Chapter 22

It's been 7 years since I met that strange rabbit. According to mom and dad who saved my life from wild creatures. I thought, he might have died and blamed myself for his death. But my heart kept telling me he was still alive. And now it is saying that I have also met the Bunny prince, he was very close to me and now I just need to find him. But I can't see him, can't touch him, can't feel him . He is just a part of my own imagination. This is what my mind says. Whom should I believe? my heart or my mind? Yesterday Grandma said 'Trust your intuition maybe the universe wants to tell you something'. Would it be okay to trust my intuitions and find out the answers to the questions arising in my head ? The first question I want to solve is this...

Looking up at the sky, Inoue was talking to herself while holding that piece of paper. In which Minamoto once wrote 'You are not alone'.

I have to find the person who wrote this... 

 " Icku-chan...Icku-chan, ah there you are." Grandma Chio came looking for her. "Grandma, do you need anything, I already told you not to push yourself too hard. You know you have joint pain. Whenever you need anything, just call me, I will come to you. "Ah, my little worrywart. I am not so old that I can't even come to the terrace alone.  Who do you think I am, I've been a former national kendo champion, remember?" "Oh grandma, no one can beat you in arguments. Well what's the matter? Why were you looking for me?" "I want to give you something." "Want to give me something? " "Come with me." Without saying anything more than these three words, she walked downstairs.   In astonishment Inoue answered. "Ah, okay." and followed her footsteps. She took her to her room. She started searching for something inside a ​traditional wooden box.  She pulled out a red Yukata ( A light cotton kimono mostly worn in summer festivals ) There were some beautiful floral print all over it. She took it to Inoue and said "Icku-chan wear this for tonight's festival". "But Grandma this is your favorite kimono. How can I wear it?" Inoue was shocked to see grandma give her favorite kimono. "You know Icku-chan, when I was your age. My mother gave it to me. She wanted me to stand out. She handed it to me one day before her death. This was her last gift to me. I never wore it. But this is my favorite Yukata ever. And now I want to give it to you as a symbol of my love and affection, please wear it in tonight's summer festival. Who knows it may bring you some good luck." "But why didn't you wear it? it's your mom's last gift to you?" Inoue queried, She looked a little sad." " It's because I didn't want to make it dirty. I loved it as it was. But the day you entered this world. I was the first person who took you in my arms. That's when I made up my mind to give it to you. I decided to hand it over to you when the time is right." She had a soft sad smile on her face. Inoue understood the meaning of that gift. She accepted it with all her heart, "I'll take care of it. I promise". " Hmm, I know you will" she said nodding. 

"Ah, I have to go first. Fuji will be on the way. What should I take...hmm a bottle of water if someone feels thirsty. Sweet crackers would be perfect if anyone would be unable to eat anything from the food stalls. A portable charger will be needed in case someone's cell phone's battery drops. And then...wait, it's that stranger's notebook, right ? yeah, I forgot to ask Mr. Takahashi about it. By the way in the first place, why did I bring it with me." "Gengi, Fuji's here what the hell are you doing?" Sato called him, shouting. "I...I'm coming." He hurriedly put Minamoto's notebook inside his bag again and went out.

After a while 

Inoue was getting ready for the festival. Sato was waiting for her outside the room and...

Beep ! Beep !

"Inoue are you ready? Takemichi and Fuji are waiting for us near the shrine's entrance. Sato shouted from outside Inoue's room. " yes, i am " she answered while coming out. Sato's jaw dropped the moment she saw her.  She was looking beautiful. "Inoue, you are  looking like a goddess to me, where did you buy that yukata from ?" she asked in surprise. "I didn't buy it from any store. Grandma gave it to me." "Oh, it's so beautiful". "By the way you look so cute in that yukata too" she complimented her. "Oh, this? Grandma Chio gave it to me. She wanted me to look like a girl, so she forced me to wear it." She made a long face and said.

"Inoue, Sato, if you're done, let's go. Takemichi called me and said he'd been waiting for us there for 20 minutes." Hina came to call them but seeing Inoue, her eyes widened. "Inoue you are looking very beautiful. I want to take you home". "What? Hina, you are really scary," Sato said with a strange facial expression. After saying goodbye to Granny Chio, they all left for the summer festival. As they left someone called her, "Hmm, now you can come." She looked serious as she talked on the phone.

Ah, there they are ," Takemichi said to Fuji, waving his hand at Sato, Hina and Inoue. They met at the entrance. Takemichi's eyes widened upon seeing Inoue. Her beauty really left him speechless." Takemichi? hey, Takemichi? Gengii...? "After several calls he finally regained his consciousness." Sato why are you shouting like this near my ear? "Were you sleeping when you were still awake ? Everyone is already gone". She said crossing her arms , " They are gone ? So what are we doing, standing here like this?" He was shocked to hear Sato saying that when he was infatuated with Inoue's look, everyone left him alone with her and went ahead. "Let's go. We have to find them now." He grabbed Sato's hand and started running to catch up with the others.  Sato's heart started pounding very fast because Takemichi was holding her hand too tightly. She felt happy and overwhelmed but also a little sad. Because she knew it well, why he was in such a hurry. Finally he found them near a goldfish scooping stall. Fuji and Inoue were trying to catch a goldfish for Hina. They were both competing with each other. "Ah man, it's a relief we finally found you guys". Takemichi said with a sigh. "Shut up Takemichi, we're trying to concentrate here," Inoue shouted at him. "What? She told me to shut myself up...., Inoue... said ... that" he murmured to himself. He felt as though his heart was about to be broken. He again started overacting. " Gengi, don't create the scene or else I will kick you very hard," said Sato, glaring at him with rage.

"Yes ! I won "Inoue was finally able to catch a goldfish for Hina after wasting 20 pois (paper scoopers). Where Fuji had caught a lot of normal fish except for the goldfish." Here take your goldfish Hina like I promised ." She said proudly.  " Thanks Inoue, I knew you can do it." Fuji went into a depression as he lost to Inoue, " Hey Fuji, cheer yourself up. It was just a game. Don't worry, next time you will definitely be successful in catching the goldfish. I think so....".Takemichi was trying to cheer him up but instead went away making him even more sad. He was sad because he could not even able to catch a fish to give Hina as the symbol of his love . "Wow, Yakitori (grilled chicken on a stick)..... come here guys. Its Yakitori." Yakitori is one of Sato's favorite dishes, so wherever she sees it. It becomes difficult for her to control her appetite.  Inoue and Hina went to the other stall to get some Ringo-Ame (apple coated with a crunchy sugar candy). Whereas Takemichi found it better to eat Yakitori with Sato. Suddenly a shateki stall (gun-shooting stall) caught Fuji's attention. There he saw a cute fluffy bear as a prize and decided to win it for Hina. Here while eating Yakitori, Sato marked Takemichi's bag. "Gengi, why did you bring that bag pack?" She asked, "Huh? Oh, I brought a few things with me. Which I thought might be useful in case of urgency." "You always like to be well-prepared. Don't you?".  "Yeah, by the way where did Fuji go ? Have you seen him anywhere?" Takemichi questioned, when he realized he wasn't with them . "He was with you, right?" "Yeah, but he's not here now." both of them were very worried. They went to look for him near the other stalls. But he was nowhere . And then they met Inoue and Hina. "Fuji? No, we didn't see him...He will be somewhere near us. Let's find him." They were all about to go look for him in different directions and suddenly heard some people cheering for someone. They went to the stall where those sounds were coming from and they found Fuji playing the gun-shooting game, and strangely enough, he had already won a lot of prizes except the soft teddy bear. They decided to support their friend and started cheering for him, " Fuji...you can do it, Fuji ! Fuji ! Fuji ! ". "Boy, have you already planned to close my stall. Please take all these presents and go. I don't think you'll be able to get that toy in this life." The shopkeeper was also tired of seeing Fuji's insistence. "No, I can and I will. I need to win that bear for someone. This time Fuji was really serious about getting a gift for Hina. While she was really touched to see him working so hard to get a gift for someone really special to him. But she didn't know he was doing all these efforts only for her.

While everyone's attention was on watching Fuji's game. Inoue marked a white cotton ball floating in the air. It really fascinated her, so she followed it. And disappeared somewhere in the crowd.Takemichi became worried again, not seeing Inoue around them. And went to look for her ​without informing anyone.

"Why have you come here? Why did you need to meet me, Haruto? Grandma Chio asked. The person who came to meet her was Mr. Takahashi. "Oh my old lady, let's talk inside. I want to tell you something about your granddaughter and the prince. I don't think it would be right for us to stand outside and talk like this. You know, walls have ears too." She seemed kinda tense. Yet she let him in and asked him to tell her everything he knew." "As I have already told you that I can do anything to protect our land . At first I thought your granddaughter Ichika is not a good news for the safety of our land. Because when the king forbade the prince to be friends with any human like Ichika. Due to intense rage, he inadvertently developed that demonic power within himself and attacked our kingdom. But as soon as I came to know her. I realized the fact that only she could help Minamoto get rid of the demonic thing that is developing inside him. I don't know what's wrong and what's right. I just want to save my land from the hands of that evil Kabuto. Right now he's trying to manipulate Minamoto's power. I can't do anything because the queen is also in his control. "So what do you want from me now? What can I do for you and your land? Get straight to the point." She questioned. " I want to borrow Ichika and her friends for some days. I'll take them straight to the bunny land." He said looking serious. "I know you don't want Ichika to face that evil Kabuto either. But you don't know how powerful she can be to save her love...I know it. Because when Minamoto was here with her I've always noticed that the bond between them is really strong. Please, trust me, I promise I will protect her. And about her friends . They are really supportive. I think they might be useful too." At first Grandma Chio didn't want to send Inoue to the land of the magical rabbits. She was a little worried for her because she knew very well how childish she was. But after listening to Takahashi . She decided to trust him.

"Inoue! Inoue! Where are you ? " while searching for inoue Takemichi reached The legendary match-making bridge .

(They say if a couple holds each other's hands and watches the fireworks together standing over that bridge. They'll never be separated from each other).

At last he found Inoue standing all alone gazing up at the sky. He went up to her and started shouting "Inoue, what are you doing here. Do you have any idea how worried i was for you ? " "Sorry, Takemichi i made you worry. You know I came here chasing a white cotton ball floating in the air. But when I got here it wasn't here anymore, I think I lost its sight...Cough! Cough! "While she was explaining everything to him, she started coughing out of the blue." Ah, wait I've brought water. Here you go. He opened the bottle and gave it to her. After drinking the water, she felt a little relief. Suddenly a bunch of people came together and inadvertently pushed Takemichi, causing the cap of the bottle to fall from his hand. He went to find it. And asked Inoue to hold his bag for a while and after a long search he found his bottle's cap lying near an electric pole. The fireworks started exploding in the sky. People gathered to enjoy the view. Takemichi was also in a hurry to get to Inoue but due to the crowd he was having trouble reaching her. And when he reached Inoue, the fireworks show was over. He felt a little disappointed. But looking at Inoue's face. He decided to speak his heart. Because he thought he would never get a better chance than this anymore . He held her hand and with a trembling voice he said "In...Inoue, I...l...like you. The day I saw you for the first time. I fell in l..love with you. So, please go out with me". She was in a great shock after hearing him. She freed her hand from his. As a tear rolled down from her left eye. She fleet away without saying anything in return.

(And the person in front of whom you are expressing your love by standing on that bridge, if he/ she walks away without saying anything in return. It means that person was never in your luck) .

  But she forgot to return him his bag pack . While running, she went to the nearby forest. And suddenly she fell down due to slipping feet. Whatever was inside the bag came out. She started crying loudly as she felt that she was deceiving Sato. She is well aware of how she feels for Takemichi. When she saw the bag she remembered that she had forgotten to return it. Whatever came out of that bag. She started putting them all back. And she got Minamoto's notebook in her hand. She opened it and looked at it using her phone's flashlight. She found out that the person who wrote that phrase in the paper she has and the owner of this notebook has the same handwriting, "it means that day Takemichi was the person who kept that humble food for me. And he's also the stranger who lent me his coat when i was unconscious." She was really confused. " No, this can't be true " To be absolutely sure. She thought of checking the full name of that book's owner . 'Akihiko Minamoto' When she looked over the cover, she found this name written over it . All of a sudden she heard the sound of a bell ringing from somewhere. Maybe it was one of the indications from the universe itself. Her eyes widened as she read that name. And all his memories came flooding to her mind. She screamed, cried, and then remembered a promise once Minamoto had asked her to make. "Ichika let's be together forever. A..and if we ever have to face any such situation in which we have to forget each other or if you end up alone. Promise me, you will still believe that there is someone who loves you more than his own life. For whom you matters the most. And he exists ". She remembered everything. She remembered that he was the bunny prince she was looking for. Darkness fell before her eyes . She was unable to figure out what to do in that kind of situation. "I have to find you Akihiko..., why did you leave me...Akihiko, Akihiko" she started murmuring his name again and again.

Here Takemichi was standing silently looking at the sky. The moment he realized the fact, he got rejected by his one and only childhood crush. Tears started flowing on their own. "Maybe we were never made for each other." Meanwhile he felt something strange . He felt something like this had happened to him before. He tried to remember it but failed... 

Inoue was sitting under a big tree murmuring Minamoto's name. Mr. Takahashi found her. He was a little sad to see her in that condition but he decided to talk to her firmly. "Your prince is alive" he said as he moved closer to her. She looked at him and asked "Where is Akihiko. Take me to him. I know you know where he is. You were the first one who asked us about him that day after i regained my consciousness. I want to scold him for leaving me alone like this." She stood up and screamed " Take me to him ". After a moment of silence he finally said "If you want to meet him. Then first you have to stop crying and listen to me carefully . Today I'm going to tell you everything, truthfully" Mr.Takahashi really meant it.