New World

The next day, now that she had made her decision. Kosaki Onodera and her family went off and threw a little farewell party for her. She invited her closest friends, after everything they've been through, of course they had to be here. They enjoyed a toast while their parents were off chatting among themselves.

"Cheers!" Everyone clanged their glasses together. Even if it may have seemed a little bittersweet. They were really happy for her.

"Thank you for coming." Kosaki was really glad to be spending time with her friends, for what was probably going to be the last time for quite a while. "This really means a lot for me."

"Of course we'd all be here." Shu gave her a pat on the back. "We wouldn't this for the world."

"Yes. After how long we've known each other. It'd be a crime not to see you off." Ruri added. Kosaki nodded in agreement.

"It's just a shame that Chitoge, Marika, Tsugumi, or Yui couldn't be here." She commented. It had been a while since they've last seen those three. In fact, the last time was on that faithful day, when they had learned the truth. Noticing that Raku had been rather quiet, she couldn't resist asking him why. "What about you Raku?"

"Huh?" He responded, as if a trance had been broken.

"Sorry, but you've been kind of quiet. Is something wrong?"

"Oh right, I guess I just was stuck in thought there for a moment." They weren't sure what he had meant. And their faces showed it. "It's just weird when you think about it." He began explaining. "Just yesterday, I thought that we'd probably be the only ones here after Shu and Ruri leave for college. It would have been interesting with just the two of us."

"What's that suppose to mean?" Shu teasingly asked.

"Not what you're thinking in that head of yours." Raku blushed a little in embarrassment at the thought. Meanwhile Ruri glared daggers at him for suggesting something so foolish.

"I'm just kidding of course." He chuckled nervously, not wanting to get beat up by Ruri again. What did he mean by that, Kosaki thought to herself. Was there still a chance? No she couldn't think like that. There was no way either she or Raku could ever betray Chitoge. There's also probably no way for Raku to feel anything for her, especially not anymore. This was just wishful thinking on her behalf.

"Right, but I really mean it when I say I'll miss you." He turn his attention back to her. "I guess I'm not really good at showing how I feel sometimes."

"A lot better than you think you do." Ruri murmured under her breath. Elsewhere, Anadama and his butler were enjoying themselves some lunch they got from a local fast-food restaurant.

"Kind of odd that they call it MgRonalds over here. Why not the original name?" He spoke, mouth full of his large double patty burger.

"I'm pretty sure they're a separate franchise. And you really shouldn't talk with your mouth full. Have some manners."

"Well that fooled me. That and the SFC we saw earlier are really skirting the line here."

"That may be the case, but last time I checked you don't own any of those franchises. I doubt you'll have much sway over them."

"Yeah, well when I have my own bakery I'm making sure no one's stealing any of my ideas." He replied mouth almost full of the establishment's fries.

"What's wrong with taking over your father's business?"

"Do you really have to ask?" That soured Anadama's mood. Looking down, something caught his eye. His plane ticket. Picking it up there was something about the date that seemed strange to him. "Hey, George, what's the date today?"

"Well it's May 20th. Why do y..."

"What?!" His sudden outburst caught the man off guard. Anadama stood up, looking extremely anxious.

"What is it?"

"The flight's not tomorrow! This ticket says it's for today. In fact the plane leaves in 2 hours."

"You're kidding!"

"I wish I was." He ran for his jacket and was almost out the door before being stopped.

"What are you doing?"

"I need you to pack our stuff up and get a taxi. I need to get the girl. I hope she packed up enough stuff already." Before George could say anything else. He was out the door, out of earshot. Looking at the mess their room was in, he could only shake his head in disappointment. Outside, Anadama sprinted towards the bakery. As it took an hour for a taxi to get to the airport, that left him with less than an hour to get the girl and hopefully for George to get their stuff together.

Getting around the corner, he saw the bakery not to far off. This shouldn't be too hard he thought. Grabbing the handle, he pulled with such great force. That when the it didn't open, he nearly tore the handle off. The energy knocked him off balance and he flew back and hit the ground.

"That hurt, what's going on? They shouldn't be closed." He noticed the closed sign that hung on the window that he wished he spotted sooner. Confused, he went to his phone to give Mrs. Onodera a call. "Hello? Yes it's me, Anadama. I'm calling, this is urgent." He explained to her the problem, giving her quite a shock. She told him that their party was being held at a nearby park, but that Kosaki's things were packed. "That's good. Ok then, come back to your place. My butler will meet you there and help you get the stuff into the taxi. I'll be over at the park to tell her the plan. She needs to know how we'll be getting to the academy. After he was finished with her, he gave a call to George and informed him of the plan as well. Yet again, Anadama dropped into a dead sprint towards the park.

At the park, the friends were conversing and enjoying their time when they heard a rumbling noise as if a bull was charging at them. They would be half-right in that thinking when they heard a voice call out.

"There you are!" Looking at the source of the words, they recognized Anadama as he ran up to them. Before he could say anything else to them, he collapsed from exhaustion. Catching his breath as well as his footing. He was able to tell her about the change in plans. "Now come on, the taxi should be here any minute to take us to the airport." He grasped her hand and tried to pull her with him.

"Wait." She said, stopping them from moving.

"We don't have much time, and I don't have much energy so I kind of need some cooperation here." All of the running made him not really able to do much else. He was really looking forward to the taxi getting their so he could have some much needed rest.

"I'm mean I should be able to say goodbye, right?"

"Goodbye? To who?" She pointed to her friends, who were somewhat perplexed over his confusion. "Oh right. Sure I guess, but make it quick." She thanked him, but he just ignored it and walked away, towards where he expected the taxi to get to.

"It looks like this is it." She said, trying to hide the sadness in her voice. I'll really miss you guys."

"I know we will." Ruri said, in her usual deadpan delivery. But her voice didn't that she truly was sad to see her best friend go too. Nor was she able to hide her tears as Kosaki embraced her tightly for one last time.

"Don't forget to write!" Shu maintained his lighthearted demeanor. Not to say that he didn't take this seriously. Raku looked her in the eye for what felt like forever before he said his piece.

"This isn't goodbye because before we know it. You'll be back." He smiled. That's something she always loved about him. He always knew what to say that gave her the biggest smiles. A car's horn rang out. Looking at where it had come from, they saw her mother waving to her.

"Time to go, I guess." Before she left, they engaged in a group hug for what could be the last time they could ever do so. In the taxi, Anadama and George watched on.

"You know they've been doing that for a couple minutes now." Anadama commented, as he impatiently waited for her to get in the car.

"Just let them have this moment. All their lives have just changed."

"Whatever. Hey is there any places for coffee at the airport. I could use some energy for the trip." He asked.

"There should be a Sudoh-Bucks in there." The driver answered.

"Oh come on! How has this country not gotten sued!" Once she had finished her goodbyes and got in the taxi, their trip could begin. There wasn't much interaction between them as they rode along. In fact, there wasn't any talking at all. It made things feel a little unsettling for Kosaki. It felt as though her recruiter was actively avoiding her even if they were sitting right beside each other.

Once at the airport, things didn't change much. But he did actually talk to her, even if it was just to make sure all their luggage was kept in order. His butler was much more welcoming, the way he talked and ensured she had a pleasant experience sure was better than being ignored. Though she couldn't tell if that was simply due to his position. Unfortunately the plane trip itself was much more quieter as she sat next to Anadama for the trip.

Yet again, he avoided conversing with the girl. Even if he wasn't talking, at least it was better than some of the flight horror stories she had heard about from the internet. Those sounded like things that she definitely couldn't handle. Looking at him, it appeared that he was reading a book, but it was covered up with black poster paper. She wondered what he could be reading, and why would he want to cover up what it was. Was it mystery? Action? Or maybe some political book. It would explain why he would want to cover it up. No need for any potential confrontations of that nature. Not that she would've spoken up either way.

The way he acted was so cold, she questioned whether her mom was correct in her way of describing his manner. He certainly didn't act in the same way she was told he acted. Was that just a front? Is this what he truly was? That didn't feel right either, he never treated his butler poorly. In fact it was the complete opposite from what she saw. Maybe it might have had something to do with her.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." Without turning his head to face her, Anadama called her out. She hadn't realize she was staring. Embarrassed, she looked away and apologized. The flight was otherwise uneventful as they soon made it back to LA. After taking yet another ride, it seemed that the residence was quite a ways from the city. Once they got about a few miles from the town, there she saw it. It was a mansion and quite large at that. When they got inside, Anadama got his luggage, simply one bag, and was already inside the house without saying a word.

"Don't worry about him." George reassured her as they grabbed the rest of the stuff. "He's really nice if you get to know him."

"If?"

"Well it's hard to explain, but to keep it short. He's not the biggest fan of his father's school, or any of the students who attend." He knew much more, but it was something that someone that was mostly a stranger had no business in knowing. If there was anything that Anadama wanted told about him, he'd do it himself. Everyone deserved that much.

"Really..." This sounded really discouraging for her. She really didn't want to have to deal with a detractor who had it out for her. That would make learning really hard as well as make life miserable. Once finished packing, Kosaki could finally relax from the long trip. At least, that's what she thought she'd be able to do when a voice came from nowhere.

"Looks like we got ourselves a new student!" She looked over and saw a girl, a few years older than her. She had golden brown hair, stood just a little shorter than her. "I guess there are talented bakers in Japan after all." She was a bit loud, it made her seem a bit confrontational, even if that wasn't the message.

"I'm sorry, but who are you?" Kosaki asked, confused.

"Ah where are my manners. I'm Chiffon Beignet." She put her hand out for a handshake and Kosaki accepted.

"Oh, well I'm Kosaki Onodera."

"So you are Japanese!" Chiffon glowed as if proud of herself for being able to know that from looking at her. "I guess that means you want me to call you Onodera then."

"Uh, um thanks." She was surprised that she would know to do that. She was smarter than she looked.

"Do you want me to give you a tour of the place?" She asked.

"Sure, I guess."

"Good, it's not like mister ice is going to give you one anytime soon." And so she did. The building was fairly large, but from her time in Chitoge's home in Japan, it was much smaller than that. It also had a simple structure to it. The rooms of the students were on the east wing, while the homeowners had their on the west. Putting a clear separation between them. She was also told that each room had their own bathroom and shower. Outside had a nice area to take in the sun, and there was even a pool.

The main area though was the kitchen. It was massive with state-of-the-art technology along with plenty of counter space. It was a chef's dream and certainly put her family's bakery to shame.

"Wow!"

"Impressive, isn't it? You should see the school kitchen." Seeing this made her excited, somewhere like this really would help her skills grow a lot. But that made her realize something that hadn't occurred to her with all of the excitement. Her baking skills were as her mom would say, below average, or as some would say. Terrible, horrendous, probably would get her wanted in several states, etc.

"What's wrong?" Chiffon broke her from thought. "You got real quiet all of a sudden."

"Nothing, I'm just tired that's all." She was half right, but there was something that was really going to bother her for the rest of the night.

"Not surprising since you just got off a place trip over the pacific. Here let me help you get unpacked then."

"No thanks. I mean I think I'll just go to sleep right now. I can unpack tomorrow." There was so much on her mind now. Not only did her realization bring down her mood. Now that she was finally here, she wondered if the choice she made was the right one.