Arising from the Ashes

Chapter 8

Ichika could not believe what was happening. Mirio was kissing her. Mirio was kissing her! He was actually kissing her! Here, in the dim light of the cinema at the most unromantic moment of the movie and yet he had made it romantic.
Before she could complete let it sink in however, he pulled away. A smile on his lips as he looked at her with those bright blue eyes of his. His reddened cheeks visible even in this light and she knew hers were no different. Her face cheeks were burning red and her lips slightly parted as she looked at the buff teen with wide eyes.
Mirio had taken her by surprise even if part of her had seen it coming. But she had been too busy arguing with herself and denying that he might actually like her too to register what was actually going on until his lips had touched hers. But at least she now knew, right? This did mean Mirio liked her back, right? Right? God, why was this so confusing? And why was she just sitting there, looking like a fool? She should move, pull him in again for another kiss like all those romantic movies. Or look away shyly. For heavens sake, at least blink, girl!
But she could only stare at Mirio as her she continued her internal arguing once again. The conflict evident on her face as she did so making Mirio chuckle quietly, as he placed his free hand on her cheek to make her look at him.
'You're always in your head too much, Ichika,' he whispered with a grin, before leaning in for another quick peck on her lips. 'There, that should make it clear that I in fact actually kissed you. Or perhaps you need another one?'
'N-no, I-I mean yes! I mean... I...'
Oh god, she was making this awkward! And her sudden outburst totally did not gain her a glare or two from the other moviegoers. Way to make a fool of yourself, you idiot! Act like a fool right after your first kiss! What would Mirio think of you now? This was nothing like she usually was. Sure she could be shy and she could be bold at times too. And of course she did have her awkward moments. But this, this was a whole new level of awkward!
'Aaand she's in her head again.' Mirio poked her forehead playfully to gain her attention again. His grin still plastered on his face as he looked at the smaller teen. 'Come on, let's get out of here. I think I might have some explaining to do.'
'But-but you've been waiting to see this movie for months,' Ichika stammered bewildered. 'Don't you want to see the ending?'
'Nah, I haven't been able to focus much,' was his bashful confession as he rubbed the back of his head. 'Besides, all the more reasons to go see it again soon, don't you think so?'
And with that he stood up and beckoned Ichika to do so as well. Without another word, she gathered her belongings and followed after the boy. Both, in confusion and embarrassment. What did he mean when he said he had some explanation to do? What was there to explain? He kissed her, right? So that meant he at least liked her. It wasn't like she was ugly. Unlike most cliche movies where the girl was oblivious to the fact that she was gorgeous, Ichika knew she was good looking. How could she not, with the genes she had inherited.
So perhaps Mirio only wanted to kiss her because he thought she was pretty? No, he wasn't that kind of guy, was he? Her eyes trailed to his hand holding hers as he guided her through the hall, towards the exit of the cinema.
No, Mirio was definitely not that type of guy! Perhaps it had been an accident then? But she immediately pushed that thought aside. He had made it pretty obvious that he had meant to kiss her. He had given her a quick peck on her lips to prove that. So what was it that he needed to explain? What made him want to leave with about half an hour of the movie left?
Her eyes widened as another thought entered her mind. Had it been a bet? She remembered Takeshi Shimada had stated once that girls like her liked to play hard to get. He had said so during the time he had his eyes on her - a pursuit he luckily had given up on not long after - and perhaps he had waged a bet with Mirio? Seeing as the chimera boy often liked to place a bet.
But then again, that didn't seem like something Mirio would do. Right?
Ichika let out a silent sigh as her mind worked overtime. She was only going to drive herself insane with all the possible scenarios. It would be better if Mirio would just stop and tell her whatever he needed to say.
But it wasn't until they had reached the park across the cinema that the teen stopped. The sun was slowly setting by now, and there weren't a lot of people at the park. Just a handful, walking their dogs.
'This will do,' she heard Mirio say, making her turn her attention towards him again.
'So, what did you want to say,' Ichika asked timidly, her cheeks still flustered. And the fact that the two of them were still holding hands didn't make it any better. 'What did you need...'
'I really like you, okay,' he cut her off. His face flustered and his eyes closed, as he started his confession. 'And then I kind of overheard Nejire last week, when she urged you to go and ask me out. You have no idea how dreadfully long that day was for me. With you acting all flustered and cute - like you're doing right now.'
He chuckled as her cheeks flushed red once again.
'I was afraid that perhaps I had misunderstood Nejire and that she perhaps had said another name,' he then continued, his own cheeks dusted with a faint pink hue. 'Because you didn't ask me, while there had been plenty of opportunities. But then again, I knew you liked me, so I decided that I would ask you out the next day, but then you surprised me with a phonecall!'
'Wait! You knew I liked you?'
'Yep.' He replied and gave her a nervous grin. 'Well, sorta. I guessed it a couple of weeks ago. But I'm glad I guessed right though.'
He looked at her, his grin still present as he did so. And as Ichika looked down to let it all sink in, she noticed he was holding both of her hands. When had he even reached for them in the first place? She didn't even remember. She had probably been too shocked to even take notice of it. While she wasn't even that shocked to hear Mirio had found out about her crush, she was surprised to hear his confession.
Her eyes trailed up to meet his and it was then that he pulled her in closer. His hands were still holding hers, though his grip wasn't tight. She could easily pull away if she wanted to. But the real question was, whether she wanted to or not.
'So now that we both know that we like one another,' Mirio began, his voice deeper than usual and completely serious, so unlike his usual cheerful voice. 'Why not give us a try? Let's skip the whole dating thing and everything and be my girlfriend?'
It wasn't at all like the romantic scene she had always imagined it to be. With a setting sun, at the beach. He didn't ask her out on a romantic dinner, with a beautiful bouquet of flowers - the flowers carefully rearranged of course to truly express his feelings for her. And the way he had asked her, was much more casual than she could ever imagine. Yet it was so much like him and what she liked about him. So...
'Yes,' she answered with a shy smile. Though her eyes shone brightly. Yes, she would love to be his girlfriend!