The Plan (Nisekoi Fanfiction)

Part Two - At School

Ichijou Raku felt tired as he walked to class. Besides the fact that it was that time of the year when exams were closing in again, Raku had spent the morning cooking breakfast for the yakuza gang members at his home and trying to convince his "elder sister," Kanakura Yui, to stop sleeping in his futon. Unable to get a straight answer from her, Raku had merely sighed and left early to go feed the animals in the school pen. The task had made him feel a little better, but it didn't change the fact that the day wasn't starting out very well for him.

Fortunately, there was always one thing to look forward to once he arrived at school.

"Good morning, Onodera!"

Yes. Although it hadn't turned out exactly like he had wanted, that disastrous seating change at the beginning of the year had resulted in his class neighbor being the girl that he had secretly loved since middle school.

Onodera Kosaki.

Every morning, seeing her sweet smile and hearing her cheerful reply was enough to dispel any negative emotions from Raku's body. It was like being embraced by warm sunshine and fluffy clouds. Just seeing Onodera was enough to light up the rest of his day.

"G-Good morning, Ichijou-kun."

Raku felt like he had just been shattered into a thousand pieces.

Something was wrong. The normally cheerful reply had been turned into something faint and half-hearted. In fact, she wasn't even looking at him! Her face was in the complete opposite direction!

"Uh...Onodera? Is something wrong?"

"W-Wrong? No, of course not. Nothing's wrong. Everything's fine. Ahaha, why would you even ask that, Ichijou-kun?"

A second shattering blow.

So quick. The response had been so quick that it felt dismissive. What was going on here? Hadn't they wished each other a good weekend before leaving school last week? Hadn't they been on good enough terms that he had texted her a cat video just the day before? They had even chatted for a little on the phone. In fact, if he was to compare himself to the Raku of one year ago, he was sure that his past self would be jealous enough to cry blood.

"Hey...Chitoge. Do you think Onodera's acting a little strange—"

"Don't talk to me."

An instant reply that chilled Raku into ice.

"C-Chitoge?"

The hand that Raku put out to touch Chitoge's shoulder stopped in mid-air. An overwhelming wave was emanating from Chitoge, so fierce that Raku's hand was refusing to listen to him. He fearfully slid into his seat, wondering what the hell was going on.

What should I do?

Right now, Kirisaki Chitoge was in intense contemplation. It wasn't about the confession she had decided to make, but a different beast altogether. Or rather, if the confession was the dark mage that was the final boss, then this problem would be the dragon he kept as his minion.

A glitter of gold and a small clink from under the collar of Chitoge's uniform.

Ichijou Raku's pendant was currently hanging around her neck.

Because of the frustration of this morning, Chitoge had been running a little late to school. To save some time, she had decided to take a shortcut by jumping over the school wall. However, as had happened often in the past, she had seen something glinting on the ground near the animal pens as she rushed to her first class.

Idiot...Why do you keep dropping this thing if it's so important to you?

Sighing at his usual obliviousness, Chitoge had picked up the pendant and decided to give it back to him in class. It was a simple gesture, something that any normal person would have done if they were in her shoes.