AN: Sorry for the delay! Days are too short for me, but here's finally the new - extra long - chapter for It's Our Life. Comedy, fluff + drama galore, I hope I won't disappoint you after the long wait.

S - SOS

"Got everything you need, Kotomi?" Naoki asked his daughter who was busy running around the house to gather her stuff. They would take Kotomi to spend the weekend at Naoki's grandparents' house, and finally have some free time just for the two of them on their days off. Which was a win-win of course, because Kotomi loved to play with Naoki's crazy family, while Naoki and Kotoko barely got some quality time. Kotoko had already made the schedule for their day full of activities for the next day - to Naoki's horror - so she was very excited already. Not that they didn't love Kotomi, of course they enjoyed happy family outings. But sometimes, even Naoki would crave some quality time with his wife.

Kotomi held up her bag and smiled widely. "Mi-chan's ready!" She said, and Naoki and Kotoko laughed. "Alright then!" Kotoko snatched the car keys from the table and dangled them in the air. "So, today mommy will drive for once!" She said, receiving shocked expressions from her husband and daughter. "Kotoko, are you sure?" Naoki asked. Living in Tokyo, they actually barely drove their car. Kotoko got her license years ago, but the times she drove the car... well, he could count them on just two hands. Which wasn't a lot. And not all of those times were that successful either... "Come on, it'll be alright. I know it's been a while, but I don't want Irie-kun to always drive. You'll have my back right?" Naoki looked at his confident wife with worry but finally sighed. "Fine. I'll be next to you." The family stepped into the car, and Naoki was relieved that Kotoko drove successfully all the way to his elderly home.

"Grandpa!" Kotomi ran towards grumpy grandpa, and Naoki and Kotoko greeted the others. Naoki watched how his grandfather greeted Kotomi. That old man was as if he was immortal, still as active as always! Next to him, Kotoko was stretching her arms in the air and squealing while she enjoyed the fresh air of the rural environment. He shook his head with a smile, and accepted the drink his niece offered him. They sat down for a while to chat with the family, and talked a little before they headed back to the car.

"Are you sure you won't stay the night as well?" Grandpa asked, and Naoki nodded. "We should be getting back home before it gets late. It's a long drive, and we have a busy day scheduled for tomorrow," He said, and Kotoko giggled when he glared at her. "Well okay, take care! Drive safely!" They waved and Kotoko took place behind the steering wheel again. "Alright let's go!" She started the car, and Naoki turned to wave at his excited daughter.

"You remember which way we came from, right?" Naoki asked when he sat back and looked at Kotoko who had her eyes fixated on the road. "I think so," She said, and he rolled his eyes. That was not very convincing. "What?" Kotoko asked, catching his eye roll just as she looked at him. "It looks all the same here. Mountains, and trees," She whined. Naoki sighed. "That way." He pointed, and Kotoko quickly followed his instructions. "You're like a compass, Irie-kun!" She said. "No I don't, it's just obvious," Naoki said. "No it's not." They continued to quarrel for a little longer, and Kotoko felt how she began to lose confidence.

"Are you sure we're heading the right way? I don't remember this part," She said, looking at Naoki with a worried look on her face. "Didn't you just say it all looked the same?" Naoki asked. "I did! But I have a feeling we haven't been here," Kotoko said, and she slowed down the car. "We're heading the right way, come on," Naoki said, beaming with confidence. Kotoko hesitated and increased speed again. "Fine, but don't go whining when -" "Kotoko look out!" Naoki suddenly shouted, and Kotoko screamed when a car suddenly came racing around the bend. As a reflex she pulled the steering wheel, and they tumbled over the edge of the mountain and were now racing downwards as bushes and branches hit the front window. "Stop the car!" Naoki yelled, but Kotoko was paralyzed with fear, and they continued moving down the mountain. "Oh no we're going to die!" Kotoko cried, and she covered her face with her hands. "Kotoko!" Naoki bent over her just before the car bumped into a tree, and everything became black.

"Irie-kun! Irie-kun come on!" Naoki slowly opened his eyes and brought his hand to his head. Woah, that hurt. Slowly blinking his eyes and recovering his sight, he noticed Kotoko who had been calling his name over and over again. Her eyes were full with tears, and she looked like a complete mess. "Oof... are you alright?" He asked, and he looked around the damaged car and sighed. They were damn lucky to be alive. Kotoko shook her head. "You're hurt, Irie-kun," She cried, and Naoki felt the wound on his head. "It's not much," He said. "What about you? Are you hurt?" He asked Kotoko. "Y-you jumped in front of me so you got the worst damage I think," Kotoko said, sobbing. Naoki looked her up and down and closed his eyes. He was so relieved, she indeed looked like she was alright. Apart from the fact that she was a crying mess.

"We have to get out of the car," Naoki said, and he undid his seatbelt and tried to open the door. He was greeted by nothing but branches, and he wondered where the hell they had crashed. "Kotoko?" He asked when Kotoko wasn't moving from her seat. He walked around the car and with some trouble, he managed to open the damaged door. "Come here," He took her hand and tried to pull her from her seat. "Ow ow ow wait! Ouch!" Kotoko squeaked, and Naoki's eyes widened in shock. Only now he noticed the front of the car that was damaged so badly, and it had caught Kotoko's leg that had been on the gas pedal.

Naoki stepped back and tried to bend down to see the damage, but it looked like there was no other solution but pull her out. "Kotoko, we'll have to pull you out," He said, and Kotoko looked up at him with her teary eyes. "I can't, it's stuck!" She said after some powerless efforts. "Come on, you can do it." Naoki took her hand again, and while he supported her shoulder with his other hand, he began to pull. Kotoko moaned in pain as she tried to pull her leg free, but she could slowly feel some movement and she kept pulling. "Aah!" She brought out when her leg was finally free, and Naoki quickly pulled her out of the car. Naoki quickly put her down on the ground, and he moved to check her leg. Only her ankle looked a little swollen, but once again, she had been very lucky. "Lucky you. That could've crushed your leg." Naoki smiled with relief, and Kotoko nodded. "Does it hurt?" He asked, feeling her ankle, and Kotoko flinched. "Y-yeah a little..." Naoki let his hands feel her ankle and he watched her reactions carefully. "It might be broken. We need to get help." He grabbed his cellphone from his pocket. "Damn, no connection here." He stood up and looked around. Right, they were in the middle of nowhere, somewhere down a stupid mountain with nothing but trees surrounding them. Of course there wouldn't be any connection.

And from what he could see, it seemed the sun was starting to set as well. He sighed and took their stuff from the undamaged trunk. "Come on, we have to start moving. Get on my back." He bent down in front of Kotoko, but she hesitated. "I-is it really alright?" Kotoko cried, but Naoki rolled his eyes and pulled her arms and put them around his neck from behind. Kotoko squeaked and climbed on top of him after all. "What about the car?" She asked, but Naoki shook his head. "It can't be helped, we first need to find help," He said, and Kotoko nodded silently. Without exchanging any words, Naoki carried her and made his way through the high grass and between the trees. He could hear Kotoko sob, but he was absently focused on not falling down.

"Come on, stop crying," Naoki finally said, attempting to cheer his poor wife up. "At least we survived, and we'll find help soon. Things can't get any worse than this," He said, awkwardly laughing it off. It was not Kotoko, but the sky that responded to him with a loud roaring thunder sound. "Oh great," Naoki grumbled when a sudden rain shower soaked them completely. He felt Kotoko's grip around his neck tighten, and he quickly looked around. They were still in the middle of nowhere with no sign of the road or people. He shivered from the cold, but continued to carry Kotoko on his back and moved forward. Never had he been in a situation like this. They never went hiking or camping, so he wasn't used to nature like this. "Hey, Kotoko. We can find shelter over there," He said, panting and catching his breath when he noticed a cave in the distance.

When the rain on their heads was finally replaced by calm and peace when they entered the cave, Naoki let Kotoko down and sat down with a long sigh. Man, he was exhausted. "Kotoko?" He looked at his wife who had been crying all this time. Was she that shocked about what happened? "We'll be alright Kotoko. Stop crying," He tried to comfort her, but Kotoko wouldn't stop sobbing. "I-it's all my fault!" She finally cried, and Naoki watched her wipe her tears and sob uncontrollably. "I got us in this mess, I'm so sorry Irie-kun. I never should have insisted to dri-" Naoki silenced her with a gentle kiss, while his hand caressed her soaked hair sweetly. "Irie-kun.." Kotoko mumbled when he pulled back to look her in the eyes. "It's not your fault. It was that asshole, we were both caught off guard..." He kissed her forehead and pulled her in a tight hug. "Thanks Irie-kun... Also for protecting me, and carrying me.." Kotoko smiled at him and Naoki felt his worry slip away. Nothing was the same without Kotoko and her usual optimistic attitude. Seeing her cry so much really made him feel hopeless and miserable.

"Will we have to stay the night here?" Kotoko asked with a worried look, and shivered from the cold. "At least until the rain has stopped." Naoki wrapped his arms around her and tried to warm her up. "Ahh... And I'm hungry..." Kotoko mumbled. She changed her position but then flinched from the pain. "Ouch!" She squeaked, and Naoki looked at her in shock. "It's your ankle, right? Alright, sit back." He pushed Kotoko back, and carefully pulled her foot to rest in his lap.

"Is this your first time getting hurt?" He asked while he took off her shoe, not remembering any injuries in Kotoko's life while he knew her. Kotoko shook her head. "When I was young, I broke my leg." Naoki grinned. It was funny how he could keep learning things about his wife, even after all these years. He reached for his bag "Should I refrain from asking how that happened?" He chuckled, and Kotoko giggled. "Hehe. Well, yeah. I actually don't really remember it myself. But father said I suddenly wondered why humans don't fly, so without warning I jumped down from halfway the stairs." Naoki looked up and laughed. "Well, that really sounds like you," He said, and Kotoko laughed as well, flinching slightly when her husband carefully took off her sock. "I know right?" She said, and she then focused on her foot. Naoki was carefully feeling her ankle, and she bit her lip. "It hurts right? It's swollen pretty bad too. Still, you can consider yourself a lucky one. That car could've damaged your leg pretty bad, but it's not broken. Just sprained." Naoki said in his Dr. Irie voice, and he reached behind him and took the bag with their stuff.

"We'll need to cool it properly." He took one of their water bottles, and wrapped his hand around it. "Damn. It's not that cold anymore." He looked around, and Kotoko looked up when he opened the bottle and got back to his feet. "What are you doing?" Kotoko asked. "Something I never thought I'd be doing, ever." Kotoko burst out in sudden laughter when Naoki stood by the cave entrance and extended his arm to let the bottle catch some of the cold rain water. "Yeah, laugh." Naoki said, and Kotoko indeed did so. She held her stomach and tried to hold back the giggles. Naoki had never looked funnier. His face had the not-amused-expression, and he was doing his best not to get soaked by the rain himself. It also took a pretty while for the rain to fill up the bottle, so all she could do was laugh at her husband who would do such a thing for her. So sweet!

"Finally." Naoki pulled the bottle back and wrapped it in the spare T-shirt he had brought along. Kotoko gasped when he held the package against her ankle, and she shuddered. "That's cold," she giggled. "Good." Naoki grinned. "How's the pain?" He asked, and Kotoko nodded. "It's fine," She said. "Thanks to you," She added sweetly, and she blushed. Naoki smiled and stared absently at her foot. "Don't you dare." He looked up. "What?" He asked. "Tickle my foot, I know you were planning something," Kotoko said, crossing her arms, which made her look pretty amusing. Leg stretched, arms crossed and a defiant look on her face. "I wouldn't do that to an injured foot, silly." Naoki got up and sat down next to her, leaning against the stone wall.

"I was just looking at the scar on the bottom of your foot. How'd you get it?" Kotoko smiled. Since when was he so interested in such things about her? "I guess that happened when I was about eight years old. I stepped on a piece of glass, nothing much." She shrugged. "I see." Naoki leaned his head back and Kotoko cuddled against him. "What about you then? Did you ever get injuries when you were young, Mr. Irie?" Kotoko said playfully. "Just once. But that was nothing but too much enthusiasm when playing tennis, during middle school." Naoki shook his head. "I broke my arm back then." Kotoko giggled. "Well, at least that sounds more cool than my story." Their chatter died down and they listened to the sound of the rain while they rested against each other.

"And what do we do now?" Kotoko finally asked, and she felt Naoki shrug. "Wait until the rain stops, and move on. Find help." Somehow, Naoki's voice sounded so soothing. Kotoko felt herself slowly drift away. "Eep!" She suddenly squeaked when she felt Naoki poke her side. She playfully hit his shoulder. "You're such a bastard," She said before making herself comfortable against his shoulder again. "Can I sleep here?" She asked. "Go ahead." And this time, Naoki allowed her to fall asleep, which happened in the split of a second.

Naoki watched how his wife tiredly opened one eye, and he smiled sweetly at her. She had been resting with her head on his lap, while her body was stretched out on the cold ground. He himself was still in a sitting position, against the rock hard wall of the cave. "Did you sleep well?" He asked, and Kotoko nodded. "Surprisingly," She yawned and rolled on her back, her head still comfortable on top of him. "It stopped raining," She sighed. "Yeah." Naoki looked outside the cave, but there was nothing to be seen. It was already late night by now, and pitch black outside.

"Are you cold?" Naoki asked, and he pulled his coat that had been covering her tighter around her body and rubbed her. "Yeah. But how are you? Your head's hurt too. Did you get any sleep?" Kotoko asked, worried. "I'm alright. Had to make sure the wolves won't come and get you." He smirked when Kotoko suddenly wrapped her arms tightly around his middle. "Wolves?!" She squeaked. "Or you know, mountain lions." "M-mountain lions?!" The grip of her arms around him tightened, and Naoki smirked, canceling his words 'just kidding'. He secretly enjoyed how she was so easily fooled, and besides, the way she wrapped her arms around him felt warm and comfortable.

Kotoko had grown silent again and they lay in silence togeter for a while, before she spoke again. "You fooled me, didn't you?" Naoki grinned. "Yeah." Kotoko giggled and cuddled against him. "Try to get some more sleep." Naoki sighed, and she nodded. He couldn't believe they were staying the night in the damn, rotten nature, cast away in some bloody cave.

Well, Naoki could say he had definitely expected their quality time to be different. After sunrise, they had finally left the cave to find their way through the labyrinth of trees and bushes. "Where should we go if we came from all the way up there?" Kotoko asked, looking up the mountain. "Let's just keep searching. You can't climb with your injury, and I certainly won't carry you up there. I know we need to head downhill in a situation like this," Naoki said, carefully supporting her as she walked.

Kotoko's stomach suddenly made an enormous sound, and they boh stopped talking. "We'll find our way out, soon. Until then, hold on. I'm hungry too," Naoki finally said, and Kotoko nodded. He blamed himself for his stubbornness. Kotoko always wanted to bring something to snack when they drove to other places, but he had objected. Why did one always have to snack in the car? Was what he thought. Unnecessary, unhealthy and it would get the car all dirty. Now he regretted this.

Time kept ticking, and they wandered about for another two dreadfully long hours. Naoki was leading the way while Kotoko stumbled behind him. The ground was all wet and muddy from the rain, and they still found nothing but trees. "Is your ankle okay?" Naoki asked his hobbling wife, and she nodded. "My stomach isn't," She said, and right after she said that, her injured foot lost its power to stand, and Naoki was too late to catch her. She went face down into the muddy ground, and Naoki froze in his place. "K-Kotoko. Are you alright?" He asked, but sadly it was one of those rare moments where he had the urge to laugh. Kotoko lifted her head and looked up at him, the mud dripping from her face, and he couldn't hold it.

"You sure are laughing a lot, you enjoy this kind of date, lost in the woods huh?" Kotoko smirked, sat on her knees and wiped effortlessly some mud from her face. Her entire front was colored brown, and she looked hilarious. Naoki could see she was smiling, thank god, because he would never want to humiliate his wife. But of course to her it was rare as well, to see him laughing like this. "So you think this is funny huh?" Kotoko slowly got on her legs, visibly ignoring the pain, and Naoki eyed the mud she had gathered in her hand. "Oh no, don't you dare!" He backed away but he already received a handful of mud in his face.

"Now you've done it." He bent down and gathered some more mud and approached her. "No, Irie-kun! It's fair now, we're even. I'm handicapped, this isn't faaaaaaiiehehe!" Kotoko squealed when Naoki rubbed the mud all over her cheeks, and she scrunched up her shoulders and tried to push him away. She then replaced her attempts to push him away with a big bear hug, and she rubbed against him so he got all covered in mud as well. "Stop that!" Naoki clawed at her sides, and his ticklish wife screamed with laughter, her legs growing limb. While his hands never left her sides, he followed her down as she sank on her knees back into the mud, begging him to stop through her laughter.

Their laughter slowly died down as his hands stopped their revenge on her, and she looked up at him with a smile. They first chuckled at each other's muddy faces, before leaning in to kiss anyway, despite the dirt. Naoki moved some of Kotoko's dirty hair behind her ear and kissed her passionately. He was still forever thankful to Kotoko for bringing out this playful side of him.

With the mud all dried up, and Kotoko on his back again, Naoki carefully made his way through the woods. After the mud incident, they had only walked further, but with no result yet, and their hungry stomaches were starting to bother them. "Irie-kun, look!" Kotoko pointed between the trees, and he headed into the direction she was pointing at. A small lake lay before them, and even though it wasn't exactly a village or some other saviour, it was at least something where they could clean themselves and hopefully find something to eat.

"Is this the time when we should try and catch some fish?" Kotoko asked playfully when he put her down by the water. "I guess so," He said and he looked around him. While Kotoko already washed her muddy skin, Naoki kept looking around. Awkwardly. "So, how should we catch the fish?" The silence that followed discomforted both of them. "I don't know." Kotoko's jaw dropped and she looked up at him. "You don't know?" She asked. The words 'I don't know' were in fact very rare to leave Irie Naoki's mouth. Very rare. Naoki shrugged. "Mr. Genius doesn't know?" Kotoko asked, still baffled. "I never did something like this, okay?" Naoki grumbled. He too wasn't used to encountering things in life he knew nothing about. "I think you could just catch them with your hands, look." Kotoko pointed at the shallow water where a couple of fish could be spotted.

"Right." Naoki rolled his sleeves and took off his shoes and socks before he stepped into the water. "Careful," Kotoko said as he approached the fish. "I know that," He replied, a bit annoyed since he was concentrating. He slowly approached a group of fish, and then snatched into the water. This earned him nothing but a water splash into his face. Kotoko squealed with laughter. "Try again!" She encouraged him, but Naoki shot her a look, the water dripping from his face. "This was only my first attempt!" While Kotoko took her time to wash the dried mud from her skin, Naoki kept trying and trying.

Finally, soaked and exhausted, he sat next to his wife and sighed. "It's no use. I couldn't get one," He sighed, and he gazed tiredly at Kotoko's now clean face. She smiled brightly and shrugged. "It can't be helped. Maybe I should try too. You get that mud from your face." She carefully got to her feet. "Wait. Will you be alright?" Naoki asked, but she was using her foot carefully and stepped into the water, gasping because of the coldness. "Yes! I'll be fine," Kotoko squeaked, and she entered the lake until the water was until over her knees. "Alright..." She mumbled, and she studied the water.

Naoki chuckled at the way her tongue was out of her mouth while she concentrated on her poor little preys. He wanted to tell her it was no use, but of course he couldn't do such a thing when she was so determined. Besides - "I got one!" Naoki blinked his eyes. Wait, what? Kotoko turned around and in her hands was a heavily splashing fish. "Eeek what should I do with it!" Kotoko cried, but Naoki was paralyzed with surprise. She seriously did that? "Aaah!" The fish jumped out of her hands, and Kotoko lost her balance and fell back. "Kotoko!" Naoki called out, but she had fallen entirely into the water until even her head was under. "Paaah!" Kotoko coughed as she appeared again, and she splashed heavily in frustration. "That stupid fish!" She cried out. Naoki smiled at her. Even if she wasn't able to keep it, he was still beaming with pride and admiration towards her. Where he tried a countless amount of time, she was able to do such a thing so fast. She really was amazing...

"Ahh I failed..." Kotoko sighed as she left the water with a disappointed look on her face, but Naoki shook his head and took her hand in his. "At least you were able to catch one." This made her smile. "I did, right? Even I didn't know I could." She shivered and allowed her husband to wrap his arms around her. "But now I'm soaking wet and cold..." She sighed and cuddled against him. "Maybe we should try to make a fire." Naoki said, and Kotoko's face brighened. "A fire! Then we could warm up and-" "make a smoke signal!" They both said at the same time. "Maybe people will find us! Let's go!" Determined and full of energy, Kotoko got to her feet and ran back into the woods, and Naoki heard her yelp in pain. That crazy idiot.

After collecting the wood, they made a pile nearby the water and tried to make a fire. The primitive way again. "Geez.." Naoki sighed. This, he should at least be able to make a fire. Right?! He was sitting on his knees for a good ten minutes now, trying to make one. "Should I try?" Naoki gazed at Kotoko and could nearly feel where this was going. He handed the piece of wood he had been using to her, and Kotoko kneeled down and began to try. "We should hurry, before the sun sets," Naoki said, and he chewed on one of the nuts they had found. During their search for wood, they had also collected some mushrooms, berries and nuts, but in the end the only things they dared to eat were the nuts. One might never know if something was poisoned or not.

"I-I think it's working, look!" Unbelievable. Where Mr. Genius failed again, Kotoko was able to create a fire. While the flames were growing, they worked together to make it into a bigger fire. "Phew. Should this be enough of a SOS signal?" Kotoko asked, stepping back and wiping the sweat from her forehead. "I think so," Naoki said, and they both watched the smoke rise into the air. They sat by the fire, snacked some of the nuts and cuddled against each other to keep themselves warm.

"I guess today got a lot different than planned hm?" Naoki asked after they had been sitting like that for a while, and Kotoko smiled. "It did. Want to know what I had planned?" She asked, and Naoki nodded. "First, I wanted us to have breakfast at the fancy restaurant we went to on one of our first real dates. Then visit Ueno Zoo. It's been a while since we got there. After that, I wished to have a romantic walk through the park, ride the love boats... eat takoyaki. Have dinner at an Italian restaurant... I wanted to feel young again." Naoki laughed. "You are young!" He replied. "You know what I mean," Kotoko poked him with her elbow. "But... this isn't too bad either. I must say.." She continued, and Naoki raied his eyebrows. "True, we're in the middle of nowhere. Lost, cold, injured and hungry..." Kotoko poked her fingers together. "But we had fun as well. Right?" She looked at him, and Naoki nodded. He surprisingly felt the same way. "Yeah." Just when they leaned in to kiss, they suddenly heard rustling sounds, and voices calling. "Over here!" A man's voice called, and Naoki and Kotoko looked up. They had been found!

"Here, found the source! Are you two alright?" The man asked, and even though both of them had just admitted they had enjoyed their time in the wild, they were both very relieved to be found again. The stranger was followed by a group of other young men, all in hiking outfits, and Kotoko and Naoki were happy to go with them. The man who found them explained how fires - and visitors in general - were quite rare around this area, and when they had noticed the smoke from the distance, they knew something was wrong.

"Where do you need to go?" He finally asked after hearing about Naoki and Kotoko's accident. "Tokyo, we were on our way," Naoki said. "Tokyo?" All men looked up in surprise. "That's waaay back the other way!" The man explained, and again, Naoki was struck with surprise. "O-oh see! I told you so! I told you we were heading the wrong way!" Kotoko squeaked, surprised as well, and she pulled his arm excitedly.

"But don't worry, we will get you out of here," The man said with an awkward smile at the pair. Naoki smiled just as awkwardly back at the friendly man. "Thanks." He watched Kotoko talk with one of the other men as they walked, and he shook his head. Yes, it was Kotoko behind the steering wheel, and it was a stupid driver who got them down here. But the failing person of this trip was no one but himself, Mr. Genius. He who led them the wrong way, couldn't catch a fish and failed at making a fire. He wouldn't survive in the wild without Kotoko. The funny thought made him chuckle to himself. Well, he wouldn't be able to survive without her at all, anyway.

"Ahaha! I love the mud fight part!" Marina laughed out loud, and Motoki joined in. "No, the fact that Irie Naoki failed at making a fire while you succeeded? Hahaha! You have such imagination Kotoko!" Kotoko looked at them with bright red puffed cheeks, and she stomped her foot, forgetting its slight injury and she winced in pain. She had just told her friends about her extraordinary outing wih her husband, but why wouldn't they ever believe her! Their adventure had been real. Even she couldn't believe it herself, but it was all real. After their short survival in the wild, the hikers had transported them back home. Their car couldn't be saved anymore, so Mr. and Mrs. Irie had gone to pick up Kotomi. Now after such a strange day off, they were back in the hospital as if nothing had happened.

"I'm sorry Kotoko, but we know you can be very creative with your fantasies," Motoki said, placing a comforting hand on the disappointed nurse's shoulder. "It's all true." All of them looked up at the source of the sudden voice, and saw Naoki. "Naoki!" Kotoko's friends blurted out, their jaws dropping. "It's all true," Naoki repeated, and he stood by Kotoko and patted her head. "If you were to ever get lost in the wild, be sure to have Kotoko with you. She will save the day." Naoki winked at them and then walked away again, while Kotoko fixed her nurse cap he had messed up when he had patted her head. She smiled. Yes, as weird as it sounded: she was glad this happened. Their little adventure in the woods down the mountain, she would never ever forget that. If she wasn't mistaken, even at this stage of their marriage, their relationship had developed even more!

End of this Chapter