Operation: Raining Cats & Dogs

Chapter 4: Taking Matters Into His Own Hands

Agreeing to meeting Inuzuka in the back of the school, a curious Nekozaki wanders around, waiting for her friend.

"H-Hey. You came..." An embarrased Inu greets her.

"Oh, hey Inu!" Nekozaki greets him, "So, is there something you want to say to me?"

"W-Well..." Inu begins.

Meanwhile, Shikimori, Izumi and Hachimitsu were hiding behind the bushes, eavesdropping on their friends.

"If this goes nowhere, I swear to god I'm gonna come out of this bush and scream 'Inu likes you!' out loud." An angry Shikimori whispers, who was definitely impatient after no progress was made the whole day.

"C-Calm down, Shikimori-san, we'll just have to wait. Give them some time..." Izumi tries to calm her down.

"Don't worry, Shikimori, I feel the same way..." Hachimitsu also supports frustration, also showing signs of anger.

'Ha-Hachimitsu!?' A surprised Izumi says in his thoughts.

We now turn to Inu and Nekozaki, and pick up where we left off.

"W-Well, this is a bit hard to say so I-I'll just start with a few words if you don't mind..."

"Hm? Yeah, sure. I can wait." Nekozaki replies with a bright smile, and that smile pierced into Inuzuka's heart.

"L-Look, you and I have been friends for the past year and a half, and I'm grateful to have you as a friend. Like Shikimori, Izumi and Hachimitsu, I value all four of you and I don't want our friendship to change because of what I'm about to say in this moment..."

"E-Eh?" A confused Nekozaki says, not knowing what's about to happen.

Inuzuka begins to breathe in and out and prepare for what he was going to say. "L-Listen, Nekozaki. The reason I brought you here was not to say what I just said moments ago. I have one more thing to say..." Inuzuka began. "I-I'm only going to say this once, so you better hear it well!"

"U-Um, I-Inuzuka? What are you talking about?" A confused Nekozaki starts to panic a bit.

*Come on, Shuu. It's just 6 words. 6 simple words...* A nervous Inu thinks to himself, as his heart was pounding as fast as an F1 car.

"N-Nekozaki...I...I'm in love with you."

Dramatic silence ensues for just about a good six seconds with Shikimori and Izumi dropping their jaws in the process.

"E-Eh!? I-Is this some kind of prank, Inu?"

"W-Wait...what?" A shocked Inuzuka couldn't believe what she was saying. "N-No it isn't! I-I would never want to hurt your feelings like that. Ever. What I said was from the bottom of my heart. I do like you, Nekozaki."

"He really didn't back the claim he said 30 seconds ago, didn't he?" Shikimori quietly points out.

"O-Okay..." Nekozaki was relieved. "I-In that case...I'm in love with you, too, Inu."

"E-Eh!?" Inuzuka froze, not believing what was just said.

"Um, W-Well I guess the feelings are mutual haha..." Nekozaki tries to crack a joke while trying to cover her face in embarrasment.

"U-Um a-alright...W-When did you start liking me?" A curious yet embarrased Inuzuka questions her.

"D-During the Sports Festival, when you ran in that race. Y-You were kind of cool when you ran with full confidence..." An embarrased Nekozaki replies. "W-What about you, Inuzuka? W-When did you start to fall for me?"

"It was at the Cultural Festival when you wore that cat costume..." An embarrased Inuzuka tries not to look at her. "You were kind of adorable. You looked like a Maine Coon...it was really c-cute."

"E-Eh...r-really?"

"Y-Yeah. That dog costume really helped hide my face haha..."

"Y-Yeah..."

Both were silent for a good 15 seconds, not knowing what to do...

"W-Well, I guess this officially means we're a thing now..." Nekozaki began. "I-I'll be in your care from now on..."

"Y-Yeah...same here..."

The two would later preserve a quiet, yet calming aura around them, as both have said what they wanted to say...

Then, a wild Hachimitsu appears out of the bushes!

"Ah, finally. Congratulations, you too." Hachimitsu says, while keeping the same emotionless face.

"Ha-Hachimitsu!?" Both screamed in unison.

Then, Shikimori and Izumi come out of the bushes to tease the newly formed couple.

"Hey, hey, newlyweds! When is the honeymoon, huh?" Shikimori playfully teases them as she goes around Nekozaki with a huge grin on her face.

"Mi-Micchon!?" Nekozaki says, surprised that she came out of the bushes.

"Congrats, Inu. I'm so proud of you!" Izumi says as he grabs him by the neck. "Make sure to take good care of her, my trusty best friend!"

"I-Izumi!?" A surprised Inuzuka is confused by his sudden appearance.

"You two look perfect for each other!" The couple squeal in unison.

Realizing what just happened, Inu and Nekozaki couldn't help but be frustrated at how their friends were eavesdropping.

"You set us up!" Both screamed in unison.

'Finally, Detective Hachimitsu strikes again.' Hachimitsu thought to herself, glad that another mission was completed.