Was it Fate?: Ch 8. Nyaa with the NEET

It had been a few weeks since your touching reunion with Totoko and the now infamous mahjong throw-down of the century. Things at your work had been progressing well, and you had become a lot more comfortable and open with the brothers since you had cleared the air. You were feeling on top of the world.

Choromatsu, on the other hand, was not.

Choromatsu had been working his brain non-stop trying to rationalize the meaning of his feelings for you, and the morality of your, and potentially his and his brother’s, behavior. He had never heard of polyamory before, the closest he had come to were harems and love triangles, and he promptly dug into research about the subject.

He discovered the difference between polyamory, being in a consensual relationship with multiple people, and polygamy, a marriage traditionally between one man and multiple wives.

This discovery calmed some of his negative feelings on the issue, as he was assured that a poly relationship would be based on communication, trust, and equality. However, he still couldn’t shake his moral compass, which was telling him that a relationship is ONLY to be between one man and one woman! How on earth was he expected to date someone who his brother’s were also dating?

Well, he had figured that up until that point, all of them had been developing feelings for you regardless, much like their situation with Totoko, and some had even gone on explicit dates with you.

He sighed, this just felt different somehow than their hopes and feelings for Totoko. Sure, they had all wanted to date her, perhaps at the same time, and they had asked her on group dates before with Totoko being the only girl. Maybe he was just being thrown off by the label?!

On top of that, he also felt rejected by you. You had spent time with all five of his brothers, and had completely ignored him, at least in his eyes. Maybe he didn’t even want to be in any sort of relationship with you, polyamorous or otherwise!

He huffed.

He knew he was kidding himself, he wanted to know more about you. He wanted you to read his resume and help him become a better man. He wanted to finally get a job and be able to provide… for you!

He sunk his head into his arms on the table, why did everything have to be so complicated?

When he had tried to approach his brothers about his feelings, he was either laughed at or completely ignored. It seemed like everyone wanted to process things on their own, or at least they were not interested in hearing him out.

Karamatsu was the only one who would sit and listen to him.

“I hear you, my ~brother~. All of us are having these same thoughts as you, we are truly combined in spirit.” Karamatsu attempted to assuage about his worries.

“Are you really okay with all of this?” Choromatsu sighed.

Karamatsu looked at him, his eyes gleaming with confidence, “I have.. absolutely..” He paused for effect, “No idea!”

Choromatsu grimaced, “You are truly painful and idiotic, Shittymatsu.”

“She told us we could think about it and talk to her if needed, which I have done.” Karamatsu looked over at his brother, “Why don’t you try that?”

“Psh! Like I could just waltz up to her and talk! You’re being completely ridiculous.” Choromatsu had gotten up to leave the room.

“I think we should do as she suggested, which is just let things ~flow~.” Karamatsu called after his brother, who was now walking out the door.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You were having a fine day at work. It had been relatively slow, which was great because when the patisserie was slow you were able to practice making sweets.

Today, things were so slow that Rinko was able to work with you and give you pointers, you had practically mastered tiramisu! You were really over the moon. It felt like everything was falling into place.

Then suddenly, you felt the ground shake.

What was that? An earthquake??

You steadied yourself on the counter, glancing over to Rinko, who looked equally shocked.

You heard a faint noise outside.

“What is that?”

The noise grew louder, and you heard shrill screams and squeals.

“Maybe this really is an earthquake, the safest place is the walk in cabinet! Follow me, quick!” Rinko gestured to you and turned to head into the back room.

Just at that moment, the screams were right at your door and a pink-haired girl with cat ears came into the building in a flash as four huge bodyguards blocked the doorway.

Both you and Rinko stopped dead in your tracks in pure shock.

“N-Nyaa-Chan?..” You spoke, why was a celebrity in the patisserie? Was there really no earthquake?!

You tried to compose yourself, your heart rate was way up.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Choromatsu was also trying to compose himself, he had somehow ended up in Totoko’s bedroom.

Alone.

It wasn’t completely unheard of for Choromatsu and Totoko to spend one on one time together, since he was her unofficial manager for her career as an idol, but that did not stop Choromatsu from being nervous.

“Look Choromatsu, you just need to relax, as always you’re getting wrapped up in your own thoughts again.” Totoko sighed, patting her friend a little too hard on the shoulder.

“I’m honestly surprised you came to me for advice on this, but I guess that’s to be expected, I am basically the only other girl you know.” Totoko shrugged, “Who knew I would be helping you with your love life one day? I guess I am one to go to about these things, as I am an expert on the subject. I have people lining up to get a date with me, especially since I became an idol.”

Totoko was fluffing her own ego, and reality a bit, but Choromatsu wouldn’t know the difference.

“T-Thanks for helping me.” Choromatsu mumbled, a light blush dusting his cheeks, “We both know my good-for-nothing brothers are no help with this kind of thing.”

Totoko nodded, “Oh yes, you can’t be asking a bunch of damn virgin NEETs for romance advice, you made a good choice in coming to see me, Chorofappyski.”

“P-PLEASE DON’T CALL ME THAT!!” Choromatsu screeched, “I don’t think she
has heard about that yet, so please don’t say that in front of her..”

Totoko laughed, “I doubt she would care, but sure I won’t.”

Choromatsu nodded in thanks and sighed, clutching his fists tightly, “I just… I just don’t know what to do.”

Totoko looked over at him, a thoughtful expression painted her face, “It’s obvious that you like her, why don’t you just go for—“

“There’s no way I could just— What if she turned me down?! Why doesn’t she like me? She’s spending time with everyone but me, it’s not fair Totoko!” Choromatsu clutched his head, “Maybe I should just stick to idols.”

“Well, you should try and be more confident, you’ll never know unless you try. Also, I’m sure that she does like you, at least enough to not want to punch you through the roof, which is something.” Totoko laughed, reflecting on some memories, “Good times..” She mumbled, now it was her turn to blush a bit.

“That’s another thing!” Choromatsu groaned, sinking onto the table, “S-She’s!! She was— Well, n-no offense Totoko, b-but—“

Totoko held out a hand to stop Choromatsu, “Look, I know you’re mister goody-goody, supposedly at least, but we.. Well, she wasn’t just violent for no reason. She told you herself why she ended up creating her gang!”

Now it was Totoko’s turn to sink on the table, she lazily propped her head up with her hand, gazing into the distance.

“She just.. She was so incredible, honorable. She never ever started a conflict, unless she was protecting someone. She would never hurt someone who was innocent. Hell, she even looked out for me and we were in rival gangs, if that doesn’t show what a good heart she has, I don’t know what does.”

Totoko laughed, reminiscing, “She didn’t even hurt anyone who didn’t deserve it or unnecessarily hurt people, like the other gangs in our area did. Well, she did beat on me a lot, but I’m the one who initially picked a fight with her. Plus..”

She paused, her ears burning a bit, “That’s just kinda how we were, we had a special relationship, that’s how we showed our affection. So yeah, anyways what I’m saying is you sure as hell shouldn’t judge her. You’ve been my friend for years, and I’m basically as ‘bad’ as she is.”

Totoko could almost see the gears turning in Choromatsu’s head as he mulled over this information.

Finally he spoke, “Well.. Even if she was some kind of heroine from a manga protecting people, that doesn’t excuse the.. t-the..” Choromatsu flushed bright red, “Y-You know what I mean..”

Totoko scoffed, “Pfft. All six of you begged me to date you collectively multiple times, how is this any different than that?”

Choromatsu paused, flushing further, “T-That’s totally different!!…”

He paused as Totoko just crossed her arms, waiting for him to realize it wasn’t different at all.

“W-Well.. Even if I’m okay with all of that, she still doesn’t l-like me..” He grumbled, a little embarrassed at Totoko’s straight-forward advice.

Totoko rolled her eyes and massaged her temples, trying to keep her cool, “Okay, what are you basing that on?”

“Everyone else has gone on a date with her or have spent more time with her than I have.” Choromatsu felt confident he was right this time, and would not be talked out of his conclusion.

“Didn’t everyone else approach her first or randomly run into her?” Totoko smirked, knowing she would win.

Choromatsu’s mouth hung open slightly, but he immediately composed himself and racked his mind for something that went against Totoko’s claim, but found nothing.

“T-That can’t be right!” Choromatsu ruffled his hair again trying to think.

“Look, she’s a busy lady Chorofap— I mean, Choromatsu. Unlike you lot, she actually has a career she’s working towards and because of that she’s busier than you are! It makes more sense that you NEETs should be the one to approach her, aside from the fact that she is way, and I mean WAY, out of any of your leagues.” Totoko huffed slightly as she spoke, clearly aggravated.

Choromatsu sensed that his welcome was ending, but was still confused. “What should I do then?”

“God DAMN, you are so dense! Go talk to her you idiot.” Totoko reached to get a pen and paper, upon which she hastily scribbled something on.

She yanked you up out of your seat, thrust the note into your chest, and shoved you out of her door. “Get the hell out of here, that’s the name of her work, it’s near Totty’s cafe.”

Choromatsu opened his mouth to say something else, but Totoko slammed the door in his face.

He shouted his thanks and decided he might as well go see the patisserie, since Totoko went to the trouble..

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You were able to compose yourself and lower your anxiety, but the desperate screams from the door were a little distracting.

“I am so so so incredibly sorry, nyaa!” Nyaa-chan looked over at you two for the first time, closing her eyes in a stressed smile. “I was doing a surpurrise show a few blocks from here, and my fans formed a horde and wouldn’t let me escape!”

“Wow, that’s awful.” You looked out into the crowd outside of the doors, who were being held back by Nyaa-chan’s bodyguards, they were mostly men. You wanted to be surprised, but after the Choromatsu incident online you had done some research and found that Nyaa-chan had a wide male fan base.

“Yeah, I’m sorry to hear that miss, but unfortunately you can’t bar the door to my business. Not only is it a fire hazard, but these are potential paying customers.” Rinko smiled awkwardly, she felt bad for the girl, but she was running a business.

“Oh of course! I totally understand, I wouldn’t want to inconvenience mew, nyaa.” Nyaa-chan opened her eyes and actually looked at the two of you for the first time. She bowed slightly to Rinko, but when she turned to you she paused.

A brief look of surprise was painted on her face, but it quickly vanished back into her cutesy idol smile.

“If I may, I would love to purrchase a few things befur I make my exit, nyaa!” Nyaa-chan glanced at the Tiramisu you had just made, “Did mew make those?” She pointed at the tiramisu and looked over at you.

“Yes, um, meow’m?” You attempted to make a cat pun of your own.

Nyaa-chan couldn’t help herself but burst into a light, bubbly laughter, “Oh my! That was ameowzing! I would love to take one of those and a tea to go please.”

You nodded, flashing a grin, and packed up her order.

Nyaa-chan turned to Rinko, “Do you have a side exit I could sneak out of?”

Rinko escorted one of Nyaa-chan’s bodyguards to check out the back exit and plan a route of escape.

This left Nyaa-chan and you almost alone for a minute, as she had several other bodyguards still barring the door.

“Here’s your order! I hope you enjoy it, and have a successful escape.” You chuckled handing her the boxed up order.

She smiled widely, her pointed cat teeth gleamed for a moment, you had to wonder how far her cat-theme actually went. “Thank you very much!”

You thought you saw her giving you a strange look again, and you were about to ask her about it, but then you suddenly remembered, Choromatsu would be freaking out right now!

“Sorry to ask, but could I have an autograph, please?” You reached behind the counter to get a notepad and a pen.

“Of course, nyaa!” Nyaa-chan’s demeanor returned once again to complete professionalism, “Who should I make it out to?”

“Please make it out to ‘Choromatsu’.” You smiled, he was going to be so excited!

Nyaa-chan frowned, “That’s not your name though, is it?”

“No, this is for my friend, he’s a really big fan of yours!” You answered and introduced yourself.

“Oh, okay, well that’s sweet of you to get an autograph for him. Do you want to take a picture together too?” Nyaa-chan asked, her cheeks slightly pink.

“Sure!” You pulled out your phone and left the counter to pose next to her.

“Let’s do my signature pose, nyaa?” She asked, demonstrating a wink, cat smile, and her paw next to her cheek.

“I think I can handle that.” You joked, “Ready? One, Two…”

You both posed and snapped a photo, by this time the fans outside were freaking out because they wanted to be inside with Nyaa-chan like you were.

“This looks great, thank you Nyaa-chan!” You smiled, by this time her guards had returned and had a car ready at the back entrance.

Nyaa-chan smileed, giving you a quick hug. The fans rammed against the door at this, but it held.

You were a little taken aback, but you thought she was probably grateful you were helping her get out of this mess.

“I’m sure we will meet again, thank you both so much!” Nyaa-chan smiled at you and Rinko, but she only hugged you.

“Good luck!” You called after her, it was up to you and Rinko to hold the door while they dashed to the back.

After the coast was clear and the doors reopened, about half of the mob ended up staying, and they all wanted to order exactly what Nyaa-chan had. You were questioned and scrutinized by nearly all of the customers.

So much for the slow, peaceful day.

As Choromatsu was making his way towards your work, he paused at a crossing for a black car pulling out of a side-street. He watched it drive by, and noticed a certain pink-haired cat-idol in the back seat.

He only saw her for a moment, but that was enough to throw him into a jittery frenzy, “N-N-N-N-NYAA-CHAN?!?!” He yelled, the car long gone by now.

Choromatsu just stood frozen in place, like a statue, trying to imagine what Nyaa-chan was doing so nearby to his neighborhood and to the shopping center where two of his brothers and you worked. He became so overwhelmed in his thoughts that he totally forgot about going to see you at work, he couldn’t even move and the other pedestrians walked around him.

Back at your work, all the Nyaa-fans had overwhelmed the patisserie. They wanted more tiramisu and tea, and you had almost ran out of ingredients! Rinko had to call in your co-workers who had been sent home because it had been so slow to help out with the mob of fans.

You were sent on an emergency ingredient run as the apprentice, you were hurrying to the store when you noticed a strange new art installment on the sidewalk.

“Who would put a life-size statue in the middle of the sidewalk?” You muttered running closer to the statue that was blocking the path, then you realized that it was not a statue, it was a person.

“Choromatsu?? Is that you? Are you okay?” You stopped jogging to check on him.

Your voice shook him out of his daze, “W-What?”

“Are you okay? What are you doing standing like that in the middle of the sidewalk?” You glanced down at your watch, “Can we walk and talk?”

He didn’t answer you, and was still coming out of his overthinking daze, so you just grabbed his hand and gently tugged him in the direction of the store.

“Sorry to be in such a rush, we are having a big situation at my work. Are you sure you’re okay??” you looked at him with concern.

He finally came to, “I’m fine! I just s-saw N-N-Nyaa-chan!” He forced the words out, looking around again even though he knew she was long gone. Then he noticed you were holding hands and turned bright red. To make matters worse, he noticed your super-cute work uniform and nearly imploded.

“You did?? Were you part of that crazy mob?” You gave him another look, this one a little more apprehensive.

“What crazy mob?” He managed to croak out, despite the sweaty, blushing mess he was devolving into.

You sighed, relieved, and explained what had happened.

“Y-Y-You!!!!” Choromatsu fell back into his frozen stupor, letting go of your hand in the process.

“Choromatsu!” You stopped to try and shake him out of it, “It wasn’t a super big deal, she just needed help and happened to run in, it was total chance.”

“Y-Y-You.. You m-met…” You feared Choromatsu was going to faint, so you steadied him.

“I did, but look!” You pulled out the autograph, “I got this autograph for you! We also took a picture together for you.” You hoped that the excitement of the gift would overturn his shock, and you were right.

Choromatsu let out the loudest, most high-pitched squeal you had ever heard as he grabbed the autograph with trembling hands.

You pulled out your phone to show him the photo, he immediately started to cry, his face flushed and full of adoration for you.

“Are you okay?!” You asked, pulling out a handkerchief to wipe his tears, you had no idea his devotion to Nyaa-chan was this strong.

“Y-You did all this for me?” He asked as you wiped his face, “Why did you go through all this trouble for me?”

You chuckled shaking your head, “It was really no trouble, and I thought you would like it. I wish you would have been there too to meet her.”

At this the tears started to flow again, and he started to mumble incoherent things.

“Choromatsu!” You giggled lightly, even though this reaction was pretty ridiculous, you were happy to have made him so happy.

After a moment of blubbering and you holding him to try and calm him, he finally stopped.

“I really have to get these ingredients in a hurry, so just wait here okay? I’ll be two minutes tops.” You left him with your hanky and rushed into the store.

He just sat on the bench outside, thinking of what a whirlwind of emotions today had been.

Obviously, Totoko had been right about everything. You had been so kind and thoughtful today, not only with thinking of him, but also above all else, with helping Nyaa-chan! He felt guilty to have doubted you.

You returned in a flash from the store, “Hey, sorry for the wait!” You were carrying a ton of bags, and Choromatsu insisted on helping you, after safely storing his autograph first.

“I-I have to confess something to you..” Choromatsu had finally mustered up the courage to speak with you directly about his troubles.

His wording surprised you, was he about to confess, like, his feelings?!

“I need to apologize to you.” Choromatsu said quietly, “I misjudged you, I was really surprised about all that.. stuff.. you said the other night. I didn’t know what to think about it, and I got really confused. So, I’m sorry.”

“What?..” You started, even more surprised, “You don’t need to apologize to me about that, of course you were surprised, and I expected everyone to need to think about things. I told you all that I was always available to talk, so I’M sorry if I did something to make you feel like you couldn’t talk to me.”

“Oh.” Choromatsu paused, a little shocked and very embarrassed, “W-Well.. It’s just that.. we haven’t ever really.. I didn’t know if you even…”

Oh. You had figured it out.

“Choromatsu.. I’m really sorry, I’ve just been.. really busy I guess, I didn’t mean to make you feel left out. I would absolutely love to get to know you more, and we can hang out anytime you want to, okay? I’m just, different from you six. Like, it’s sort of an adjustment for me too? If that makes sense.”

“What do you mean?” He asked shyly.

“Well, we just have different temperaments. I’m a lot more open than most of you, I’m a naturally affectionate person, even with platonic friends. I’m comfortable holding hands, hugging, even kissing my friends, but I realize that most people aren’t like that. I have to keep that in mind and make adjustments to my behavior so I don’t make anyone uncomfortable. It’s obvious that you six are not comfortable with that much affection, and I don’t want to make you feel bad!”

“O-Oh.. That’s true, but.. I think it’s more that we just aren’t used to it.. yet…” He replied, looking down with a blush, “B-But.. I think I speak for all of us when I say that… w-we want to be..”

You smiled softly, “If my hands weren’t so full I would give you a big hug.”

He flushed, “T-Thanks.. I’ll try to be more honest.. and not get so caught up in my own thoughts about everything. L-Like you said, I also think it’s best to just ‘go with the flow’..”

By this time you had almost made it back to work, “I’m really happy to be living with you all. I know it has only been a few months, but.. I really feel.. So happy and comfortable with you and your brothers.” You turned to smile at him, “Thanks for helping me with my bags, I’ll see you at home.”

He smiled at that, “Of course..”

You took his bags and were about to go inside when he called out to you, “H-Hey!”

You turned to look at him.

“C-Could you.. send that photo to Totty’s phone?…”

You laughed, “Sure thing!” then you went inside to deposit the bags and he turned to walk home.

As he was walking away, he felt so much lighter, more peaceful.

He had only gotten a few yards away when he heard someone calling his name.

“Choromatsu!!” You called, running after him your hands now free.

He turned right as you collided with him, your arms outstretched and holding onto him in a tight hug as both of you tried to remain steady.

“Here’s that hug I promised.”

Both of you laughed, feeling light-hearted and holding each other.