The Plan (Nisekoi Fanfiction)

Part Three - At School 2

Back upstairs, Yui had started her lecture for the morning class. Raku was jotting down notes out of habit, his eyes wandering back and forth from Kosaki and Chitoge. The two girls had started to act more like their usual selves but Kosaki was being unusually jumpy today while Chitoge was being unusually silent. Although it seemed arrogant to think so, Raku was sure that the problem had something to do with him. If they were just normally irritated or if some outside force was the reason for their discontent, then he wouldn't be singled out like this with their new reactions.

Just before class had started, both Miyamoto Ruri and Maiko Shu had come by to chat. Kosaki had talked normally with Ruri, although for some reason, their conversation had eventually descended into hushed whispers. Shu had made small talk with Chitoge, who had been a little more reluctant than usual, but still willing to whack him when he started flirting with Chitoge's friends. As modestly as Raku wanted to live his life, he couldn't deny the fact that all evidence pointed to him being the source of Kosaki and Chitoge's strange behaviors.

Raku tried to ignore them at first. If they didn't want to talk to him about it, then it was probably something obvious that he was missing or something he couldn't fix. So for the time being, Raku decided that he'd try and see if he had done anything wrong.

For Chitoge, there was probably a list long enough to wrap around the world. But as far as he knew, his relationship with Onodera Kosaki wasn't very rocky. They were good friends (something he cried about inside), having even talked about some cat videos the previous weekend. She hadn't been in a bad mood then and he hadn't seen her until this morning, so he couldn't figure out why Kosaki would be acting this wa—

Oh.

Wait.

The thought that blew into Raku's mind was like a boulder crashing through a thick wall. How could he have been so stupid? No wonder Kosaki didn't want to talk to him about it! It was so obvious, so blatantly in his face that he might as well have been blind.

Kosaki didn't like cat videos.

Raku slammed his face into his desk at how stupid that sounded. But it made sense! After all, she hadn't been in a bad mood earlier this weekend. And the only thing he had done with her before today was send a really cute cat video. As strange as it might seem since all animals usually loved Kosaki, the fact was that he didn't know whether or not Kosaki liked watching and talking about cats doing cute things. What if she really hated cats? Or what if she really hated cats doing cute things!? God, they had talked for almost three hours that day!

Idiot, idiot, idiot! If she had been holding it in, if she had been pretending to like it for three hours...

Ludicrous. But still plausible. Onodera Kosaki was just that nice of a person. But even someone as nice as her probably wouldn't feel good after wasting three hours of her day talking about something she didn't like.

What have I done? I'm such an idiot...thought Raku, face plastered onto the surface of his desk. He had to apologize to her as soon as possible. He wanted to believe that she would forgive him but three hours was a long time. No, that didn't matter. If he had to get on his knees and beg like a dog, if he had to restart their relationship from square one, it didn't matter. If he could just keep talking to her, if they could just get back on good terms...

Raku clenched his fist and made his determination solid. No matter what, he loved Onodera Kosaki. And as a man, this was one grievance that he needed to make up for or else he'd never be able to forgive himself.

Jeez! How am I supposed to give him this pendant!? thought Chitoge, scratching her head furiously.

How am I supposed to confess to him now...? thought Kosaki, crying on her desk. She hadn't meant to sound so abrupt with Raku, but her nerves had gotten the best of her. And now he was looking really uncomfortable.

But it didn't matter what Kosaki was feeling right now. Because like it or not, Miyamoto Ruri was staring daggers into her back. After their discussion last night, Kosaki had ended up promising that she would confess today. If she turned back on her promise, after all these years of failing to confess, Ruri would really be pissed off. There was an awful, dark feeling spreading across her back; although Kosaki wasn't exactly sure, this was probably what people called killing intent.

Okay...calm down, Kosaki. You can do this. You made a promise to yourself. You said you'd do it today.

Kosaki took a deep breath and tried to relax. She was acting really awkwardly with Raku. If she could just get back to normal, the way they always talked, then she would feel a lot more confident about her decision.

Okay...calm down, Chitoge. You can do this. You made a promise to yourself. You said you'd do it today.

Chitoge dropped her hands from her head and decided that she'd just forget about the pendant. Confessing was more important. She could give the pendant back anytime. In fact, if for some reason this beansprout rejected her, then she'd feel a lot better after kicking this stupid pendant out into the ocean. No, no, that was bad. She had to restrain herself.

Raku froze up like a sheep being hunted by wolves. For some reason, both girls had become really quiet. There was this sense of unease billowing off them, sending shivers down his spine.

W-What? What's going on? What happened!?

I'm going to confess. I need to ask him for some time later today...

Screw the pendant! Just forget it! Right now, you have to figure out a way to get some time alone with this guy...

"I-Ichijou-kun!"

"Raku!"

Three people turned into statues at that moment. It was like they had been struck by lightning. Raku had heard both of them call his name and wasn't sure who to respond to.

"S-Sorry. You can go ahead, Chitoge-chan," said Kosaki, her face glowing like a Christmas light.

"N-No, don't worry! It's nothing important. You go ahead, Kosaki-chan," said Chitoge, an equally impressive glow on her face.

Hm? they both thought.

Is Chitoge-chan blushing right now...?

Why's Kosaki-chan so red?

The two girls stared at each other, their faces flush with embarrassment and the bottled-up feelings of a maiden in love. They could see themselves in each other's eyes, glittering blue and soft, velvety brown. To the two girls, this sudden confrontation, this moment when their feelings were just inches away from bursting out of their hearts, it was like looking in a mirror.

"C-Chitoge-chan...?"

"Kosaki-chan...?"

And then, suddenly, as if there had been piece hovering all along above a hole in their brain, it clicked.

"Kosaki-chan...the guy you like..."

"Chitoge-chan...could it be that..."

And Ichijou Raku sat in the middle of it, not understanding a word of what was going on.

Then, a hole exploded in the wall behind Kanakura Yui.