The Plan (Nisekoi Fanfiction)

Part Six - A Night With Tsugumi

Tsugumi Seishirou did not have a good night. It had all started during the weekend when her phone had buzzed on her table.

"Hm? A message from Onodera-sama?"

Tsugumi had opened the message without any precaution. However, that had turned out to be her greatest mistake. For the next several hours, Tsugumi had sat at her table, watching videos of cute cats doing cute things.

"Hawawawa..."

Tsugumi trembled with all of the new feelings rising inside her. Raised as a hitman and having served Kirisaki Chitoge all this time as her bodyguard, Tsugumi had lived a life of violence and dark days. But watching these cats sleep inside a pillow, peeking out and tilting their heads slightly when the camera came close—

It was like a shell had crumbled away. Tsugumi felt like a vulnerable calf that had just been born. Everything she had taken for granted was now in a new light.

Wow! This apartment that she was living in was actually much nicer than she thought. Even though she paid 200,000 yen per month for the accommodations, it actually wasn't that much of a rip-off! It had a bathroom and a kitchen after all! Even if the actual square footage was not much larger than a room at the Beehive mansion, even if the sink kept leaking and the damn plumber never left his card so that she could call back and tell him he did everything wrong—

...

What a nice phone! It had email and 2 free GB of data included with the plan! Oh and look at her futon! So flat and soft. And that half-eaten plate of curry! You couldn't get much better than pre-packaged roux cubes!

What am I doing?

That was the thought that came to Tsugumi two hours later as she realized that she was dancing around with her pillow. Blushing red, she hastily dropped the pillow and tried to regain control of herself.

The glow of carefree happiness from the cat videos had started to wear off. It wasn't that she didn't still enjoy them, but watching anything for over five hours would be enough to desensitize anyone. She sighed, feeling a little empty inside after having been so full of joy and warmth.

However, perhaps it had been for the best. It was the dead of the night and if she didn't go to sleep soon, she wouldn't be able to walk in the morning with Chitoge. Of course, Ichijou Raku walked in the mornings with her as a proper boyfriend should, but she couldn't count on that fool to protect her mistress.

But then again...he had proven to be more reliable lately. Such as during the Seccaccino mission on the cruise ship...

You don't need a reason to risk your life for a woman, if you're a man.

Even though that day had been an embarrassing hell, where her body was put at stake more times than her life, it had also become a kind of cherished memory for her. Believed to be a boy even by the person that had raised her, Tsugumi had never felt the need to be more feminine. Even though Chitoge and Kosaki were always telling that she possessed a lot of feminine charm, that day on the cruise ship had been the first time that she had become aware of her own attractiveness. Compliments had come from all of the passengers, men and women alike, people who were beautiful and rich. Thinking back, the day when she had worn a dress to chase Ichijou Raku all over town had also held a similar vibe...

No, this is just the cat videos talking! thought Tsugumi, shaking her head. Indeed, the optimistic effects of the cat videos were putting strange thoughts into her head. Why would anyone find someone like her, with her masculine way of talking and lack of feminine grace, attractive? Compared to Chitoge or Kosaki...perhaps even Tachibana Marik—