up by the sound of knocking on my door the next day. I reluctantly get up, still quite tired and answer the door, still in my pyjamas. Whoever this is, they better have a good reason for coming this early. I thought to myself, still half-asleep.

I open the door only to see Ichinose standing right in front of me. I panic, well-aware of the state I'm in and have no other choice but to let her in. Well, that's one way to wake me up quickly.

Once she enters and makes herself comfortable on the couch, she begins:

Chizuru: "Sorry if I just woke you up, but I need more details from what you were talking about yesterday." She says, gently.

Y/n: "Ah, right. I was originally going to pay for everything myself, but I didn't think you'd allow that so I instead created a page for crowdfunding. Over 70% of projects put on that site reach their goal, so it shouldn't be to hard for us either. Also, I'm well aware of the ins and outs of these things as I actually helped someone with their own page a while back." I say, showing her my laptop.

"I-I figured if people were able to know your story, they'd be more willing to pitch in..."

She sits as I ramble on, seemingly shocked about the amount of work that has already been put in. I see a small, hopeful smile on her face, which causes me to be a little more confident. Once I finish, her smile turns into something more desperate.

Chizuru: "T-That's fine...  but I'll only do this if you're going to see this through to the very end, so I need a promise that t-this can be done. Don't give me false hope..." She pleads.

My resolve strengthens and I promise to her that I can get it done, never wanting to see her like that again. That face she made, it made me want to protect her... I thought to myself before explaining more of how crowdfunding works.

Y/n: "Most people will gravitate towards a project not only when the overview of it looks promising, but when there are prizes or perks for their support, also known as 'reward tiers' for donating a certain amount. I've put a goal of 3 million yen for now, however, I'll shorten the amount if needed today. I'll be spending the day calculating the exact amount we'll need. If it's not any trouble, I'd like you to look for items of yours that we can offer up as rewards for those who donate. It can be anything, so long as it's yours." I say as she nods.

Chizuru: "I can do that. Anything else?" She asks

Y/n: "Well, there is one more thing... do you know any friends in your acting group who would be interested? I only need one, since I'll just hire a bunch of extras and more experienced actors for the rest of the cast. Obviously, you'll be the female lead, but I need a male lead as well. I just thought that if it can be someone you've worked with before, it may be easier for you." I reply calmly

She looks to the ceiling as she thinks for a couple of seconds, responding shortly after:

Chizuru: "Well, there is one person I know who could probably take on the role. I'll set up a meeting for the 3 of us. Also, can I see the story the play is about." 

I shyly hand her a copy the script, storyboard and story as I say:

Y/n: "I-I made it many years ago... but a retired director I talked to quite liked it so..." 

Chizuru: "I'm going to read over these in my apartment. I'll meet you my the balcony at **:** tonight to talk more." She says, standing up and leaving without another word.