Looking out her bedroom window, Kotoko saw an older woman sweeping the back patio at the next house over. She closed her suitcase and commented as she went down the stairs, "I think Sugisaki-san's grandmother is here for a visit."

"More like an inspection," Naoki corrected. "He said she was really pleased with the condition of the rooms after a year of college men living in them."

Kotoko snorted. "She should thank her lucky stars that the gamers moved in after his original tenants. They claimed they had to haul out garbage and scrub the rooms down before they were livable."

"Is that so? Just let me empty the trash out back, and then we can leave for the station."

"Okay!" she called as she carried her bag to the front of the house. Immediately after she set it near the entrance, the bell rang. She opened the door to find Shitara outside, a jaunty grin on his face.

"Hey, there, Ai-kun!" he greeted her.

"Hi, Shit-kun," she replied. Over the past few weeks they had managed to return to their friendly camaraderie of old.

He looked beside her feet. "Oh, about to leave town for the end-of-year break?" She nodded. He ran his hand over recently trimmed hair. "I'll only take a few minutes. I just wanted to let you know that I'm all set with the team."

Kotoko squealed and gave him a quick hug. "I knew you could do it!"

"Well, I'm not a starter yet, but it won't be long!" he bragged.

"I'm sure of that! After all, your aim has improved since you gave me this!" She pointed to the small scar on her chin.

"Well, now we're even," he said, pinching her nose.

"Best of luck to you! I'll come see you play when you're famous," she joked.

He leaned nearer. "No second thoughts? I'm going to be a celebrity flying high, you know."

She laughed. "Naoki is celebrity enough for me."

"Your problem," he pointed to her, "is that you don't dream big enough." His mouth twisted and he let out a huff of breath. "It's going to be lonely at the top without you."

She shook her head at him. "Don't worry. You'll have plenty of company once the media starts showing your cute face."

"Cute?" He looked beyond her and called, "Hear that, Irie? She thinks I'm cute! You'd better not relax and take her for granted!"

Kotoko shoved him off the porch. "Go on, now! Stop teasing him and get on with your life!"

He gave her an unreadable expression. "Just be happy, Ai-kun. And if he ever screws up…"

"Don't worry," Naoki appeared behind her, "I don't plan to. And if I do happen to mess up, she'll set me straight."

"Yeah! That she will!" He gave a backwards wave as he walked away.

"You ready?" Naoki smiled down at her.

"Sure!" As he proceeded to lock the door, she turned at the sudden sound of yelling next door.

Apparently Sugisaki Eiji was the misbegotten son of a thrice-cursed demon and was fated to meet a gruesome end for egregious disrespect.

"I thought his grandmother was happy," Kotoko said, confused.

The conversation became a little more public after Sugisaki backed out the front door as if shoved. "How was I to know that once held great-great-great-grandpa's ashes? It was just sitting there with nothing in it, so we filled it up and made it useful. We even named it the 'Love Cabinet'."

His grandmother appeared in the doorway holding close an ornately carved wooden box. "You cross-eyed cur! Is that what you call it? Desecration most foul is what I say!" She opened the top and hurled the contents at him. Several dozen small packets rained down. One was caught by a spring breeze and fluttered to land at Kotoko's feet. She bent and picked it up.

"Naoki? This looks like—"

He snatched it from her hand and held it to the sky. "Damn!" He tossed it back to the ground and grabbed her hand. "Let's go!"

"But shouldn't we tell them before we—"

"No. We should not."

"It might not be our fault. Not all of those were from Obasama's box," she argued.

"Enough of them were!" He hustled her down the street.

They were still within earshot when Sugisaki paused his grandmother's tirade. "Wait a sec, Gran. My girlfriend's calling. Hey, what's up, babe? Huh? You're what?!"

A/N: So one of the subplots of the story turned out to be the (im)proper acquisition and (mis)use of contraceptives. I did try to hint that all of the affected relationships were serious ones, but yes, Mrs. Irie has a lot to answer for.

A/N2: Ah, yes, about the rapid uploads. When I began this story, I knew where it would start, where it would end, and pretty much how it would get from one to the other. To my frustration, it refused to take shape for the longest time, but Stubborn Me continued to write until everything fell into place. However, because I had made numerous changes in timelines and story threads, I felt like I had to finish the entire thing first to avoid continuity errors. I hope you enjoyed it!