I Love You, Reika!

I Love You, Reika!

The cat cafe is what Ichimatsu might call "Heaven on Earth". It's part coffee shop, part cat petting zoo. Sure, it's an expensive place, but going to the cat cafe with someone who has money to burn is definitely a treat.
That someone who has money to burn happens to be Choromatsu. With all the merchandise and concert tickets he buys, there is just no way he has no money. And besides, Choromatsu and Ichimatsu share a love for cats, so this is something like a bonding moment.
"I'll have the matcha macarons, and some cucumber lemonade," Choromatsu tells the waitress. "And you, Ichimatsu?"
His words fall on deaf ears. Ichimatsu is more interested in being with the cats than ordering anything. He sees a Scottish Fold and lies down next to it.
"Ichimatsu?" Choromatsu repeats. "You have to order something or else you'll get kicked out of the cafe.
The purple brother looks back at the green brother, who is sitting at a low table. With his low voice, he replies to his older brother. "Taro cake and grape juice."
The waitress jots down the order on her little notepad and smiles. "Your order will come in about five minutes. In the meantime, enjoy our collection of cats and kittens!"
Ichimatsu lies back down with the Scottish Fold. He purrs like a cat as he finds himself relaxing. If he had ears and a tail, the ears would be down and the tail would be swaying back and forth.
In the middle of his relaxation, the cat meows. This wakes Ichimatsu up from his small slumber. He looks in the direction of where the Scottish Fold once was, only to find it is no longer there. In a small panic, he looks for the cat.
Where was it?
The cat happens to be in the arms of a girl. This girl has long brown hair, dark brown eyes, and a pretty face. Her outfit appears to be some sort of a school uniform, which is strange because the girl is definitely at least in her twenties. She does not look like much, but to Ichimatsu she looks like an angel.
"There's my little Scotty!" she says to the Scottish Fold. "Did you miss me? I'm sorry I haven't been visiting lately."
The cat meows at the girl before it turns its head to Ichimatsu. It meows again, much to his surprise.
"Oh, do you have a new friend?" she asks the cat. "You have to introduce me!"
She kneels in front of Ichimatsu and puts the cat down. The cat walks towards Ichimatsu and meows.
"Are you Scotty's friend?" she asks.
Ichimatsu sits up from his lying position. He looks at the girl, looks away, and nods.
"What's your name?" she asks.
This catches him off-guard, and he falls forward. His face falls on her lap.
"Oh dear!" she exclaims. She props him up so that he is sitting again. "Are you okay? Did I say something wrong?"
He nods, then shakes his head right after.
She looks at him with a confused expression. "Do you speak?"
He starts to nod, but he realizes what the question is. He looks away from her and avoids eye contact. "Yes."
She smiles. "Oh, thank goodness! I thought I was gonna have to give you a dry-erase pen and board! So, how do you know Scotty?"
"I come where sometimes," he says in a quiet voice. He pauses before he continues his statement. "And I like Scottish Folds."
"Is the Scottish Fold your favorite breed of cat?" she asks.
He nods. "Yes."
Why does she ask so many questions? he asks himself. She may be cute, but she's way too inquisitive. I like her voice though. She sort of sounds like what an angel should sound like.
"Nyaa-Chan!" exclaims Choromatsu, much to the pair's surprise.
The girl panics as she looks around to see what is happening. After a while she sighs in relief.
Ichimatsu looks in his brother's direction. He sees Choromatsu ogling at a video on the television screen in the cafe. He frowns at the sight of his brother.
"Anyway," she says. "It was nice meeting you. Can I see you again some time?"
There it is again with the questions. Somehow they are starting to feel a little endearing.
He nods. "Yes."
Her smile grows wide. "My number is on Scotty's collar. You can either keep the collar or write it down, whichever you prefer."
With this, she leaves Ichimatsu and walks to a private room.
He looks at Scotty and examines his collar. The metal circle dangling on it has a number, alright. There is even a name on it.
"Hashimoto Reika". Her name is pretty, but it is not quite as cute as her face.
It is at this point when he realizes that he did not tell her his name.
Shoot.
He stands up and walks towards the private rooms. He is immediately interrupted by a waitress.
"Excuse me, sir. Where do you think you're going?" she asks.
"There's someone I'd like to see," he replies. "She just entered one of those rooms."
She shakes her head. "I'm sorry, sir, but unless you made a reservation, you cannot go in there."
He frowns at the waitress's words and retreats back to the table. Scotty walks up to him and he removes the collar.
"Is something the matter, Ichimatsu?" Choromatsu asks.
He shakes his head. "No."
"Thank you for waiting!" a waitress says as she puts down their orders on the table. "Matcha macarons, cucumber lemonade, taro cake, and grape juice! Sirs, your order is complete. If you need anything, just call for one of us!"
Choromatsu nods at the waitress. "Thank you!"
The time he waits for her to come out of one of the private rooms drags on. He eats his cake but he doesn't enjoy it as much as he thought he would because the girl-Reika-could not escape his mind. This is the first time he feels comfortable talking to a girl, and now he's gonna blow it all because he never told her his name.
Ten minutes pass and she still has not exited the room. This leaves him feeling a little hopeless and disappointed.
Maybe she's repulsed by me. Maybe she thinks I'm creepy. Maybe she entered that room just to hide from me.
"Ichimatsu, should I pay the bill?" Choromatsu asks, thus interrupting Ichimatsu's train of thought.
He nods dejectedly. "Go ahead."
It is at this point when someone exits the private room. The person who exited is her! It's Reika! But there's something a little off about her. Her eyes look...blue?
She looks in his direction and winks.
"Ichimatsu?" Choromatsu calls out.
Her eyes widen at the sound of his name, but she smiles. She mouths his name to him and walks to another direction. The bathroom, most likely.
"Ichimatsu," Choromatsu calls out again.
He looks at his older brother. "Hm?"
"Let's go," his older brother says. "I paid the bill already."
He nods. He stuffs the cat collar in the pocket of his sweatpants and exits the cafe with a smile on his face.
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"Hello! You've reached Hashimoto Reika! Leave a message!"
Of course the call would go straight to an answering machine. No girl wants to give her phone number to a complete stranger.
"Hey, it's Ichimatsu. I found your number on Scotty's collar. Uh...yeah. If you want, you can call me back. Here's my number..."
After he gives his number he immediately hangs up. He sighs. There is a possibility that she won't call him back. That's okay because no one wants to call him anyway.
A scream makes its way to the hallway. He recognizes the scream. This is definitely one of Choromatsu's "I'm fanboying and I need someone to talk to about it or else I'm gonna burst" scream. Ichimatsu approaches the room where his brother is.
The reason he's doing this is not because he is interested in Choromatsu's idol obsession, but because he is the only person who lets Choromatsu tell him anything without interrupting. All the others would make a comment either saying how much of a loser he is, or in Shittymatsu's case a compliment about how passionate he is about something.
Once he enters the room, he sees Choromatsu with a laptop.
When did he buy a laptop? We don't own a laptop or any sort of portable gadget. Maybe it's part of his otaku money.
"Ichimatsu, you'll never believe this!" Choromatsu yells out. "Nyaa-Chan did an interview in the cat cafe we were in yesterday. I am so mad that we missed her!"
On the laptop is a video of a girl with pink hair, cat ears, blue eyes, and a school uniform much similar to what Reika was wearing that day. The girl starts talking about her new album and about her favorite breed of cat. The words that stand out from the rest are "Scottish Fold".
"I can't believe we didn't see her yesterday," Choromatsu says. "Maybe we should have stayed longer. If we did, we could have taken a photo with her."
"I actually have a cat friend in this cafe," the girl says in the video. "I call him Scotty. He's a Scottish Fold with a purple collar. We play together often. That's why this is my favorite cat cafe!"
Scotty? This cat girl knows Scotty too? Interesting.
As Choromatsu rambles about how they should have come earlier or stayed later in the cafe, the phone rings.
He exits the room and answers the phone. "Hello?"
"Ichimatsu?" the voice on the other line asks.
His eyes widen at the sound of the voice. "Reika?"
A giggle makes its way through the phone receiver. "You got it! I got your voice mail so I called you back. Anyway, do you wanna go somewhere soon? I know a great place to meet cats."
He nods until he realizes that he is talking to her through a cellphone. She cannot see him nod, stupid. "Sure. Um...just say where and when...or whatever."
"Meet me by the fountain," she replies. "The fountain in the park. I'll be on the bench facing the street. Tomorrow after lunch. Don't be late, okay? Bring some cat food or something cats like."
With this she hangs up.
He stands there in complete silence as the receiver slips from his hand.
Does he have a date?
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He does as told and goes to the park. There are two park benches facing the street and nobody is on either of them.
She's not coming, he thinks to himself. She's just trying to humiliate me, I just know it.
"Ichimatsu!" someone calls out.
He looks in the direction of the voice and he sees Reika. She stops just in front of him as she catches her breath.
"I'm so glad you came," she says in between breaths. "Sorry I'm late...job...wouldn't let...me leave earlier."
"Do you...want to sit down?" he asks.
Without a word, she sits down on the bench. She leans her back and head against the bench as she inhales deeply.
He watches as she catches her breath. He can hardly believe that a girl who is as pretty as her is spending her time with such useless garbage as him.
She is wearing a purple dress today, in contrast to her red and blue uniform from yesterday. She has a paper bag with her, and it most likely has cat food.
"I was gonna take you to this alley," she begins, "but the cats weren't there. They might be roaming about the city."
Alley? Is she talking about the alley he frequents? That is where all the cats hang out anyway.
"This is turning out to be a disaster," she says. She leans forward and covers her face. "I'm so sorry, Ichimatsu."
Her action leaves him confused. He has never been near a sad girl before-unless Todomatsu counts-so he has no idea what to do! How does one comfort a girl?
He lifts his arm and pats her on the back. "It's...fine...it's not...your fault."
Those are some of the hardest things he had to say.
His arm eventually wraps itself around her shoulders. "No need to be upset."
She leans into him and wraps her own arms around him. "Are you sure?'
"Yes," he replies as his face turns red.
She looks up at him and smiles despite the sadness in her expression. "Okay, I guess we'll just have to change the plans. Where do you want to go?"
Her question causes him to tense up. He has never been the type of guy who wanted to do anything, much less do anything with another person.
"I don't know," he replies.
Once she wipes her eyes, her expression lightens up. "If you want, we can just walk around. Are you okay with that?"
He nods.
The two stand up from the bench and they walk around the city.
During their walk, they stand side by side until they see a place they want to go to. They stand so close that he feels tempted to take her hand. But he can't because is just not that type of guy. Within the thirty minutes they spent walking together, he still could not hold her hand. However, each time she looks at something in awe, he smiles at her. Is it he's fault that she's cute?
Their day ends at Hybrid Oden, as suggested by Ichimatsu. As the sun sets, the two sit on the bench of the cart and smell the food.
"I haven't had oden in ages!" she exclaims. "The last time I had oden was when I was a little girl. I hope this is as good as that."
Her eyes widen at the several ingredients. She looks like she wants to eat them all. Eventually she settles for the Chibita no Oden stick combo, some daikon slices, and mochi kinchaku.
"If I get fat, I blame you," she tells Ichimatsu before she eats her food.
He chuckles. He notices her expression change so one of surprise. She looks in his direction and smiles.
"You're smiling," she says. "You look good when you smile. You should do it more often."
Her words cause him to blush uncontrollably. He ends up stuffing his face with as many fish cakes as he could.
She laughs at him. "You're so cute! That's what I like about you-eh?"
He chokes on the fish cakes as soon as she finishes what she says. He coughs and gags, and she tries to help him breathe. Thankfully he manages to cough it out.
"You what?" he asks.
"I wasn't supposed to tell you!" she yells. "I was supposed to say it after a few more dates! Ugh, I screwed up. I am so sorry!"
He shakes his head. "It's okay."
When they finish eating, she pays for their order. The two leave the cart and walk about.
They pass by the alley and they see the cats. The cats gather around them and they meow in unison.
"Ichimatsu, look," she says. "They're talking to us. I kind of wish I know what they're feeling."
She crouches down to join the cats. She strokes their fur and plays with them. "They're so cute!"
He looks at her and smiles. "Yeah...so cute."
"Come here!" she tells him. "I can't stroke these cats by myself."
He crouches down next to her and pets the cats.
Much to both of their surprise, she loses balance from her position and falls towards Ichimatsu.
"Reika!" he says as he catches her. "Are you alright?"
The two are really close now. If she looked cute in the day, by night she had this whole other beauty to her. He sees this now that their faces are mere centimeters apart.
"Ichimatsu..." she whispers.
Before anything could happen, her phone rings. She curses at her phone before she stands up and answers it.
"Yeah?" she says. "Ugh, seriously? Fine. I'll be there in a sec. See you later."
He looks at her with a shocked expression. Her personality changed just now, which is weird. What the hell is going on?
"You heard that?" she asks.
He nods.
"Sorry about that," she tells him. "I have this other personality when I talk to the people I work with."
He nods.
"Anyway, I have to go. It was nice seeing you again. I'll call you again, okay?"
He nods, and she leaves.
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Several dates have passed and a month passes in the blink of an eye. Apparently some of his brothers discovered that Ichimatsu had a girlfriend. She isn't my girlfriend, he tells them, but they believe otherwise. Because of this, they decide to meddle in his business.
Days pass and she had not called yet. Still, they wait for the phone to ring. Everyone but Choromatsu-who claims to be uninterested in the matter and thinks that snooping into other people's business is immature-surround the telephone. They are all anticipating her call. Five minutes, ten minutes, fifteen minutes pass, and still no phone call.
The group disperses and as Choromatsu lectures his brothers about the importance of privacy and personal space, the phone rings.
Ichimatsu immediately picks it up. "Hello?"
"Hey, Ichimatsu!" says Reika from the other line. "Sorry I haven't called lately. Wanna meet up again tomorrow night? I'd prefer to meet with you in the day but my schedule is packed!"
"Okay," he replies.
She sighs. "Thanks, Ichimatsu. You're the best. Usual spot at the park?"
"Definitely," he says with a smile.
When he hangs up, his brothers swarm him with questions. So. Many. Questions. This much inquisitiveness is overbearing for him that he ends up pulling down his sweatpants and attempting to take a dump on the hallway floor.
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The night arrives in a flash. Ichimatsu finds himself all alone on a bench under a lamppost within the vast and empty abyss of nighttime. None of his brothers followed him. They probably figured that nothing good could happen this late at night. When Reika had called, she hadn't specified a time to meet up so he arrives a little early: ten in the evening. Surely whatever she's doing would end at around this time. Offices would never be open at this hour.
If he had brought a watch he would know that only ten minutes have passed. However, the night seems long and he starts to wonder if she had set him up.
No one would ever settle for worthless trash like me.
I don't deserve love and affection.
I am not good enough for anything.
This is hopeless.
This is pointless.
The negativity and self-loathing has found its way back in Ichimatsu's head. Ever since their first date, the negativity had faded, but as he waits for her today it slowly makes its comeback.
Just as he feels like going back home, a black car stops in front of the park. The passenger window rolls down to reveal Reika.
"Ichimatsu! Hop on!" she yells.
He nods and does as told. Once inside the car, he sits down next to Reika.
"Thank goodness you were there!" she says. "I was afraid you might have left already! I didn't know what time you would wait. I was gonna tell you to come here at around eleven but I knew that would be way too late and too inconvenient for you. I had to leave early because I knew you would be waiting."
"It's okay," he says as he turns around to face her. "It's not your fault."
He notices something off about her once again. Her eyes are blue, like in the cafe. She is wearing the uniform, too. And the weirdest part is the pink hair and paws on the seat next to her. His eyes widen in shock as he realizes who he's with.
"Who are you?" he asks with a voice that is lower than usual.
Her expression changes to one of confusion. "What do you mean? It's me, Reika."
"I know," he says. "But who are you?"
She closes her eyes and sighs. She looks at the driver with a frown. "Let's go home."
The driver nods. "Yes, Miss Hashimoto."
She looks back at Ichimatsu with a sad smile. "I guess I don't hide secrets very well."
The ride to who-knows-where is silent. Neither of them know what to say. Maybe there isn't anything to say in a situation like this.
They arrive at a large mansion surrounded by a large gate. The gate opens, and the car enters the premises. The car stops at an inconspicuous entrance behind the house. This is when they exit the car.
"I was supposed to take you to a restaurant," she says. "But I guess I have to tell you the truth."
She takes out a key from her pocket, unlocks the door, and leads them inside. The lights turn on automatically, revealing a small white room with stairs leading up at the far side of the room. The two are greeted by a butler.
"Good evening, Miss Hashimoto," the butler says. "I see you have a guest."
"Yeah," she says with a smile. "This is Ichimatsu."
Ichimatsu nods at the butler, unsure of what he should say.
The butler leans towards Reika and whispers something that Ichimatsu could not hear.
"Not yet," she replies, "but I think he already figured it out. That's why I brought him here."
"I see," the butler says as he stands up straight. "Just buzz us if you need anything."
After this exchange, Reika takes Ichimatsu's hand and leads him up the stairs behind the small room. Once they reach the top of the stairs, Ichimatsu sees nothing but pink and cats.
Pink walls, cat statues, pink carpet, cat paintings.
"Do you know who I am yet?" she asks.
He looks around for any clue that could possibly reveal who she really is. It does not take him long to find the large portrait of the girl whose face is on almost every single item Choromatsu buys. The realization hits him hard that it knocks him down on the pink carpeted floor.
His eyes widen in shock. "You're Nyaa-Chan!"
"Guilty as charged," she says as she poses like a cat. "Sorry for not telling you sooner. I wanted to tell you so badly, but I didn't know how."
He doesn't even know how to react. The girl he thought he knew is actually a famous idol singer. This idol singer is the same one whose face he sees around the house when Choromatsu goes on an idol otaku shopping spree.
He's going out with Choromatsu's dream girl.
"Uh, Ichimatsu?" she calls out. "I'd like a reaction from you."
What should he say?
"Why?" he asks.
She puts her hands together and twiddles her thumbs. "I don't know. So I know how you feel about all this?"
He stands up and shakes his head. "No. I mean, why me?"
She looks away and sighs. "To be honest, I thought I was Scotty's only friend. He's not exactly the friendly type. And when Scotty told me he was friends with you as well, I wanted to get to know you. I wanted to see what Scotty saw in you, why he was friends with you."
"And what did you find?" he asks.
Her eyes look almost watery now. "You're quiet, antisocial, lazy, a downer, and a NEET."
The words anger him and he clenches his fists.
"And that's what I like about you," she adds.
His eyes widen in surprise. His fists loosen. His jaw drops. "What?"
Tears fall down her face. "The fact that you're quiet means I can say a bunch of stupid things without you interrupting me. The fact that you're antisocial means that you talk to few people, and I am one of those few. The fact that you're lazy means that you don't care what anyone thinks of you. The fact that you're a downer means that you show me the harsh realities of life, while a positive person like me shows you the good things that would lift your spirits. And the fact that you're a NEET means that you can't afford much, so we get to enjoy simple pleasures together.
"All these things about you are why I like you!" she says before she curls into a ball and cries her eyes out.
She...likes those things about me?
He says nothing. All he does is kneel down next to her and wrap his arms around her in a warm embrace. She wraps her own arms around him and cries into his sweater. He strokes her hair to calm her down.
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He hadn't answered any of her calls after that. He avoided the telephone as if it were ridden with disease. He wouldn't dare go outside. He never even fed his cat friends. He shuts himself in the room, asleep on the couch, all day for several days.
One afternoon Todomatsu calls out for him. "Ichimatsu-niisan, Hashimoto Reika wants to talk to you."
"Go away," he says in a threatening tone.
"She sounds angry," Todomatsu adds. "I think it's urgent."
He wraps the blanket even tighter around him.
"She won't hang up until you talk to her."
He gets up from the couch and takes the receiver from Todomatsu. Time to fear the worst.
"Ichimatsu?" she says.
"Mm," is all he says.
"Why have you been avoiding me?" she asks.
He shrugs. He knows she can't see him, but he does it anyway.
"I've been calling you over and over," she says. "And yet you never pick up. Is this because of what happened that day? When you found out who I am?"
He makes that "mm" sound again.
"Do you have any idea how hard that was for me?" she asks, her voice almost angry with a hint of sadness. "I poured out my feelings and you just stayed silent. I told you I liked you. Do you not like me the same way? Have I fallen for an idiot?"
He gasps at her words. "You've fallen for me?"
"I have," she replies. "But have you fallen for me?"
He remains silent.
She sighs. "I guess it's pretty clear I made a big mistake. If you won't admit how you feel, I never want to see you again!"
The line cuts off and he is left with silence.
What has he done? She was the first girl who has ever made him happy, but he let her go. Why would he let her go? Why would he let himself lose her?
Maybe she's right. I am an idiot.
A scream makes its way down the hallway. Once again, it is one of Choromatsu's "I'm fanboying and I need someone to talk to about it or else I'm gonna burst" screams. Being the good brother he is, Ichimatsu makes his way to the bedroom.
"Ichimatsu, you'll never guess what happened!" his older brother screams.
He shrugs. "What happened?"
"I won two tickets to meet and greet Nyaa-Chan!" the green brother says in excitement. "Isn't that amazing?"
His eyes widen in surprise. This could be it. This could be his chance to tell her how he feels. He knows that if he calls to meet up, she wouldn't accept. However, with this meet and greet, she has no right to refuse. He has to hear her out. She has to know how she makes him feel.
"I wonder how much I could sell the other ticket for," Choromatsu whispers.
"Don't sell it!" Ichimatsu tells him. "I'll go with you!"
Choromatsu frowns. "I thought you didn't like Nyaa-Chan."
"Don't ask, just let me go with you," he says. His tone is firm, which is rare for him.
His brother sighs. "Fine. We're leaving tomorrow at exactly one in the afternoon. Don't be late."
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"I can't believe how long the line already is."
There are at least two hundred people in the room-a number Ichimatsu is not comfortable with. He knows he has to endure it. He needs to let Reika know how he feels.
"I wonder how long it will take before we get to meet her."
The two of them are the hundredth or so from the front, so there is a likely possibility that it would not be too long before they talk to her.
Several minutes pass and soon there are only seventy-five people in front of them. Several more minutes pass and only fifty people stand in front of them. When the hour has passed, only twenty-five stand in between them.
After a while, only ten people stand in front of them. He sees her, and even though she wears her pink wig and her blue contact lenses, she is still as pretty as he remembers her to be.
Five people left. The anticipation is killing him. He feels like he is about to explode.
Four people left.
Three.
Two.
One...
...zero.
"You have one minute," the bouncer says.
"I LOVE YOU, REIKA!"
Silence fills the crowded room. Everyone stops and stares at him, and already he regrets his actions.
"Who's Reika?" Choromatsu asks. "You're too random!"
Ichimatsu runs off. He has to get out of there. He has humiliated himself enough to last a lifetime.
He finds his seat at the park. Their seat. Today it's his seat. He sits down and dozes off.
A few moments later someone shakes him from his slumber.
"What?" he hisses.
He sees Choromatsu flinch in fear.
"Sorry, Choromatsu-niisan," he says.
His brother smiles at him. "It's okay. I know you've been upset lately so I forgive you." He frowns now. "Your stunt at the meet and greet, however, was unacceptable. I should be angry with you."
He frowns and looks away.
"But, I can't," his brother adds with a smile. "Your stunt earned us front row seats to her concert this weekend!"
He looks at his brother with knitted brows. "What?"
Choromatsu shows him the tickets. "I don't know what you did, but because of you Nyaa-Chan asked me if I wanted to watch her concert. She gave me two tickets, so you're coming with me!"
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"Nyaa!"
The concert is pinker than Ichimatsu had expected. It is probably even pinker than her house-which is pink from top to bottom already. Not only is it pinker than he thought, it's even smellier than he thought. This is probably due to the number of men in the audience.
Because a bunch of adult men watching a pink-haired girl in cat ears and a school uniform isn't a cause for concern.
Thanks to their front row tickets, they get to stand near the stage. Since they are near the stage, they are near Reika. Near Reika means he gets to watch her up close.
In one song-which sounds like a happy love song-she gets down on all fours and kisses Ichimatsu's cheek. This action causes an uproar among the audience, and some scolding from Choromatsu. Several people attempt to crowd Ichimatsu, but he is taken away by a bouncer.
"It's okay," the bouncer says. "Nyaa-Chan sent me."
Ichimatsu nods at the bouncer.
The two of them move away from the audience and he is led backstage. Backstage is a lot less pink than the stage itself. He could not see Reika from where he is, but he knows that an intermission is coming up so he waits patiently.
"And for our intermission, ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together for Tuna Time!"
There she is. Her pink hair and cat ears may not be what he fell for, but they sure as hell are adorable.
She smiles as she sprints towards him. "I'm so glad you came!" As soon as she is in front of him, she wraps her arms around him in a tight embrace. "Thank you for coming."
He put his arms around her and smiles. "I like you."
"I like you too," she replies as she tightens her grip on him.
The two look at each other. Their faces slowly inch closer together and pretty soon their lips touch.
Damn. If this is what having a girlfriend is like, then I like it!
Their lips part and they look away from each other. He knows how pink they both are, but he brushes it off. What matters is that they are there together with no one to interrupt them.
"Wanna go to my dressing room?" she asks.
He looks at her and nods.
She smiles. She pulls them to a room with a pink door with a star that says "Nyaa-Chan". Once inside, she locks the door and locks lips with Ichimatsu.
He is immediately taken by surprise, but he adapts to the situation by grabbing both her wrists and pinning her to a wall.
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At the end of the concert, Ichimatsu meets up with Choromatsu who is alone at the seats.
"Where have you been?" Choromatsu asks. "The concert ended without you! You should have seen Nyaa-Chan after the intermission. She looked so much happier!"
Ichimatsu shrugs. "Mm."
Choromatsu's eyes widen. He points at Ichimatsu's face. "Is that lipstick?"
Now Ichimatsu's eyes widen in shock. How far did her trail of lipstick go? "Uh..."
"Geez," Choromatsu says. "It's all over your face. And your neck. And your..." He lifts up Ichimatsu's sweater and sees a bunch of lipstick stains on his chest. "Wow."
"I can explain," Ichimatsu says.
Choromatsu smiles. "You're back together with your girlfriend!"
Ichimatsu sighs in relief. He looks at the stage and smiles. "Yes. Yes I am."