Chikage Utsuki/Bitter Addiction

No more chocolate

Backstage Stories

Part 1Part 2Part 3

Itaru	We're home.......
Chikage	......Sigh.
Izumi	Welcome back--um, that's a lot of stuff you both have?
Taichi	Is, is it possible that the contents of those massive bags are, ch-ch-ch-chocolate--!?
Itaru	Ding-ding-ding.
Chikage	Correct.
Kazunari	You two sure are the big guns of extreme popularity~!
Sakyo	An impressive amount again.
Chikage	Jeez......Coming up with having to give obligatory chocolates on Valentine's Day is a bad culture of Japan.
Izumi	Speaking of which, overseas it's more mainstream for men to give women presents, right?
Taichi	Ah, this chocolate is from the store that was on TV! There was a re~ally long line when it was shown!
Kazunari	Actually like, all the chocolates here are from high-class patisseries, aren't they!?
Izumi	(If it's such high-quality chocolate, is it possible to just give them out of obligation......)
Chikage	Sigh......I have to do something about this before next year.
Sakyo	You don't wanna just tell 'em that you don't like sweets?
Chikage	......Well, if I told them now it would be rude of me, after all.
Izumi	(It's true that he doesn't like sweet things as well, but in the first place, he doesn't like women, after all. I'm sure that's not the problem......)
Chikage	For now, I'll devise a plan aiming to make my count of gifts 0 next year.
Taichi	Popular men have extravagant troubles! Ugh......Someone like me doesn't stand a chance.......
Itaru	Then, I'll give you this.
Itaru	Here, you get this, Senpai. Since they're cheese cookies, you can eat them, right.
Chikage	?
Taichi	This isn't from your pile of gifts, Itaru-san?
Itaru	No, this is from my older sister.
Izumi	Itaru-san's older sister?
Itaru	Since everyone in the troupe is taking care of me, she told me to bring this back. She made sure to give me both sweet things and non-sweet things.
Izumi	(As expected of the single person who beat how to survive in the world into Itaru-san......)
Taichi	Looks delish-! I'm gonna hurry up and eat some!
Izumi	Before that, you have to eat dinner.
Itaru	By the way, today's dinner is.......
Sakyo	You already know the answer to that.......
Izumi	Alright, here's Ultimate Curry (Provisional)!
Taichi	I feel like I just ate this yesterday too!
Itaru	Endless curry.
Kazunari	I don't think it's going to end until they complete the ultimate recipe for the Actor's Cafe☆
Izumi	--Chikage-san, how's the flavor?
Chikage	Hm. I think if it was a little richer then it might be better.
Izumi	I thought so too.......
Chikage	I'll adjust the combination of spices a bit.
Izumi	Okay! Also, I think if we put in less vegetables, it'll be better.
Chikage	Probably. One more thing: I think we should add a secret ingredient to it.
Izumi	There are lots of different secret ingredients we could add, but--.
Itaru	I can't keep up at all.
Sakyo	Of course they went on to talk about curry.......
Taichi	The fate of the Actor's Cafe is depending on this curry! We just have to deal with it!
Sakyo	......All of my hopes are that they just hurry up and finish it.
Itaru	I guess I'll just think of it as a quest of endurance and bear it.

Muku	This chocolate is really delicious!
Izumi	Yeah. But I wonder if it was okay for even me to receive some chocolate.
Yuki	Isn't it fine? You make us meals and watch over our practices, so it's true that you're taking care of us.
Azuma	The chocolates we got from Itaru's older sister go well with the tea Homare chose.
Izumi	Since it's not too sugary it's easy to eat, and the package is also stylish. I wonder what store it's from?
Azuma	It's from a store that's been getting more popular recently, "Rossignal•and•Chocolat."
Izumi	"Rossignal•and•Chocolat"--Ah, this one. The store itself is wonderful, too!
Yuki	Huh, it's pretty cute.
Muku	It looks like they sell chocolate by weight, too. Since there's many different varities of all of the chocolate, it's really exciting.
Izumi	Maybe I'll try to go to the store sometime.......
Azuma	It seems like a store that girls would like.
Izumi	There's that as well, but I was actually just thinking that for the curry's secret ingredient, I'd like to try putting in some chocolate.
Azuma	Haha, so you were thinking of that.
Yuki	That's the curry alien alright.
Izumi	Ah, there he is. Chikage-san!
Chikage	?
Izumi	There's a place that I want to visit, but will you come with me?
Chikage	......I have a bad feeling about this.
Izumi	You have amazing intuition.......
Izumi	Um, would you like to go to this chocolate shop with me? By car, it's only about 20 minutes--.
Chikage	Pass.
Izumi	Can you please at least try to think it over......!
Izumi	Since you told me that the curry wasn't rich enough, I thought to myself "What if I tried to add in some chocolate?"
Chikage	Well, that's probably going to be good. But there's no need for me to go with you, right?
Izumi	That's not true! If it's you, you'll give me accurate opinions--.
Izumi	I'll test the flavor myself! We're just going to take a little peek and then check out!
Chikage	......I get it. If you're that desperate, then I guess I have no choice.
Izumi	Thank you so much!
Izumi	Wow! It's such a cute and wonderful store. There's so much chocolate that I'm not sure if I'll be able to choose any.
Chikage	If we're adding it to curry, this and this will be good. Alright, I'm going to go check out.
Izumi	Wa-wait just a second! Since we've come all this way, why don't we look around a little bit more?
Chikage	......Jeez.
Izumi	Ah, this seems to have the blending ratio of cacao written on it, which makes adjustments easier.......
Chikage	Director-san.
Izumi	Yes?
Chikage	Here, say "ah."
Izumi	U-uhmm......?
Chikage	You're going to sample it in my stead, right?
Izumi	Th-that was what I said......Alright then.
Izumi	--Ah, this has mango sauce inside of it. To compliment the bitterness of the chocolate, it has the perfect amount of sweetness.
Chikage	Then, the next one is this one.
Izumi	Ha-hang on a second!
Chikage	Come on, quickly now.
Izumi	Jeez, I'm going to feed it to myself!
Chikage	Is that so? That's a shame.
Izumi	(H-he's getting back at me......)
Clerk	Here are your purchases.
Izumi	Thank you very much.
Chikage	It's good that you were able to buy a number of seemingly nice chocolates.
Izumi	Yeah!
Clerk	This is about the receipt I just handed you, but there's a number of hidden codes within it.
Clerk	If you can decode it, you'll be able to visit the secret cafe space in this store.
Izumi	A secret cafe space?
Clerk	Yes. There are limited-time sweets using this store's chocolates as well, so by all means.
Izumi	Limited-time sweets.......
Chikage	Is it possible--You want to go?
Izumi	Of course!
Chikage	......An immediate answer. Excuse me, is there coffee as well?
Clerk	Indubitably, we have coffee prepared as well. On top of that, our coffee is popular.
Chikage	Then, let's go. Since we've come this far, I'll keep you company.
Izumi	Is it really okay? But, the code.......
Chikage	Already solved.
Izumi	Already!?
Chikage	A code that allows customers entry into a shop can't be too difficult, you know. Come on, it's over here.
Izumi	W-wait for me--!

Izumi	The cafe is lovely as well! All of the small ornaments that are set-up are cute.......
Chikage	The atmosphere feels relaxed as well, so it's not bad.
Izumi	This cake is delicious, too. It's so good that it's a waste that it's a limited-time item.
Chikage	Glad to hear it.
CHOICE 1: "How about a bite of cake?" [+] Izumi Oh right, Chikage-san, how about a bite of cake? Chikage Is that revenge for the chocolate earlier? Izumi (He saw right through me......) Izumi Th-that's not true at all~. This cake is delicious, so I was wondering "Maybe Chikage-san might like some too......." Chikage I'll pass on the sweet stuff. In exchange--. Izumi Ahh! I actually left that strawberry for last....... Chikage I'm just joking. Chikage But if you don't eat your favorite foods first, some bad guy like me is going to steal it from you.
CHOICE 2: "The coffee looks delicious as well." [+] Izumi Chikage-san's coffee looks delicious as well. It has a nice aroma. Chikage Would you like a sip? Izumi Is it okay with you? Izumi --Ah, it's good! As expected from something recommended by the clerk. Izumi In return, would you like a bite of cake? It isn't very sweet, so I think you'll be able to eat it as well. Chikage No, thank you. Just watching you eating it like it's the best thing ever makes me feel full, too.
???	Huh--Utsuki-san?
Chikage	You're--.
Izumi	Chikage-san, is this an acquaintance of yours?
Chikage	Yeah, he's a colleague from the company I work for.
Colleague	Nice to meet you. My name is Sawada.
Colleague	At any rate, it's a rare occurence to meet Utsuki-san outside of the company. I was brought here by my girlfriend.
Colleague	I wouldn't have thought that I'd meet Utsuki-san in a place like this--. Huh, are you perhaps.......
Izumi	? --Ah.
Izumi	(Now that I think about it, I'm set-up to be Chikage-san's little sister! Wait, but, when Itaru-san introduced me, he also called me his little sister......)
Izumi	(F-for now I'll just pretend to be Chikage-san's little sister......)
Izumi	T-thank you for always taking care of my brother.......
Colleague	I remember now! You were there with Chigasaki at the New Year's party!
Izumi	!?
Izumi	(He knows me from Itaru-san's side......!)
Izumi	Ch-Chikage-san.......
Chikage	.......
Izumi	......Huh?
Chikage	Well, I guess there's nothing to hide. The truth is that--we're dating with the thought of marriage in mind.
Izumi	Excuse me!?
Colleague	Whaat!? Is that true?
Izumi	(Ch-Chikage-san!?)
Chikage	Why are even you surprised, Izumi? It's the truth, isn't it?
Izumi	U-ummm....... A-ahaha. I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself.
Chikage	Haha. Izumi, are you embarrassed? I don't really want you to be showing that cute face to other people, though.
Izumi	!?
Colleague	There was such a person to Utsuki-san.......
Chikage	Well, that's how it is. You too, you can't be keeping your girlfriend waiting, right?
Colleague	Ah, you're right. Then I'll excuse myself. To your girlfriend as well, see you!
Izumi	Ah, right--.
Chikage	......With this, I'll get 0 chocolates next year.
Izumi	Huh?
Chikage	That guy likes gossiping. A person's love affair would make suitable news, right?
Izumi	Jeez, so it was about that.......Then, not getting anything from me is alright too, right?
Chikage	......That would make me a little sad.
Izumi	Huh--.
Chikage	Just kidding.
Izumi	Ugh......Just how much are you going to toy with me!
Izumi	(Since my heart skipped a beat, I feel like I've lost......)
Itaru	(Sigh......Sleepy. My newly purchased game was so godly that I ended up playing until morning......)
Itaru	(Hm? It's kind of noisy......)
Male Company Worker A	Ah, Chigasaki! You have a female sibling right?
Itaru	? Well, yes. An older sister.
Male Company Worker B	So she's your older sister! Then you're going to be Utsuki-san's younger brother-in-law.
Itaru	......Huh?
Male Company Worker A	This past Sunday, it seems like a guy happened to run into Utsuki-san and your older sister together at a cafe.
Male Company Worker B	Because of that, they've become the subject of all the talk in the company. All of the female workers seem to be pretty shocked, so that's why the situation's like this.
Itaru	......Umm.
Male Company Worker A	Did you not know? It seems like Utsuki-san said that they were dating with marriage in mind. Why don't you try asking him?
Male Company Worker B	Ah, we have a meeting soon. See you later.
Itaru	(Senpai and my older sister are dating......? No, they couldn't have been in contact. But a little while ago, I did give him those cookies--)
Chikage	From now on, I'll be in your care as your older brother-in-law Chigasaki--No, Itaru.
Itaru	(Nonono......There's no way. Nope nope.)
Itaru	(......I might be hearing things out of exhaustion. I'll go home early today.)
Itaru	I'm home--.
Chikage	Ah, welcome home.
Itaru	.......
Chikage	What's wrong?
Itaru	Um, Senpai......Is it true?
Chikage	What is?
Itaru	I think my older's sister's face is, well, alright, and since you're both tricky people you two might be a pretty good match, but--.
Itaru	But she's actually really dangerous on the inside, so rethinking it at least once would be.......
Chikage	Chigasaki's older sister? What's with this conversation, all of a sudden.
Itaru	--Huh?
Chikage	--What?

Kou