Eventually

Summary: Naoki never came after Kotoko and she accepted Kinnosuke's proposal. As time passes, circumstances draw her and Naoki closer but she is the only one who doesn't see that they belong together.

Present

Every time he said he loved her Kotoko repeated the sentiments back, trying to ignore the hollow feeling in her heart. She thought that she could forget about Naoki with someone who loved her like Kin-chan, she should've known it wouldn't be so easy to forget the one she has loved for five years. Kin-chan had made her laugh, made her smile truly for a time but now she felt like she was drowning.

In his eye Kotoko could do no wrong and he put her on a pedestal and worshipped her.

It was one thing for her to be distraught for Naoki to be engaged to a graceful, talented (not perfect, nobody was ever perfect) woman, it was another feeling completely that Kotoko experienced every time Kin-chan declared her to be perfect when she was most definitely not. She was not a lot of the things that Kin-chan proclaimed her to be but he was blind to her faults even when she pointed them out and he was faced with direct evidence of her lack of culinary skills, grace and intelligence.

Kotoko wondered if Kin-chan really knew her at all. No doubt he loved her and would do anything to make her happy. But deep down she wondered if he really understood her. She squashed down her doubts however because they were engaged now, since he had proposed out of the blue five months ago. And didn't her dad say he would be happy if she married Kin-chan? She shouldn't think just of herself after all.

Besides Kin-chan had loved her for five years and so shouldn't she love him then? Kotoko knew what a one sided love was like after all and wouldn't wish it on anybody. She cared for Kin- chan and she truly wanted him to be happy.

But...Kotoko loved...no had loved, she though firmly, had loved Naoki even after finding out what his true self was like. Living in the same house as Irie-kun, she had got to see another side of him and had accepted him, even with his faults. It was just a shame that he had not done the same for her.

Kin-chan accepted her. Even though a voice deep down told her he stubbornly refused to see her faults. He was living a lie, she thought. And so was she.

Kotoko shook her head. No, she would fall in love with Kin-chan. It would just take time, that's all. Kotoko knew what unrequited love was like and she never wanted her friend to feel as unhappy as she had. He had always tried so hard and for so long to make her happy after all. Before all her attention had been out into winning Irie-kun's attention. Now, she was determined to make Kin-chan happy and to make their relationship work.

The night of the proposal

That night, when she had met Kin-chan at the shop, Kotoko had given him her answer and he had leapt in the air, crying in happiness and hugging her with joy. Kin-chan had insisted that they inform her father right away about the proposal but she managed to eventually persuade him to wait till the next day for him to visit, saying she wanted to talk to her father first. When Kotoko had announced to her father herself that evening that Kin-chan had proposed and she had said yes, Shigeo had been quiet for a while, assessing her with an unreadable look on his face.

"Are you happy with this?" he had finally said.

"Yes, of course!" Kotoko exclaimed. "Aren't you? Didn't you say that it would please you to have Kin- chan in the family, and then you'd have a successor?"

Shigeo smiled softly. "Your feelings are what are most important to me." He had sighed deeply, making Kotoko wonder what had been thinking.

"Very well, I will allow this if it truly what you want." He paused, seeing his daughter give a small smile. "But first I want you to graduate. I will not allow the wedding before then. You and Kin-chan may have known each other for years but you have only just started dating. Marriage at this point is moving too fast. "

Kotoko was slightly surprised. That wouldn't be for another two years, but that was fine with her, she wanted to finish university first too. And by that time she should be madly in love with Kin-chan.

"I am surprised at his sudden proposal," Shigeo mused, "but if he had loved you for this long then he can wait a few more years. He'll be busy until then too with his apprenticeship."

Kotoko nodded her head in understanding. She had bid her father goodnight and went to bed, her mind feeling heavy with mixed emotions. Why did she feel like she was drowning in all these feelings?

The day after the proposal

The next day Kin-chan came over early to talk to her father and she listened in on their conversation.

"Kinnosuke," her father began. "Are you sure you understand what you're getting into?"

"Of course, I've been waiting for this moment for nearly five years!" Kin-chan exclaimed.

"But she can't do anything right," Shigeo stated, making Kotoko cringe. She wasn't that hopeless surely?

"Nonsense! My Kotoko can do anything!"

"She's also not very smart," Ok, that was true.

"Nonsense! She was on the top 100 in high school and she got into college," Kin- chan declared. Yeah but the top 100 result was just for one mid- term exam and she got into college with the help of Irie-kun.

"She's always making mistakes because she carelessly jumps to conclusions," Shigeo told him.

"Eh? When has she ever done that?" Kin- chan said in confusion.

"...Never mind," Shigeo said, apparently remembering he was talking to someone who even more carelessly jumped to conclusions than Kotoko. "It's clear that you care about Kotoko a great deal. Please take care of her."

"Yosh! I will! Thank you so much dad!" Kin- chan exclaimed, making Kotoko and Shigeo wince slightly.

The Irie family learned of the proposal when Kin- chan came unceremoniously bursting in to the living room to announce it loudly at the top of his voice. Noriko (she had to stop thinking of her as Mama now she was going to be moving out and marrying Kin-chan) had been too stunned to speak, before bursting into wails and lamenting the news. Shigeki, who had been discharged from the hospital a few days prior, had alternated between congratulating the pair and consoling his wife. Yuki had muttered a congratulations but Kotoko had felt uncomfortable with the strange, calculating gaze he had looked at her with.

And Irie-kun...he hadn't said anything at first. Then he murmured congratulations and opened a newspaper, ignoring the commotion around him. Kotoko tried to pretend that didn't hurt her feelings.

A few days later his engagement to Chris was officially announced to the household.

Noriko had been in hysterics again, Shigeki hadn't known how to react and Yuki looked strangely sullen. Kotoko had put up a brave front and congratulated the pair, all the while feeling her heart shatter into a million pieces.

After a while Noriko had been calmed down by her husband who said that he expected Naoki to resume his economic studies and graduate university first before marrying Chris. Naoki and Chris seemed fine with it. And if Yuki had noticed that Chris had seemed rather cheerful about it, well, he kept that fact to himself.

When she had heard the deal between Naoki and his parents, part of her thought, great, I have two years for him to fall in love with me still. But then a larger part of her berated this thought. Selfish of her, she had thought, when she was already engaged to Kin-chan. Kotoko already knew she couldn't remain in this house much longer, lest she gave in to her selfishness and made three people very unhappy in the process.

By the end of the week, Kotoko and her father had moved out.

When she had moved out of the Irie household, standing outside of their house in front of the removal van, she had told them of her intention to study for the entrance exam to study nursing, and asked them to wish her luck. They were surprised, speechless with shock at first, but did wish her luck.

Irie- kun, who hadn't really spoken to her much and had gone back to being his usual surly self, asked why she wanted to do it. His family were curious too, since Naoki had said that he would forget about his transfer to medical school, and hadn't Kotoko declared it her goal to work alongside Naoki?

Kotoko replied that she wanted to do something useful and that she had been inspired after helping Yuki-kun and had a desire to care for those like Non-chan. She had those words with such determination and conviction; she knew that this was what she wanted to do with her life. Kotoko had finally realised this was her ambition (since Irie-kun was no longer attainable).

He had smiled at her then, she hadn't seen it for a while and the sight of that smile made her heart ache. He had wished her luck. "You can do it," had been his parting words to her before she joined her father in the car. Kotoko couldn't even try to keep her heart from soaring from his words and the fact that he believed in her.

Kotoko had worked hard from that point onwards to achieve her goals. Takendo and Ayako helped her study, even though they were a year younger than her they were still smarter and were determined to help their friend. Kotoko was surprised when a month into her intense studies, Reiko joined them in their efforts to help Kotoko. When Kotoko had questioned her, Reiko had said that she admired Kotoko's determination, that's all.

Her goals had caused an argument between her and Kin-chan, the first they had ever had in the long time they had know each other. He didn't want her to become a nurse, saying that she didn't need to do anything because he would take care of her. Naturally this confrontation had taken place in the usual university cafeteria that she frequented often, Kin-chan had ranted to her when she had come in for lunch, having heard it from eavesdropping on Jinko and Satomi. Kotoko had gotten angry and shouted back at him that she wanted to do something useful with her life. She didn't want to be useless and wanted to prove that she could be good at something.

Her friends, Jinko and Satomi, Takendo, Ayako, Sudou- sempai, the manga and tennis club members (what they had all been doing in the same place Kotoko did not know) and surprisingly, Reiko, had been quite vocal in their support, something that the whole canteen seemed to agree with. Then for some inexplicable reason, Noriko and Shigeki had turned up and voiced their support too, and Yuki-kun even appeared and said that she would make a good nurse. Even Chris, who had been visiting the campus to continue getting an experience of Japanese university life, said that Kotoko could do it. Naoki, from his place beside Chris, had questioned Kin-chan, asking if he had no faith in Kotoko.

When Kin-chan had spluttered in reply, talking about the future of Shigeo's shop, Kotoko's father had appeared himself (much to her surprise and bafflement, how did everyone know what was going on anyway and didn't they have other things to do?) and stated that he never expected Kotoko to help in the shop and that he wanted her to be able to do whatever she chose. She had been touched by everyone's support and vowed to do her best. The whole cafeteria had burst into cheers, declaring their support, to her delight and slight embarrassment.

Kin-chan, who valued Shigeo-s words as Kotoko's father, and in the face of such support, relented reluctantly.

"Not that you have much choice," Irie-kun had said, like always when talking to Kin-chan he had the last word. "Kotoko may be stupid sometimes but she is very determined, and because of that, she can succeed. Even you could not stop her once she has her heart set on something." With that he had left with Chris, leaving Kin-chan spluttering in indignation and Kotoko feeling...elated.

Two weeks after the proposal

Kin-chan asked her out on a date and she agreed, letting him take her to a nice, quaint cafe and then a stroll through a park. He had been nervous, throughout, that much she could tell, and she wondered what he was so worried about. It was only when they stood on the doorstep to her house and his nervousness increased that Kotoko realised why.

They may be engaged but they had yet to have their first kiss.

Suddenly Kotoko felt a wave of nerves crash into her as Kin-chan stood still in front of her, gazing down into her face. Her heart started to beat faster, making her uncomfortable. She blushed as he saw his gaze transfixed below her eyes, on her lips...He brought his face closer and Kotoko stiffened, not knowing what to do.

She forced herself to relax, closing her eyes as she felt his lips on hers, trying not to make this awkward. His kiss was, sweet and chaste but Kotoko felt like something was missing.

When he pulled away, his cheeks were flushed and he smiled shyly, Kotoko couldn't help but smile back at the happiness shining in his eyes.

Later on in her bed, she thought of the only other kiss she'd ever received and wondered why that had felt so different, why when Irie-kun had kissed her she felt like she was soaring, her heart racing in a different way altogether.

In time, she thought, in time, she would feel like that with Kin-chan too.

Three months after the proposal

It had been three months since she had accepted Kin- chan's proposal and during that time she and her father had settled nicely into a small house nearer to his shop. The Irie's (actually it was mostly Noriko, and sometimes Shigeki) insisted that they visit regularly since they had grown close after living together for so long. So Kotoko and her father visited the Irie household every now and again, sometimes Kin-chan came too. It was the only time, apart from seeing him the cafeteria, that she saw Irie-kun as she had stopped going to his academic building in order to lessen her feelings and he had stopped attending tennis practices. Christine often popped by to see them when they visited the Irie's as well. Noriko was a bit icy towards her at first but thawed out eventually, trying to be civil for Naoki's sake, and also because Chris was a genuinely nice girl.

Kotoko wasn't sure how it happened but she and Chris had become really close friends. Jinko and Satomi had become closer to their boyfriends and spent more time with them. Her best friends, she loved them so much, had been uncertain with her, not sure if Kotoko was really alright with Kin-chan. She had assured them all was fine and they eventually relented. She never noticed the way they would watch her carefully, looking for signs that she was unhappy.

Kotoko bumped into Chris on campus a lot. At first Kotoko thought it was so she could find Naoki but then realised that all their meetings seemed to occur in the campus cafeteria. Resolving to be polite to Irie-kun's future wife, Kotoko struck up conversation with the girl, who seemed a bit lonely, and found that Chris really loved the Japanese lifestyle, especially the food. Kin-chan was only happy to prepare the foods since Kotoko was there with Chris, that and he wanted to show his ex- rival's fiancé his skills.

Kotoko wished that she could hate Chris, hate her for being so perfect, the perfect girl for Naoki (she had said that nobody was perfect but she had yet to find anything that Chris could not do), but she couldn't. She was too kind hearted for that and instead welcomed Chris, becoming a firm friend for the other girl in a land where she did not know too many people. Chris was a genuinely nice person too, with a heart as big as Kotoko's (another reason Chris appeared perfect to Kotoko. She should stop looking for faults in Chris; what a horrible person she was!).

So instead of distancing herself from Naoki's fiancés and saving herself the pain, Kotoko found herself becoming the best of friends with Chris. She never mentioned Naoki when they were together. Kotoko didn't want Chris to know her feelings for him. Kotoko just wished that Chris wouldn't talk about Kin-chan so much.

Present

Five months had passed since Kotoko had been engaged to Kin-chan and, working hard, and with the wonderful support from her friends, Kotoko had managed to pass her tests, actually receiving the highest results for that year! She couldn't believe it and was ecstatic with her results.

Noriko, upon getting wind of the news, decided to hold a party to celebrate, inviting all of Kotoko's friends. Even though they still came face to face when she came over to visit the Irie household, Kotoko had been apprehensive about seeing Irie-kun. He hadn't really spoken to her properly in the last few months.

Just as Kotoko had resolved that she shouldn't speak to him unless necessary, she walked into someone whilst lost in her thoughts. The person steadied her, and looking up, she had found herself looking into Irie-kun's beautiful eyes. Her heart beat faster and she found herself tongue- tied.

He smiled softly at her, breaking the awkward silence between them. "Well done Kotoko, you did well. I guess we'll be working together after all, Miss Nurse." He released her then and she fleetingly thought that she missed being so close to him, before brushing away that thought.

"Ari- arigato!" she managed to say stumblingly, looking away and feeling a little shy. Then his words caught up with her brain. "Wait, what?" But when she looked back at him he had already walked away, leaving her flummoxed.

She was confused by his comment until she badgered everyone else to tell her. She had tried talking to Irie-kun again but he just smiled and picked up a book, ignoring her and driving her curiosity. Chris told her that Naoki, with her father's blessing, had transferred to medical school after all. Her father would still lend his support to the Irie business. Shigeki then told her that he had realised that Naoki had truly wanted to study medicine, and in that case he would not force his son to continue with his economic studies when his heart was set on something else. Yuki-kun stated that it was his intention to take over his papa's business. Kotoko was all at once happy and elated for Irie-kun, it was the only ambition he had after all, but at the time she dreaded the news. She knew this meant she would only be seeing more of the guy she was still struggling to discard her feelings for.

Kin-chan of course wasn't happy when he found out that Kotoko and Naoki would be attending classes in the same building and would probably be working together in the future but he calmed himself by declaring that he had nothing to worry about since Kotoko was his now. That and Shigeo was giving him looks that stated what he would do to Kin-chan if he dared upset his daughter at her own celebration party.

Whilst everyone was happily chatting away at this and that, Yuki-kun beckoned Kotoko to a quiet corner, surprising her since the young boy had been quite vocal of his disapproval of her in the past. Yuki-kun had congratulated her quietly, saying that he knew she could do it. She was touched by his words. He wasn't such a bad kid really. However his next words left her speechless.

"He didn't mention about wanted to transfer into medical school until you made your decision. After that he started mentioning it again to Papa," Yuki-kun said nonchalantly. "I guess that you realising your dreams made him want to achieve his. He's been there for four months now."

Kotoko once again was at a loss for words. Yuki-kun gave her an assessing look before nodding at her and walking away. Long after he had gone, Kotoko's brain had finally formulated the question that was on the tip of her tongue but she had struggled to say. Surely Irie-kun hadn't transferred to medical school because of her?

She shook her head. No, that was just wishful thinking. What had she to gain by getting her hopes up anyhow? She was engaged now and that someone was not Irie-kun. She should stop thinking of him.

Reiko it turned out had known from the beginning that Irie-kun had transferred into medical school. At first Kotoko was annoyed that Reiko had not mentioned it once these past few months. Then she was confused. "Why did you help me then? I thought you did not like me near him? Now we'll be in the same building and your classes are no longer with him."

The other, more beautiful girl had smiled, looking down at Kotoko in amusement. "As I said before, I admire your determination. Besides, it's boring having such a rival as Chris with no flaws to pick at. Not that it matters now, since you and Naoki-kun are both engaged to other people. I don't stand a chance against Chris." For some reason Reiko did not look as down as Kotoko felt about that, in fact she seemed quite cheerful.

Reiko adjusted her books in one arm. "Maybe with you there Naoki- kun will change his mind." Or you will change yours, she said silently when Kotoko protested that nothing would happen because she's engaged to Kin-chan. "Then I'll have a chance with Naoki-kun again," Reiko said brightly. She bid goodbye to Kotoko, who looked a little irked at her words and walked away whistling cheerfully.

Later on, when talking with Ayako, Kotoko found out that Reiko had finally elevated Sudou- sempai to boyfriend status not too long ago after giving him a chance and finding they actually got along well. Kotoko did not know what to make of this, or what then Reiko had meant by her words earlier.

She had lapsed and her thoughts had been full too much of Irie-kun lately and she could not forgive herself for it. So the next day at lunch she politely interrupted a conversation between Kin-chan and Chris and asked if he wanted to go on a date sometime. Because of her studying, they hadn't spent proper time together apart from lunches in the cafeteria, and when he popped to see her after finishing at her dad's shop and when they visited the Iries'. He agreed whole heartedly and made plans to go see a movie that Satomi had told him about whilst Chris eavesdropped shamelessly.

They had gone to the movie, some romantic title that she hadn't really paid attention to. As they were about to go find seats they bumped into her friends, who were out on dates as well, coincidentally to see the same movie, they were all there: Satomi and Ryo, Jinko and Narasaki, Ayako and Takendo, Reiko and Sudou-sempai, and CHRIS and NAOKI! Just as Kotoko was about to ask if they had planned this, Jinko and Satomi mentioned reading a review for the movie and wanting to see it. Reiko mentioned hearing good things about the movie and Chris said that when she heard Kotoko making plans to see it, it had sounded like something she would like too and had decided to come. Ayako and Takendo however said they were just along for the ride, whatever they meant by that.

Despite the movie being apparently popular the cinema was quite empty and they were allowed to choose their own seats. In the ensuing confusion when it came to picking seats only Ayako managed to end up sitting next to her date. At one end sat Narasaki and Ryo, the former talking about his band whilst Ryo talked about his mother trying to control his life yet again. Next to Ryo sat Jinko and Satomi, alternating talking to their boyfriends and to Kin-chan, who was sandwiched between Satomi and Chris. Kin-chan was put out at first but quickly got along fine with Chris. Next to Chris sat Reiko, Ayako and Takendo, who were having a secret conversation of some sort. Sudou-sempai sat next to Takendo, and was currently talking at Naoki on the other side of him. Kotoko was grateful for this distraction of Irie-kun's attention, because at the end of the row, next to Naoki, sat Kotoko herself.

The movie started and Kotoko resolved herself to getting involved fully with the film and not look at Irie-kun. It was quite hard, at first she kept chanting, must not look at him, must not look at himbut eventually she got caught up in the movie plot.

The plot seemed eerily familiar to her. It was about a girl called Hitomi who had loved a guy, Rei, for a long time and confessed her feelings only to be rejected harshly. She tried to forget him but fate kept bringing them together and eventually they grew closer and she fell more in love with him, though he was still pretty cold to her at times he was nice too, sweet even on occasions. Rei told her that he never really opened up to anyone and she made him do crazy things he had never done before.

Then a rival for her affections appeared, this guy Takenori was handsome, kind and caring thought Hitomi was cute. She began to develop feelings for him too, especially since her crush didn't return her feelings. Rei grew jealous of the time Takenori and Hitomi spent together, he asked a random girl out and said some pretty mean things to Hitomi when they bumped into each other in school after classes had finished. She shouted at him, saying that she was going to get over him and go out with Takenori, who had asked her out and asked she take time to consider it and answer him the next day. She exclaimed that Takenori treated her better and cared for her and she was sick of him treating her badly. Hitomi had run out upset into the rain upset and Rei ran after her, confessing his feelings for her and kissing her passionately. Kotoko was totally engrossed in the plot, a few tears coming to her eyes at Rei's confession.

"Things like that never happen in real life," a voice said in her ear suddenly. Kotoko jumped, nearly having a heart attack. When she recovered, she turned to see Naoki leaning slightly towards her, slightly amused.

"I see you're enjoying the movie," Irie-kun said, one eyebrow raised as he watched her.

Kotoko recovered her wits and managed to whisper back. "I like it. It's romantic and sweet. How do you know it wouldn't happen anyway?"

Irie-kun snorted slightly. "Come on, he's a cold, emotionless guy and he suddenly goes tearing off in the rain after her and acts all passionate. It's a complete change of character, it doesn't make sense."

She smiled as she looked at him, and it made him pause at the sight, he hadn't seen her smile like that in a while.

"People do crazy things when they're in love Irie-kun. They do things they wouldn't normally do, especially if they think they'll lose the one they love." Like all those crazy things I did for you,she added silently but didn't mention it to him. She didn't want to bring up the memories between them. "Rei doesn't seem to be good at expressing himself and Hitomi doesn't realise his feelings towards her because of this," Kotoko said thoughtfully, turning back to the screen. "But when he thinks he'll lose Hitomi, he says how he feels the only way he knows how."

"Hmm," Naoki was looking at the screen thoughtfully. "Will they be happy together, since he's so cold and she's so lively?"

Kotoko nodded, a bit absent minded since she was half watching the movie and paying attention to him too. "Of course, because she loves him even knowing what he's really like. Around her he can be his true self and she knows now he loves her." She hummed thoughtfully. "Though he should be a bit romantic sometimes too," she added.

She felt Irie-kun look at her again. "Why?" he asked.

"So that Hitomi knows that Rei doesn't take her for granted. She gives so much to him so he should give back too, and not assume that things will always be the same. Hitomi is such a warm person that she would need affection every now and again," Kotoko stated firmly.

"But Takenori would be affectionate to her all the time. He would do anything for her and give her everything she needs, treat he like a princess," Irie-kun pointed out.

Kotoko shook her head. "But Hitomi doesn't want that, she wants to be able to do things on her own too. Besides, Takenori only liked her at first because she was cute, and he only see's her good points. Rei likes her even though he knows what she's really like."

"Is that right?" Irie-kun said thoughtfully, watching her carefully.

Kotoko had her eyes on the screen but her eyes weren't taking in the movie. "Yes," she whispered softly. "That's right."

After the movie, Kotoko found herself with the others at her father's shop where they all sat happily in a big group, talking and eating delicious food. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Chris talk excitedly to her dad and wondered what they were talking about. Thankfully she wasn't next to Naoki this time, he was next to Reiko. She sat between Sudou- sempai and Kin-chan. Kin-chan kept getting her to try all sorts of different dishes, but she declined, not feeling that hungry and passed them off to her delighted sempai instead.

Kin-chan fussed over her for a bit, asking if she felt unwell but she explained she just wasn't hungry. They talked for a bit, she apologised that he had expected a quiet date and hadn't got it. Kin-chan smiled, telling her not to worry and that he was having a good time. He talked enthusiastically about his apprenticeship and how he eventually wanted to open his own place before they got married, that is, if Shigeo did not want him to take over their shop so soon, how he wanted to be fully independent before they had kids. Kotoko smiled and encouraged him in his goals but at the same time felt uneasy to hear of his plans.

It was only natural for Kin-chan to talk like that but why did it feel so wrong to her? She guessed it was because there he was planning their future without asking her what she wanted. It frustrated it how he had always done that, just assume things without consulting her. Kotoko recalled that time in high school before the finals when he kept pestering her to marry him and she had got annoyed at him for planning her life out. Yet whenever Kotoko called him out on it, he would just smile and carry on. Like he knew better than her what was best for both of them. Was it wrong for her to be annoyed by that?

She was doing it again. Kotoko sighed internally. She had been engaged to Kin-chan for five months now and her feelings hadn't changed much, not in the way she'd hoped for anyway, and she didn't understand it.

Apart from his looks, Kin-chan was every part the Prince Charming, and hadn't she always wanted that? Someone who would sweep off her feet and treat her like a princess? But now...It was fine being spoilt once in a while, but being fussed over by Kin-chan every day, Kotoko was beginning to feel stifled. Once upon the time, the thought of being lavished with such attention was her dream, but the reality was starkly different to what she thought it would be.

Back when it was just her and her dad, before the Iries had entered her life, she had managed to get by doing things on her own. True she couldn't cook and she usually didn't get things right on the first try but Kotoko enjoyed the experience of trying, and the sense of accomplishment she felt when she finally got something right. If Kin-chan did everything for her then what was left for her? She sighed internally. What she wanted didn't matter anymore. She had promised herself after all that she would do anything to make Kin-chan happy.

Her head throbbed, and when Kin-chan asked again whether she was alright, she mentioned having a headache and maybe needing to get rest. He started fussing and the others looked at her sympathetically and told her to get some rest. As Kin-chan offered to take her home, Shigeo intervened and said he would do it himself.

She bid the others goodbye, and as she stood in the doorway, Kin-chan kissed her softly and told her to feel better soon. As he moved away, she saw Irie-kun's eyes burning intently into hers, his face unreadable. Breaking the gaze, she said goodbye to everyone again and wondered why they looked glum, Chris especially. She would have to ask another time.

At home, she washed and changed, then snuggled happily into her bed. Kotoko was surprised when her father came into her room and sat on her bed. He had not done that for a very long time.

Shigeo touched her forehead tenderly, checking to see if she had a fever. Her head was a little warm, but she wasn't feverish so he told her to just get some rest.

She shifted slightly. "What was Chris talking to you about earlier?"

Shigeo chuckled. "She wanted to work in the shop and learn more about Japanese cuisine. She was interested in what Kin-chan told her about his apprenticeship and she wanted to check it out. I've agreed to it, especially as she doesn't want to be paid for it."

"Huh," Kotoko said. "Well I'm sure she'll get on fine. Chris seems quite capable and enthusiastic after all." He nodded in agreement.

He sat there for a few moments longer and then suddenly spoke.

"Are you happy Kotoko?"

The random question took her by surprise. "Dad?" She wondered what had brought this on.

He sighed. "Are you happy?" He hesitated. "...With Kin-chan? Is everything alright between you?"

Her eyes widened in surprise. "O- of course," she stammered. "Everything's fine!"

Shigeo looked at her searchingly, looking a little uncertain. "Ok then, if you insist." He leant over and kissed her forehead. "If you ever need to talk, I'm always here for you."

Kotoko smiled softly. "Thanks dad."

She closed her eyes and let herself drift. Eventually she heard him get up and leave the room. When Kotoko eventually fell asleep, her dreams were troubled and confused. She didn't sleep well.

Satomi remembered when Kotoko had first told her and Jinko about Kin-chan's proposal. They had both been shocked but at the time they thought it had been a very good thing for their friend.

"Frankly, I think Kin-chan is a much better match for you than Irie."

At the time, she thoroughly believed that. Kin-chan had always stated that it was his goal to make Kotoko happy. His personality was the complete opposite of that iceberg Irie.

"I do like Kin-chan...That's just... as a good friend."

Just from those words, Satomi and Jinko should have known not to encourage Kotoko to accept Kin-chan. Kotoko had known Kin-chan's feelings for five years but even with his proposal her feelings towards him had remained unchanged. Satomi now doubted whether Kotoko could really love Kin-chan.

However...Irie had only discovered Kotoko's feelings for him in the final year of high school and since then Satomi had observed that the two had grown closer and closer. She had disliked Irie for putting Kotoko through so much, but now part of her began to wonder whether it was his way of showing his feelings for her.

She remembered how he had tutored Kotoko, and then helped the entire class F with Kotoko's persuasion. He had even kissed Kotoko, and someone like Irie would not do something like that so casually. And when Takendo and Kinnosuke had fought over Kotoko, Irie had stormed over, declaring that Kotoko would never love either of them because she loved him, and had then proceeded to drag her away.

But if Satomi had to pick one occasion that would prove that Irie did like Kotoko, it would be the Christmas in their second year of college. She and Jinko had expected to make plans with their boyfriends, but they had been busy so a girls' night was arranged. Satomi had not known till a long time afterwards that on that Christmas Eve night, Jinko had phoned Kotoko just before the Iries left for their party to say that her boyfriend was suddenly available and she could not meet up with her and Kotoko. Then, after the Iries had left, Satomi herself had rang to say that Ryo had only been joking about being busy and that he had secretly booked a table at a fancy hotel where a Christmas party was taking place. Kotoko had been left all alone that night, abandoned by both her friends. Satomi still felt guilty even now after she had learnt that.

She had caught a glimpse of Irie at the hotel and knew that he had seen her too. He had looked stunned to see her there and at the time Satomi had wondered why. It was only later that she learnt that he realised that with her there, Kotoko was on her own. Kotoko told them how she had been celebrating on her own with Chibi when Irie had come home unexpectedly with some KFC and a Christmas cake. Kotoko told them he said it was for Chibi but when she described the amount of food, Satomi had doubted it. Irie had then eaten the Christmas cake with her but didn't Kotoko say he disliked sweets? Whatever the reason he had come home for, Satomi had been grateful for it.

Satomi watched her friend carefully and observed that although Kotoko seemed happy, she acted completely different with Kin-chan than she had with Irie. With Irie she hadn't been afraid to be herself, but around Kin-chan somehow Kotoko wasn't the same.

"In regards to this, you should think about Kin-chan seriously. Kin-chan has always had feelings for you. Since you have a one- sided relationship with Irie, you should know how he feels."

Satomi wanted to bang her head against something hard. Had she really said that? What was she thinking! She worried that Kotoko only stayed with Kin-chan because she didn't want him to feel the same as she had with Irie.

She would watch her friend and continue to look out for her. If there was any sign that Kotoko was unhappy with the way things were, Satomi would try and fix things. After all, she felt partly responsible for the way things had turned out.

So near, yet so far

Kotoko took a deep breath. This was it, her first day of nursing college. She had butterflies in her stomach as she stood outside the building, gazing up in awe that she had managed to get in after all. She had passed the first hurdle on the pathway to achieving her ambition and she was about to take the next step.

"If you stand there gawking all day then you'll be late for your first class," a voice said beside her.

She cringed. That wasn't who she thought it was, was it? Kotoko turned her head. Yep, it was exactly who she thought it was. Irie-kun stood beside her, satchel slung over his shoulder and a pile of books in his arms.

"Eh, Irie-kun, fancy seeing you here," Kotoko said weakly. She had hoped to start the first day at least free of thoughts from him but alas, it was not to be.

He shuffled the books in his arms. "Well I amin the medical department too; of course you'd see me. Where's your first class? I'll take you there otherwise, knowing you, you'll get lost."

She huffed a bit at that but told him anyway. He guided her through the building and they walked in comfortable silence.

"I see you and Kinnosuke are getting along just fine." Irie-kun said suddenly.

"Huh?" Kotoko started to look towards him but couldn't bring herself to look at his face. "Yes," she said cheerfully, hoping it didn't sound too false. "Everything's going really well between us." They walked in silence for a bit longer.

"I'm surprised you haven't already married, considering passionate you two are about each other," Ire-kun commented. Kotoko did not know what to say to that.

"How are things between you and Chris?" she asked tentatively.

"Fine. Chris is a very graceful woman of many talents. I'm glad to be marrying such a capable woman as her rather than some brainless, bumbling girl like you," he said, a little harshly but he didn't know why he said it and regretted it immediately.

Ouch. That had hurt. She didn't get him. He encouraged her to study nursing but still thought she was stupid. They stopped outside her designated classroom. She laid one hand on the door; she still didn't look at him.

"Well I guess we're both with our ideal partners," Kotoko replied softly, pleased that her voice didn't tremble and she didn't cry. "You're with someone who's perfect for you and I'm with someone who loves me and is capable of making me happy." She entered the classroom and didn't bother saying goodbye.

Admissions

Naoki cursed inside his head for acting rashly once again. He hated these moments of irrationality he had where he couldn't control his actions, and he blamed Kotoko for it all for she was surely the cause.

He didn't know when it had started. It's just...whenever she said she was going to give up on him, he, for some reason, couldn't bear it. That kiss after graduation had been irrational and selfish. Irrational because he had no idea why he did it. Selfish because Kotoko definitely would have trouble forgetting him.

He had been selfish, giving her false hope that something could happen between them and every time she showed signs of getting over him he would go and do something that made her fall even more in love with him. Naoki sighed, wondering when he had become so cruel. Naoki had been acting hot and cold towards her these last few months, sometimes ignoring her, other times supporting her. He hated seeing her upset, especially if he was the cause but hearing her say she was happy with Kinnosuke made him angry.

Naoki admitted that he hated the sight of Kotoko with Kinnosuke, the sight of them together was just so wrong, but he needed to control his temper and stop being rude to her. He had made his choice and she had made hers.

...What had he been expecting? For him to be engaged to Chris and for Kotoko to continue loving him? Why would he even want her to love him, it's not like he cared anyway.

Lies. He knew exactly how he felt. He...cared, more than cared about her and it scared him. Naoki had warmed up to Kotoko, come to respect her and along the way fallen in love with her. It was completely unreasonable of him to marry someone else and expect Kotoko to love him when he could give nothing to her in return.

Naoki respected Chris, but the engagement was an agreement between her father and him that he agreed to in order to save his father's company. He was marrying out of duty and there was nothing Kotoko could do about it.

But why she then had to go and get engaged, to Kinnosuke of all people...

His blood boiled at the mere thought of that idiot and the kiss he had seen the other day between them. If Kotoko loved him so much then why had she get over him so quickly? Naoki couldn't stand the thought of Kinnosuke touching Kotoko. If he had thought for one moment that Kotoko was using Kinnosuke to get over him, he wouldn't have hesitated, engagement be damned, and would've snatched her from that idiot's arms at once. But whenever he saw them together she looked so happy and it would be very selfish of him to break them up now.

When Kotoko had stated her intention to go into nursing, Naoki started thinking again about his transfer into medical school. He hesitated at first; his desire to help his father's business was his priority after all. But then he had mentioned it to Christine's father who, to Naoki's surprise, had been keen on the idea.

It turns out that Shigeki had realised that Naoki had passionate about studying medicine, and realising that his son had never shown such an interest in anything else, did not want to extinguish the only dream he'd ever had. So he talked to Christine's father and eventually persuaded the other man, with the support of Christine herself. Then Yuki declared that he intended to succeed Papa and Naoki wondered if that was the case, how did he end up engaged to Christine? He wondered if her father would still have loaned the company money even without the engagement, but seeing how insistent her father was about the marriage, maybe not.

But still...he got to transfer to medical school and he would see Kotoko and maybe one day work alongside her. He sighed. Although he was engaged to Chris, he still wanted Kotoko in his life, even as just a friend and even if he had to face Kinnosuke. Naoki carried on to his class and resolved to seek Kotoko out during lunch to apologise.

Kotoko had been upset by Irie-kun's comment but that was soon replaced by her earlier excitement about starting class. There was still a while before the session started and so she started talking to the people around her. She had quickly acquainted herself with an angelic looking girl called Tomoko and then had been quickly accosted by Marina, a girl who claimed to want to be a nurse so she could snag a rich doctor husband, Motoki, a cross dressing guy, and Keita, a very zealous nurse who aimed to be the number one nurse in Japan. They talked about themselves to each other and they quickly became excited (except for Keita, who didn't care much for these things) when they found out she was engaged.

When they asked what her man was like, she was a little embarrassed but indulged them. "He has a kind heart," Kotoko said slowly. "And he's very considerate towards my feelings and happiness."

"Aw, that's so sweet," Marina cooed and Motoki nodded in agreement. "I wish I could find a guy like that. However a rich, nice guy would be better." Keita shook his head in annoyance at his friends' antics.

"I heard our Irie-san of the medical department is engaged also." Tomoko commented. Marina and Motoki started lamenting this, trying to picture what his fiancé was like.

...And once again Kotoko was reminded of the person she was trying to forget. "Ah, so he's even popular here then," she murmured. Tomoko heard her.

"Eh? What's this? Do you know Irie-kun, Kotoko?" They all looked at her expectantly, and Kotoko sighed.

"He's a family friend, and we also went to the same high school. In my last year of high school, there was an earthquake and my house collapsed. His father is friends with mine and offered to let us stay in their house," Kotoko explained.

Motoki and Marina only just managed to keep in their squeals but Kotoko swore she could see stars in their eyes.

"Eh? You actually lived with theIrie-kun. You're so lucky! What's he like?" Motoki asked excitedly.

Kotoko fidgeted with her bag. "He could be nice sometimes," she began, thinking of all the nice things he had done for her, and how he had encouraged her to become a nurse. Then she thought again of his words earlier. "But most of the time he was cold and looked down on people who were not as intelligent as him. Needless to say he wasn't very nice to me, a girl from class F." She laughed nervously. "Ha ha, ignore what I say, I'm just upset because I bumped into him earlier and he said something mean to me."

They noticed how down she actually looked about it and swiftly changed the subject. Motoki commented that if she was from Class F, she must have worked hard to achieve the scores she did. Kotoko talked brightly then about how her friends had helped her to study hard and how she wanted to become a good nurse and help as many people as she could. Keita cheered for her enthusiastically, saying she was an example of the ideal nursing student. Well, in her ideals at least, as they quickly found out.

They had a lecture first, followed by a basic practical session doing things that the others had done before but were completely new to her. Her new friends quickly learnt that Kotoko was a klutz as they started on an easy practical rolling up bandages and sorting equipment and she somehow managed to drop hers on the floor and trip on them. And despite her getting high marks on the entrance exam, they found her a bit dense and slow at times but she tried hard to do things right that they didn't get mad at her, rather admired her determination and work ethic.

There was one more class after the practical and then lunch break rolled around. They all agreed to go to the cafeteria, especially since Kotoko mentioned her fiancé would be there. Kotoko sank gratefully into the plastic chair, closing her eyes in bliss. Keita sat to her right and next to him sat Motoki, who was arguing again with Marina opposite him. Tomoko sat next to Marina, occasionally joining in their talk.

The classes hadn't been hard or tiring this morning but she was looking forward to chatting with her new friends more, especially as they had decided they would stick together as a group for their class work. She heard their conversation end abruptly and Kotoko opened her eyes, wondering what was wrong, only to be greeted with the sight of Irie-kun sliding into the seat opposite her with a tray of food.

"Irie-kun," she said a little stiffly, not really wanting to see him at the moment. Kotoko didn't really look at him, turning her gaze to her right to meet the concerned gaze of Keita and the questioning gaze of the others, no doubt they were wondering what the great Irie-kun was doing here when Kotoko had said he didn't like her.

"Kotoko, I'm sorry." Irie-kun said.

"Eh?" She really did turn around and look at him then, and Kotoko saw he looked sincere. She was shocked, trying to remember when he had ever apologised to her before. She couldn't remember any other occasion.

"I'm sorry about what I said earlier, I didn't mean to upset you." His face was serious. Kotoko scrunched her face. She didn't detect any sarcasm either.

"I didn't mean it when I said you were brainless and bumbling either."

Kotoko scanned him for any signs that he might be making fun of her but he really did look serious. "Fine," she huffed. "You're forgiven, I suppose." He gave a small smile then, and it absolutely did not make her heart flutter.

"Will you introduce me to your friends?" he asked, nodding to her classmates who were shamelessly staring at them.

Kotoko nodded and introduced everyone. They settled into a light conversation, asking Irie-kun questions. Thankfully Marina and Motoki didn't fangirl too hard over him. She thought she should mention grabbing some food but none of them looked like they wanted to move. She pouted a little; she was hungry and wanted food. Oh well, she would just go up by herself.

"Here." Irie-kun pushed a plate over to her. "I got you your lunch too." Kotoko looked at his tray and saw that indeed he had gotten a lunch for both her and himself. Kotoko took the food gratefully and muttered a faint thank you. She was aware that her classmates were getting a completely different impression of Irie-kun than to what she had told them and wondered why he was being so nice.

"Eh, you know Kotoko's tastes quite well Irie-san?" Tomoko asked curiously, seeing Kotoko dig in to the food.

Naoki gave a slight nod. "Due to unfortunate circumstances, Kotoko's house was damaged and she and her father came to live with my family. She lived with us for nearly two years."

"EH? That long?" Motoki exclaimed. "You didn't say it was for so long Kotoko!" Kotoko looked a little embarrassed.

"Oh?" Naoki looked a little surprised. "Kotoko has told you already then? What else has she said?"

Kotoko looked away, blushing a little and hoped they didn't repeat her earlier comments.

Tomoko jumped in before Marina and Motoki could reveal her. "Only that your fathers knew each other and that you two went to the same high school. You must be very good friends after living together for so long?"

Naoki smiled softly, making three of his listeners (Tomoko, Motoki and Marina) swoon slightly. "Yes, I would say so. Even if my words and actions make it seem otherwise, I consider Kotoko to be a very good friend."

She looked at him then, and Irie-kun stared right back. Kotoko didn't say anything. She didn't know what to say. She knew she had grown closer to Irie-kun but hadn't realised that he considered her to be so close to him. A silence fell on the group as the others observed the staring match between them.

"So we hear you're engaged?" Motoki asked, breaking the silence.

"What is your fiancée like?" Marina asked eagerly, wanting to know who had won Irie-kun's heart.

Irie-kun considered his answer, careful not to repeat his words from earlier. "Well, she's very kind hearted and caring towards others," he said finally.

"Hm," Motoki said, and he looked at Kotoko. "And Kotoko is engaged to a kind hearted man who is considerate to her feelings." They were looking between her and Irie-kun as if they were trying to slot the pieces of a puzzle together. Kotoko could see were this was going, and in a rare moment of insight, decided to nip their ridiculous theory in the bud before they got the wrong idea.

"Yes, Irie-kun is engaged to a kind, caring girl," Kotoko began, "She's also very talented, graceful and intelligent." They all frowned and looked at her in confusion. That didn't sound like Kotoko from what they'd seen so far of her. "Her name's Christine Robbins and she's standing over there by the counter." Kotoko pointed in front of her to the other side of the cafeteria where the serving counter was.

They all turned, even Naoki, to look at the counter where indeed Chris stood talking to Kin-chan. Tomoko, Motoki and Marina gaped and exclaimed over her beauty, commenting that she would indeed look good with Irie-kun.

"...And that guy she's talking to is my fiancé Kinnosuke."

This time Tomoko, Motoki and Marina gaped for an entirely different reason and Keita even started choking on his drink in shock. Motoki looked horrified.

"Him? Kotoko are you handsome challenged or something?" he exclaimed. Naoki smirked inwardly to himself as the rest of the group agreed, even Keita (he who did not involve himself in frivolous things).

She sighed. "So he's not amazingly handsome, so what? He's kind, funny and treats me well. That's all that matters right?" They didn't look convinced and Naoki frowned to himself.

"Kotoko-chan!" Kotoko tried not to wince as Kin- chan yelled her name. She looked up to see him coming towards her, Chris in tow. Her new friends eyed him speculatively, trying to figure out what she saw in him.

"Kotoko-chan, how were your classes? Did they go well?" Kin-chan asked. Kotoko opened her mouth to answer but he carried on talking. "I'm sure you did great as always and, hey, how come you have food already, you never ordered any?" His eyes then slid to the food tray and the person sitting in front of it. His eyes narrowed slightly.

"Ah Mr Genius again, sitting with Kotoko I see..." Naoki just ignored him at carried on eating his food. Kotoko's classmates wondered at the tension between the two.

"Hello Naoki-kun, Kotoko-chan," Chris said cheerfully. She sat beside Naoki, who nodded at her in greeting and Kotoko smiled at her cheerfully, introducing her and Kin-chan to her classmates.

"So...Kinnosuke is it?" Marina drawled. "How did you and Kotoko get to become engaged?" the others nodded their heads too, wanting to know the same.

"Well," Kinnosuke began, drawing himself up importantly. "I loved Kotoko from the first moment I saw her on the first day of high school and have loved nobody else since then. I was heartbroken when she confessed her feelings to Mr Genius here with that love letter in final year but then he rejected her coldly and made her cry."

"Love letter?" Marina asked in astonishment, and they looked at Kotoko. Well, it looked as though she had left quite a few things out earlier.

Kotoko groaned in embarrassment at the reminder, but then made to stop Kin-chan before he revealed anything else. "Eh, Kin-chan-"

"And then that earthquake happened and it felt like fate was against me as Kotoko ended up living with the Irie Family and she seemed to get closer to Irie." Kin-chan carried on, not noticing Kotoko trying to get his attention. Naoki just finished his meal calmly, ignoring Kinnosuke.

"Irie became my rival for Kotoko's affection. I was so happy when she moved back out with her dad at the start of college but not only did they end up moving back in with the Irie family again, I found out that HE," Kinnosuke pointed at Naoki for emphasis, "had kissed MY Kotoko and she was even more in love with him that ever before."

"Rival...Irie-kun?...KISS?" Her classmates looked between Naoki and Kotoko for clarification. Even Chris looked surprised because Kotoko had never mentioned it to her, nor had Naoki.

Kotoko waved her hands about frantically. "That was all in the past. That kiss happened in high school. People's feelings can change during that time." She said it more to placate Chris than anything else.

Kinnosuke agreed. "Well, I won over Kotoko in the end. Mr Genius here has always been such a cold- hearted jerk to Kotoko, always making her sad. So when she asked me on a date, I told her I would always make her smile and never let her become sad, and so I proposed to her."

...Silence. "Just like that?" Keita said. "Why not wait until you had dated a bit longer to see how things went?"

Kinnosuke scoffed. "After having loved Kotoko for so long, I knew all about her already and knew what I wanted."

Keita looked annoyed. "And what about what Kotoko wants?" Kinnosuke glared at him.

"I said that I would always make her happy and I would never make her cry," Kinnosuke declared. "And I will always strive to see a smile on her face. Of course, why would she refuse that?"

Kotoko gave them a small smile as they looked at her. "It's true," she murmured. "Why would I refuse that?" They couldn't answer that, although they wanted to say something.

The cafeteria auntie yelled at Kinnosuke to get back to work and he bid them farewell. Naoki stood up, pushing his chair in.

"Chris, maybe we should take a walk outside to clear up a few things. Kotoko you should come too," Naoki said.

"Huh?" Kotoko looked to Chris. "Is that alright?" She was worried that Chris was upset with Kin- chan's revelations, but the other girl looked as cheerful as ever.

"Yes, please do," Chris said enthusiastically. Kotoko bid her friends goodbye, telling them she would see them in the next class. Naoki and Chris said their farewells too, saying it was nice to meet them.

They watched Kotoko leave with Chris and Irie-san, wondering at what they had just heard. Motoki summed up their thoughts.

"I think," he said seriously. "That this matter is much more complicated than it seems." The others nodded in agreement and just hoped Kotoko would not end up getting hurt.

"I'm really sorry I didn't tell you Chris, I just didn't want things to be awkward between us." Kotoko apologised once again as she walked with Chris and Naoki outside.

Chris laughed. "Kotoko, please, there's nothing to apologise for. I'm flattered that you valued my feelings so much even though you hardly knew me then. I'm not mad in the slightest."

Kotoko was finally reassured. "Well, you don't have to worry about anything now. I'm with Kin-chan now; you won't see me interfering with your relationship." She directed that comment to Irie-kun as well but he didn't say anything.

Chris hugged Kotoko, taking the girl by surprise. "Thank you Kotoko, you're a good friend." Kotoko smiled at her friends antics. She did indeed seem very happy at that moment, Chris wasn't mad about her past with Irie-kun at all!

"I think I'll head back not, your lunch break is nearly over. I'll come visit again soon, bye for now!" Chris waved them goodbye and they repeated the sentiments, watching her skip off jauntily. Kotoko was left alone with Irie-kun. She was relieved that Chris wasn't upset and a little surprised at how well she had taken the news. She stood there, a little unsure what to say to Irie-kun.

"Is it ok if I join you and your friends for lunch tomorrow?" he suddenly asked. Kotoko was surprised that he even wanted to do that, and was slightly flattered.

"Sure," she said with a warm smile. "That's fine with me and I think they would like that too. They seem to like you."

Irie-kun smiled and then checked the time on his watch. Kotoko saw he was wearing the watch she had given him for Christmas. "Hm, what class do you have next? I'll walk you there."

From the moment she had first saw him, on her second date with Naoki-kun, Chris had fallen in love with Kinnosuke. As he walked past her and Naoki-kun, Kotoko- chan's arm resting on his, Chris couldn't stop herself from turning around to watch him go.

The next day in the cafeteria when she had asked Kotoko to join her and Naoki-kun for lunch, Chris couldn't contain her excitement at seeing Kinnosuke again and had run over to him immediately without thinking. When he had talked to her about the correct way to eat mackerel miso, she had admired him for having such a dedication to his craft.

She had turned to walk towards Naoki-kun, food tray in her hands, but had stopped on seeing him watching something intently. Turning in the direction of his gaze, she saw that it was Kotoko-chan that he was watching intently. It was then that Chris had begun to suspect that there may be deeper feelings between the two, or at least Naoki-kun felt something for Kotoko-chan and her heart leapt in hope. Chris had known that love would not feature in their marriage if it were to happen, but if Naoki-kun loved someone else, maybe they didn't have to go through with it.

However during lunch and then later on at the Irie household, the other girl had displayed no sign whatsoever of having feelings for Naoki-kun. If she did have feelings for him, she hid them well. She had observed Kotoko-chan and Kinnosuke laughing together in the cafeteria earlier that day and concluded that they were in love after all, much to her dismay. Kinnosuke was such a great guy after all. Kotoko had a really good eye for men.

Chris, when she realised that the potential man of her dreams was engaged to someone else, had settled to sticking close to him instead. She struck up a deal to work in Shigeo's shop where Kinnosuke worked. Kinnosuke had been weary at first but when he saw her passion for Japanese cuisine he had warmed up to her fast. As he opened up to her more, Chris was both delighted and dismayed to see that he was every bit the man she had thought him to be. She was dismayed because the more time she spent with him, the more in love with him she fell but Kinnosuke could not be hers.

She recalled Kotoko's words earlier. She had said that the business between her and Naoki-kun was all in the past and Naoki-kun had never loved her. It had been from those words Chris had realised that it was this whole marriage interview business between her and Naoki-kun that had driven Kotoko to Kinnosuke. Because Kotoko had not said she wasn't in love with Naoki-kun anymore, she must still be in love with him. If Chris had known that Kotoko had liked Naoki-kun back, she never would have agreed with the engagement.

Now however, she realised that such feelings had existed between Naoki-kun and Kotoko-chan, and that the two may still feel the same way. Certainly Naoki-kun still had his feelings for Kotoko. He may not know it, but she had observed that he acted differently around Kotoko and treated her differently to other girls. And earlier, he had said nothing about his feelings. Obviously he did not agree with Kotoko when she said the business between them was all in the past.

She smiled happily to herself. It looked as though things may not be as hopeless as they seemed. First, she needed to see if Kinnosuke's feelings for Kotoko were genuine. From what he had said to them in the cafeteria, his proposal had been out of the blue and just after one date, after Kotoko had recently found out about the marriage interview.

She had no doubt that Kinnosuke loved Kotoko, but whether it was true love she did not know. If it wasn't, she would then deal with this engagement issue herself. Her father wouldn't be very happy with her but then his happiness was not greater than the happiness of four other people. Chris had never rebelled against her father before but now she thought it was the perfect time to start. She would need help though. Her eyes sparkled brightly. It was time, she thought, to write a lovely long letter to her mother.

Awkward Feelings

It had become a routine that they fell into by accident over the next few months. Kotoko would sit with her friends for lunch and Naoki would join them, sometimes sitting with them silently, other times dropping useful information about their tests and lab sessions. Other times she would sit outside alone and he would find her and sit with her.

Sometimes Irie-kun would walk her to class if they met outside at the same time, or if they had a class after lunch. He waited till she finished lunch and they walked together to her classroom or his before parting ways. Whenever Kotoko bumped into him in the labs or randomly in the hallway they would snatch a few minutes conversation together before they had to be on their way. Kotoko never imagined she would see this much of Irie-kun when she started new classes and whilst she enjoyed his company, her feelings for him just refused to go away.

In classes, Kotoko was still a bumbling klutz as ever but everyone could see her determination and she often came in early just so that she could get the practical right. She became good friends with Tomoko, Marina, Keita and Motoki and they encouraged her in her work. Well it was mostly Tomoko who encouraged her, Keita usually scolded her if she did things wrong and Marina and Motoki made fun of her but not in a nasty way. She eventually became quite close to Keita in particular when he started helping her when she came in early to practice.

Chris would sit with them occasionally in the cafeteria if she was on break, it seemed that she was serious about learning from Kin-chan and applied for the same job as him so she could observe his craft in the cafeteria too. Her new friends weren't sure what to make of Chris, Naoki's actual fiancée, at first but they quickly warmed up to her and her bubbly nature.

Kotoko didn't know how strange it looked to them that Irie-kun spent more time with her than with Chris until they pointed it out to her in class one day. They said that if she hadn't pointed out Chris to them they would've thought that she was Naoki's fiancée due to their apparent closeness and his obvious consideration to her feelings. They had never seen him like that with Chris.

When she gaped in astonishment and explained that Irie-kun wasn't very showy with his emotions, and that he and Chris probably spent a lot of time together outside campus, she realised that she didn't know if that was actually true. Come to think of it, Chris spent a lot of time at her dad's shop and here in the cafeteria, she didn't know how much time she spent with Irie-kun. It probably looked to outsiders that Chris was engaged to Kin-chan instead of Naoki. Kotoko resolved to herself and her friends that she would talk to Irie-kun about it so he could set things straight. Kin-chan would get upset if he heard the rumours.

As they watched her leave, they wondered if she was happy with the way things were. It was obvious to them that she and Naoki were much better suited than her and Kin-chan. Naoki obviously cared for her, he never sought anyone else like he did Kotoko. And it was plain to anyone that Chris had feelings for Kinnosuke. When they had heard from Kotoko that Naoki's marriage was an arranged one, they realised that there probably weren't any real feelings between him and Chris, if Chris' obsession with Kinnosuke was anything to go by. They talked among themselves, wondering if they should talk to Kotoko about it. But in the end she seemed happy with Kinnosuke and so they said nothing.

They were sitting together again, this time it was just the two of them and they sat on a bench outside, just basking in the sunshine in companionable silence. Occasionally Irie-kun would break the silence and ask her a question and she would reply happily. She enquired about his classes and he told her all the things that he had to do and Kotoko just encouraged him and told him he could do it.

Eventually she broached the subject that her friends had brought up the earlier. "Irie-kun, we probably shouldn't hang out too much."

He looked at her but his face was blank. "Hm. Why's that?"

Kotoko fidgeted uncomfortably with her bag. "Because people might start to think that I'm your fiancée instead of Chris. They'll probably start rumours about us."

Naoki leaned back, staring into the sky. "So? It isn't such a big deal is it? That sort of thing happened to us all the time in high school."

"But...Kin-chan-"He scowled slightly at whatever she was about to say but she didn't get to finish it.

"Hey, Irie!" A voice called out suddenly. They both looked up and saw a figure run towards them. Kotoko recognised him at once as Watanabe-san, Irie-kun's classmate from high school.

Irie-kun gave a smile and greeted his old friend. They enquired how each other was doing, and Watanabe-san exchanged pleasantries with Kotoko too.

"I'm visiting a friend," Watanabe-san explained. "But I was hoping I would bump into you Irie and Aihara-san. I heard about your engagement."

Just as Kotoko was about to clarify whose engagement, Watanabe- san continued talking.

"I knew that you would finally get together!" Watanabe-san laughed. "You just complement each other so well! Congratulations on your engagement!"

There was an awkward silence as Naoki looked faintly surprised and Kotoko didn't know what to say at first.

"Erm...eh...We're not," she said quietly, not daring to look at Irie-kun to see how he was feeling. She felt embarrassed and awkward, especially after what Watanabe-san had said about the two of them.

Watanabe looked confused. "Eh, what's that?"

Kotoko looked away. "We're...we're not engaged to each other. We're engaged to other people. I'm engaged to Kinnosuke Ikezawa and Ire-kun is engaged to Christine Robbins, a girl from a respectable family in England," she explained, peeking at him to see his reaction.

Watanabe-san gaped at her in disbelief. "What? That can't be! Are...are you joking?" He looked between Kotoko and Naoki in disbelief.

She shook her head. "No I'm not joking."

There was an awkward silence and nobody knew what to say. Kotoko stood up and brushed imaginary dust off her clothes. "Please excuse me, I have to go and get ready for class. It was good to see you again Watanabe-san," she said with small bow.

Kotoko half turned away, not really looking at Naoki. "I, eh... See you later Irie-kun," she said softly, not waiting for his reply before dashing off towards the medical building.

Naoki watched her figure until it disappeared. When he finally looked away, he found Watanabe looking at him. His friend took Kotoko's previous seat and looked at him seriously.

"I think," Watanabe said in concern. "That you have some explaining to do Irie."

Naoki spent the rest of his lunch break talking to Watanabe about his and Kotoko's respective engagements and the events leading up to them. He couldn't answer when Watanabe wondered at Kotoko accepting Kinnosuke's proposal.

"I always thought that you two would end up together," Watanabe confessed. "Even if you didn't like her back then, you would always notice her. She seemed to bring to the surface emotions that I never knew you were capable of. And even when she thought you were a jerk (and you were by the way) she still liked you anyway."

Watanabe looked at his watch and realised he was going to be late if he didn't get a move on. He stood up and gathered his things. "Don't spend too much time with Aihara-san, she might fall in love with you again," Watanabe joked.

They said their goodbyes and Watanabe promised he would get in touch again soon. Naoki stayed sitting on the bench a little longer, brooding over how things had ended up.

Naoki felt his phone buzz and flipped it open. It was a message from Kotoko. I was being serious earlier. We may be used to rumours but Chris and Kin-chan aren't and I don't want them to get hurt because of other peoples' lies.

He snapped his phone shut a little harder than he meant to. Watanabe was right, he did notice Kotoko too much and she did make him feel too much. But he was engaged to Chris, it had been an agreement between him and her father so that he would lend Papa's company the money it needed, there was nothing he could do. Although he had noticed that Chris seemed to spending a lot of time with Kinnosuke lately, acting in a way that she never did around him. It seemed she was as dissatisfied with all this as he was. Naoki recalled Watanabe's last words to him about Kotoko falling in love with him. His lips curved into a small smirk and he got up, walking to class with a new purpose.

Keita had been annoyed at first with Kotoko's klutzy ways. However her determination and work ethic won him over, and when Motoki informed him that she had been coming in early to practice, he decided to help her. From these moments Keita grew closer to her and, without meaning too, he to develop other feelings for her as well. Keita knew nothing would ever come of these feelings but he continued to watch her anyway.

He found the expression on her face when she was concentrating cute, and the way her eyes shone when she was determined about something made her look even more beautiful. Most of all, Keita liked how caring she was of other people.

It was because of these new feelings for her that Keita began to watch her much more closely. She was always happy with Kinnosuke, despite how mismatched they seemed to be. Kinnosuke was a nice guy but sometimes he seemed to smother Kotoko too much. Through his observations Keita realised that Naoki had feelings for Kotoko. His actions weren't obvious; they were subtle, too subtle for someone like Kotoko to pick upon anyway.

He wouldn't have thought much of it but when Kotoko mentioned that Naoki and Chris met through a marriage interview through their fathers' businesses, Keita knew that their marriage would not be one of love. Kinnosuke had revealed to them that Kotoko had also loved Naoki for a long time and Keita wondered whether it was the Naoki's marriage interview that pushed Kotoko to accept Kinnosuke.

Although he had feelings for Kotoko himself, Keita could see how well Kotoko and Naoki complemented each other, even when they had completely opposite personalities. He also hadn't missed the way that they seemed to get along so well, and how Kotoko acted differently around Naoki, more like...herself.

Because Kotoko always looked happy with Kinnosuke, Keita suspected that she was actually not happy; couples were only that happy in the first few months of their relationship but she never seemed to look down around her fiancée. If she were truly in love with him then she wouldn't be afraid to express other emotions around Kinnosuke. And because Keita cared about her he would do all he could to help her. In the end it wouldn't be him with Kotoko but that didn't matter because although Keita did care about her, he was not the one she needed.

She was avoiding him. Kotoko had successfully managed to avoid him all week. Naoki sighed. She must be taking her friends' word very seriously. Today however, he would be talking to her whether she liked it or not.

He mentally thanked Keita, who had text him to ask a favour. It turns out Kotoko had been coming in early for a while to practice her practical and to study, and Keita was helping her. At first Naoki was jealous about this, he had seen how well the two got on. But then Keita had said he couldn't make it that morning and asked Naoki instead if he would help her. Naoki's jealously evaporated instantly and he agreed.

Naoki stood outside the classroom Kotoko used, peering inside. She was already there, a stack of books beside her as she looked at her notes. It looked like today was meant to be a study session. She didn't look up as he pushed the door open fully to walk in but acknowledged his presence.

"Ah Keita, good morn..." Kotoko looked up then and saw that it was not Keita at all who had walked into the room. "Oh, erm Irie-kun. Good morning?" her face scrunched up in confusion and Naoki bit back a smirk. Her looked turned to one of apprehension and he did smirk when she tried to feign interest in a book, ignoring him.

The book rose higher to hide her face as he drew nearer and took a seat beside her. Did Kotoko really think that she was being subtle? Naoki leaned forward, reaching with one hand to push the book down so he could see her face. Her nervous eyes met his amused ones.

"Keita can't come today," he stated.

"Ah." Kotoko just about comprehended that.

"He asked me to help you study," Naoki continued. He watched as her facial expression changed from confusion, to comprehension, then to horror before settling into mild panic.

"Oh, you don't have to do that, really!" Kotoko said quickly. "I can work on my own, no need to waste your time on me."

Naoki pushed the book out of her hands completely and it fell with a thud onto the desk. He moved closer to her, enjoying the blush that spread on her face.

"You wouldn't be trying to avoid me now, would you?" he teased. Kotoko spluttered.

"Of course not"" Kotoko protested weakly. She avoided his gaze but her face was still red.

"Kotoko." His voice was firm and serious and Kotoko couldn't help but look at him again. "We're friends, aren't we?"

She nodded.

"So why is it wrong to spend time together?"

"I just don't want to hurt Kin-chan's and Chris' feelings," she explained. That, and she was feeling far too comfortable around Irie-kun lately and wasn't she suppose to get over him? "They might get upset since we spend a lot of time together."

"If he really understood you then he would know that you would never cheat on him, so he would ignore the rumours. As your fiancé, he shouldn't mistrust you easily. If he did, then maybe he isn't the right one for you." Naoki explained rationally. He didn't mention Chris, since they didn't really have a relationship other than that as friends, even if they were engaged.

Kotoko nodded slowly. "You're right. I guess I don't have anything to worry about after all."

She squealed as he picked up the fallen book and whacked her lightly on the head. "Dummy," he said. Kotoko scowled at him, but he had turned away.

"Okay, so show me what you're having trouble with," Naoki said, looking at the other books. "We'll go through the material and I'll explain the things you don't understand, which will probably be all of it. Afterwards I'll test you."

Even though she had promised herself she would get over him, Kotoko couldn't deny how nice it was to study alongside Irie-kun again, just like she had done countless times before. It was a familiar and comfortable experience. After that Kotoko didn't try and stay away from him. She enjoyed his company too much, and besides, they were just friends. Nothing would ever happen between them.

How the facade began to crumble

In all the while that Chris and Naoki had been engaged, her mother had yet to make an appearance and greet her future son- in law. A few months after Chris had sent her letter, her mother finally paid a visit.

Maria Elizabeth Robbins, a famous and beautiful Hollywood actress, related to British Royalty, and the wife of influential banker James Thomas Robbins (president of a major bank), descended upon the Irie household without any warning. The Irie Family, sitting talking lightly with Chris, were astounded when a group of black- suited, sunglass wearing men suddenly entered the living room, standing either side of the doorway.

Yuki-kun spluttered and Noriko gave a shriek of alarm. Shigeki got up to have words with these people who had just come barging into his house but stopped short when a beautiful, gorgeous, blonde bombshell entered the room. She looked like a supermodel, not too skinny and with curves in all the right places, from what they could see beneath the fur shrug she wore. Her long, wavy blond hair cascaded over the midnight blue silk dress she wore, and her aristocratic face surveyed the room calmly.

"Mama!" Chris cried, launching herself across the room. The woman opened her arms wide to engulf her daughter. "Christine, darling! It hasbeen a while!" Maria looked down at her daughter with a playful smile and Chris looked up at her impishly.

"Say, what are you doing here Mama?" Chris asked innocently, as if she were not the one to write the letter of her engagement and begging her to come to Japan. Maria played right along.

"I heard of your engagement from your father. We had some long words about how he kept it from me for so long," Maria sniffed. "He is still not forgiven. Right now I'm here to judge your intended and to see whether he is suitable for my darling daughter. Your father said that he was a very intelligent man and a good worker but you know how little I care for such things. First, please introduce me to everyone."

Chris introduced Shigeki and Noriko first, who greeted her politely. Noriko seemed a bit uncertain of Maria, not sure what the woman was planning. Yuki-kun seemed a bit too nervous to speak and sat there silently. Finally came the introduction between Maria and Naoki.

Maria greeted him politely, but then frowned. She gripped his chin lightly in her hand, tilting his head upwards, sideways, down again. The Irie family watched with bated breath.

"Hm, I suppose you are handsome, in a way," Maria murmured. Noriko huffed. She supposed? Her son was considered to be extremely handsome by many different people!

Maria continued examining him more, eventually holding his head still and staring into his eyes. Finally Maria let go of his face. "I'm sorry Naoki. I can tell that you are a good person but you're just not suitable for my darling Christine. I cannot allow this engagement to continue any longer."

There was a stunned silence as Christine clasped her hands excitedly and Noriko shrieked in joy. Shigeki looked relieved too.

"Just like that?" Yuki-kun said, a little stunned. He ignored his mother's frantic motions telling him to shut up. How could she tell just by looking at Oni-chan's face? He darted a look to his brother, and saw the faint look of relief on his face.

Maria winked. "I can tell a man's worth just by looking at his face." She turned to face her daughter. "I will talk to your father myself, he won't dare go against me," she said confidently. "He has a lot of explaining to do, arranging this without my consent."

And just like that the engagement between Naoki and Chris was over. After her declaration, Maria found herself warmly received by Noriko and was invited to stay for dinner. The two women got on like a house on fire and were soon caught up in a fast flowing conversation, and to show how well they were getting on, Noriko pulled out an album of recent pictures, which included photos from Kotoko's celebration party. Maria squealed when she saw a picture of Chris and Kinnosuke.

"Chris, darling, who is this handsome man?" Maria questioned excitedly, waving the photo around. Everyone else apart from Chris sweat dropped. Was this woman handsome challenged or something? "I can tell this man is much more suitable for you!"

"Ah, that's Kinnosuke Ikezawa," Chris said, blushing slightly, something nobody missed. "He's an apprentice chef, I work alongside him. He's a very capable, talented worker."

Noriko sighed. "Alas, he is unavailable." She sniffed, pulling out a picture of Kotoko and Kinnosuke. "He is engaged to the adorable, cute Kotoko Aihara, who I was convinced was in love with Naoki! She gave him a love letter in high school (which he cruelly rejected) and they even kissed once! I was so convinced they would marry but...but!" Noriko had tears in her eyes and Maria rubbed her arm consolingly. The guys wisely decided not to say or do anything to get caught up in the spectacle.

"There, there," Maria said, acting much more down to earth than one would expect from her Hollywood appearance. "I am a very good judge of character, you have to be in my business, and I can tell just by looking at this picture that these two are wrong for each other!" She looked at Kotoko more closely and looked from the picture to Naoki.

"You said that Kotoko loved Naoki, hm?" Maria contemplated. "Yes, they do seem to me to be a perfect match."

Yuki-kun decided to question her logic. "How can you tell?" he asked, for his curiosity but also because he wanted his Oni-chan to see that even a complete stranger knew Kotoko was the one for him.

Maria looked at the picture again. "Ah, I can tell just by looking in her eyes. They have such a determined, spirited, expression. I can tell that this is a girl who is quite lively, the complete opposite to Naoki-kun here."

"How does that make them a good match?" Yuki-kun probed further, ignoring the glare his mother sent towards him. "Kotoko is quite bubbly but she's also quite dumb." Noriko looked at him annoyed.

"Well, although she may be dumb as you say, she strikes me as someone who works hard for what she wants," Maria explained. "Naoki-kun does not need someone like himself as a partner. He needs someone with a bit more feeling." She looked at the picture again. "These eyes," she said, looking at the photo Kotoko's large amber eyes, "are the kind that can easily see things that a genius cannot."

She looked straight at Naoki, looking at him with a serious expression and he hung onto her every word. "You may be a genius but I can tell that you're not very good at expressing your emotions. You need a girl like Kotoko, someone who can read peoples' feelings, bring you feelings and experiences that you've never felt before. You may be able to achieve most things but there will always be things that you can't achieve. Those things can only be achieved by someone like Kotoko."

Maria looked at the picture again. "My she really is adorable isn't she?" she squealed, making the guys cringe. "Noriko let me help you prepare dinner. Christine, come join us so we can talk about womanly issues."

Both Christine and Noriko caught her meaning. "Yes!" Noriko cried. "To the kitchen! There is much to discuss!" as quick as lightning, the women ran to the kitchen. Shigeki and Yuki-kun looked as if they didn't know what had just happened and they would prefer to never know. Naoki on the other hand got a strange sense of foreboding.

When Kotoko had been invited to another party at the Irie household, she hadn't known what it was for. Upon learning the reason was the celebration of the end of Chris and Naoki's engagement, Kotoko felt numb.

Chris had even attended the party and Noriko, who had initially disliked her but treated her civilly for the sake of her son, suddenly became very fond of the girl. It quickly transpired to everyone that Chris had written to her mother about the engagement, and that her mother had been displeased and come over as soon as she had finished filming her latest movie so she could judge her prospective son- in law. She had at once seen that the two weren't suitable at all and called the whole thing off. Noriko was thrilled that she shared this opinion with Christine's mother and even more thrilled that Chris herself had been against the marriage from the beginning but had been afraid to oppose her father.

Maria had wanted to stay for the party but she was on a tight schedule and had to leave, that is, if she wanted to yell at James properly before she went back to America. Maria parted with the Irie family amicably and as the best of friends with Noriko. She told Chris to contact her soon, and whispered to her to invite her to meet this Kinnosuke. Chris agreed heartily.

Kotoko wasn't sure what to do. The engagement was over! Naoki was free again...She hastily assured herself and Kin-chan (who had looked at her with a slightly troubled expression as he took the news in) that it didn't change anything between them. He smiled warmly at her, giving her hand a soft squeeze.

"So Kotoko-chan, what are your plans now that Naoki-kun is available again?" Noriko questioned sometime into the party.

Kotoko was confused. "Excuse me? What do you mean?" Surely Noriko didn't think that she would pursue Irie-kun now? She quickly found out that this seemed to be the general consensus of her friends' opinions. Reiko and Ayako descended on her, asking the same, Sudou came over too, talking about new chances. Takendo only mentioned that he was sure that Irie had feelings for her before and now it looked as though he were right. Even Satomi and Jinko, the two that had encouraged her to think about Kin-chan's proposal, asked her what she was going to do about Irie-kun.

By the end of the party, Kotoko was in a bad mood. Did they all really think her to be that low? That she would discard the relationship she had with Kin-chan because Irie-kun was no longer engaged? She left early with Kin-chan, ranting to him the whole way back about what everyone had said.

Before Kin-chan kissed her goodnight, Kotoko stopped him and looked at him deep in the eyes.

"Kin-chan, I would never discard you like they all think I will, I hope you know that. My devotion and loyalty is to you now." Kotoko had begun to accept that she might not be able to love Kin-chan as she had Irie-kun but that didn't mean they would be unhappy because of it. She may not be in love with Kin-chan but she loved him and would stay by his side and be as good a fiancée as she could be.

That night, it was Kotoko who initiated the kiss, the first time she had done so. As she went through the front door into the house, Kinnosuke turned around, his face revealing a troubled and guilty expression.

A few weeks passed by in which everyone around her seemed to be holding their breath, waiting for the moment when she would snap and start declaring her love for Irie-kun. Once word had gotten out at college about Naoki's broken engagement, Kotoko found herself being followed by her friends who analysed every moment between her and Irie-kun, much to her annoyance. At lunch they talked of nothing but him and Kotoko was getting sick of it.

Today, Kotoko had decided to eat outside on her own, picking a nice secluded bench where hopefully nobody would find her. Her hopes were dashed when someone sat down beside her, and she was surprised to see that this person was none other than Reiko Matsumoto.

"Reiko? What are you doing here?" Kotoko asked in surprise.

Reiko raised an elegant eyebrow. "How rude, not even asking how I am first." Kotoko flushed.

"Sorry," she muttered. "Eh, how are you? And what are you doing here?"

"I'm good. I've managed to find a job for when I graduate," Reiko commented. Kotoko brightened.

"That's great! What sort of job is it?" she asked eagerly.

"I'll be working for a computer company. I get to work in both the research and business sides of things." Reiko examined her nails, and then peered at the smaller girl. "How is everything with you? All going well?"

Kotoko nodded. "Uh huh. My classes are hard but I'm coping well at the moment. My classmates are great and I've made some really good friends."

"What about with Kinnosuke?" Reiko asked.

Kotoko smiled. "Things are going well," she said simply.

"Really?" Reiko drawled. Kotoko's smile faltered slightly.

"Yes...of course. Why?"

"Oh, no reason. I just thought your feelings might be a bit shaken up now that Irie-kun is available again." Reiko watched as Kotoko narrowed her eyes in anger.

"Please don't tell me you're like everyone else," Kotoko huffed. "Why does everyone think that I'll dump Kin-chan now that Irie-kun is single? Do you think I'm that sort of person? Because I'm not! Just because I liked Irie-kun for so long...I'm staying with Kin-chan." Her tone was defiant.

Reiko just eyed her carefully. "Even if it means ignoring your true feelings? I know how you really feel. You still love Irie-kun."

Kotoko shook her head. "I don't," she said quickly. A little too hastily in Reiko's opinion.

"But you loved him for so long, are you sure your feelings managed to disappear so quickly?" Reiko probed.

"Whatever my feelings were, it doesn't matter." Kotoko said firmly. "Kin-chan cares for me a lot and treats me a lot better than Irie-kun ever did."

"But he acts differently now I hear," Reiko mused. "I've heard that he hangs around you a lot now. Quite a change from the old days."

"That doesn't change anything," Kotoko said quietly. "He...I...we're just friends. We've both grown up, that's all. Besides, there's no way that Irie-kun will ever fall in love with me." Kotoko said it with conviction, as if she truly believed that. Reiko inwardly decided to blame Irie-kun for Kotoko feeling the way she did. If only he had owned up to his feelings sooner...

Kotoko's phone vibrated and she looked at it, reading a message. "Ah, I have to go now. It was good seeing you again. Say hi to Sudou for me will you? And take care!" Kotoko bounded off and Reiko could tell that she seemed a little relieved to escape her questioning.

Reiko sat there for a while longer, mulling over things. True she no longer had romantic feelings for Irie-kun but they had become good friends, and since they were both so alike, Reiko could understand the way he acted. She knew he liked Kotoko, she knew that he had accepted the marriage interview for the sake of his father rather for himself and she knew that he still had feelings for Kotoko even now. But why he hadn't done anything about it Reiko did not know. Sure, Kotoko was engaged to that cafeteria guy but anyone could see that they weren't right together. And it had been increasingly obvious lately that there were feelings between that guy and that Chris girl. If Irie-kun tried hard enough, she reflected, he was sure to win Kotoko over.

"Matsumuto-san, what are you doing here?" a voice called. Reiko looked up to see Irie-kun himself standing not too far away.

"Eh, it's Irie-kun," she murmured to herself as he came towards her. Naoki took the seat that Kotoko had not long ago just vacated.

"Hello Irie-kun," she greeted with a smile. "How are things with you?"

Naoki inclined his head slightly. "Good. And you? I hear you got yourself a job?"

"Hm, yes that's right. I'll be working with a prestigious computer company and with grades like mine I should make it to the top in no time," Reiko said, not egotistically but stating it as a fact. It was true after all.

He murmured congratulations. "So what brings you to the sit outside the medical department today?"

She decided there was no point in deception. Besides, she wanted him to understand. "I was speaking to Kotoko." Reiko watched his face and was satisfied to see his eyes flicker with some emotion at the mention of the girl's name.

"Oh?" he sounded disinterested but since they were both alike, Reiko knew he was actually curious.

"I was just asking how everything was going between her and that cafeteria worker," she said casually. "I'm a little bit surprised that she still stuck with him even after your engagement was broken off."

Irie-kun didn't say anything to that so she decided to continue talking, trying to get a reaction out of him.

"I thought it was a bad idea or her to get engaged so quickly, especially with her strong feelings for you. And you seemed to have feelings for her too." He looked at her and she shot him a warning look. "Don't deny it. I remember the way you acted when you thought that she was in love with Sudou. Remember? You practically pulverised him in that tennis match when I shouted out that Kotoko wanted Sudou to win." Reiko paused then. "By the way, she didn't really. I just shouted that out because I was teasing her. Anyway, the look on your face when she rushed to help Sudou... you wouldn't have looked like that if you weren't jealous."

"Even if I did have feelings for her there would be nothing I could do about it now," Irie-kun said. Reiko's eyes widened in surprise. He was actually admitting he may have feelings for Kotoko? That was more than she expected of his emotional capacity. She listened as he continued. "She's happy with him."

"Rubbish."

Naoki looked at her, his own surprise showing. "What?"

"That's rubbish and you know it. Even though you're incapable of expressing your emotions, you can read hers quite well. Too well even. She may be happy with that guy but her feelings aren't as deep with him as they were with you." Reiko said it in a matter of fact tone, knowing Irie-kun had observed this too.

"Were," Irie-kun stated. He looked at the ground, staring hard. Reiko looked at him for clarification. "You said her feelings aren't as deep for him as they were for me. Were. She doesn't act the same around me as she used to. Kotoko's feelings are all for him now."

Ah. So now they were getting to the root of Irie-kun's lack of action towards Kotoko. He was insecure over her feelings. How sweet...yet how blind were these people? Reiko sighed internally. As of yet, Kotoko and Irie-kun were the only ones denying their true feelings. She had noticed that Kinnosuke guy and his lingering looks at Chris and predicted it wouldn't be too long until another engagement was broken off.

"Sometimes you have to fight for what you want," Reiko remarked.

Naoki disagreed. "Not if it makes Kotoko unhappy. She's happy with him and I'm not going to destroy that."

Wow. That was as much of a confession of him admitting he had feelings for Kotoko that she would get out of him for the time being.

They sat in silence for a few moments and then he sighed, checking his watch and slowly rising. "If you excuse me I have a meeting to go too. It was good seeing you again. Take care." Abrupt as always, just like her. She was glad she had someone like Sudou, who was nothing like her but she was grateful for that.

Reiko sighed as she watched him go and applauded herself mentally that she had acknowledged Sudou's feelings so that she did not have to endure a crazy mess such as this. Now if only she could get her fellow genius to acknowledge his.

Realisation

"Smiling suits you best after all. All I want is to make you smile..."

"Hey Kotoko...I'll never make you have that face. I'll always make you smile. So...will you marry me?"

From the moment he had had first laid eyes on Kotoko Aihara, Kinnosuke had been smitten. She was cute and had a beautiful smile, and he loved the way her eyes sparkled when she was happy. Kinnosuke wasn't one to focus just on looks though. Kotoko had turned out to be a sweet, caring and loyal friend and Kinnosuke just found himself falling deeper and deeper.

He knew that it would take time for her to forget about Irie, knew that it would take time for Kotoko to love him like he did her. After all, he had waited all this time so he could wait a little while longer. And she had said yes to him after all so didn't that mean that she was his now?

He didn't know how long it took him before he realised that Kotoko was always careful to act happy around him, he rarely saw any other emotion. At first he wondered if it was because she had something to hide from him. But then Kinnosuke remembered the promise he made her. He had said he would always make her smile and that he wouldn't be happy unless she was too. It wasn't until he began to develop feelings for Chris that he realised that being in love didn't mean always being happy.

Kinnosuke had found Chris annoying at first. She seemed to appear everywhere he happened to be but he soon grew accustomed to her. She was a skilled cook and eager to learn, Kinnosuke grew to respect her and her determination. When she had broken up with Irie, she spent more time around Kinnosuke and he began to suspect that she may have feelings for him. And although he loved Kotoko, Chris was devoted to him in a way Kotoko had never applied herself, and Kinnosuke eventually admitted to himself that he enjoyed the feeling.

When he had gone after Kotoko his devotion had been relentless and maybe a bit too strong. Had he really acted like that? Kinnosuke sometimes wondered if Kotoko simply given in to him.

Chris's devotion to him was completely different to his devotion to Kotoko. She believed in his abilities, admired his looks (he had never had such a beautiful woman claim him to be handsome before, heck, he knew himself he was no looker) and his personality but she was never afraid to disagree with him and point out whenever he did things wrong. It was because of this that Kinnosuke realised that things with Kotoko weren't quite right.

He had always been quick to build her up and flatter her despite her protests to the contrary. In his devotion to her he had made her perfect and although she tried to be happy, Kinnosuke could see now that this struggle to live up to his expectations was slowly sapping her away. Of course now that he had realised this and could fix things, he had found that his own feelings had changed.

Kinnosuke had assured Kotoko at the beginning of their relationship that he would take care of all her needs. When she went into nursing he was disgruntled but she enjoyed it and he could see her determination to prove herself capable so he let her be. However having Chris work alongside him made him yearn for a deeper connection, to share his passion of food with the one he loved other than having her eat it. Kotoko, despite her father being a chef, was a bad cook and stayed away from the kitchen for the safety of everyone. And so, without intentionally setting out to do so, Kinnosuke had created that bond with Chris.

Up until now Kinnosuke had not realised what he was missing. He and Chris...they understood each other perfectly and moved, worked and gelled as a team. Kotoko supported his goals but Chris constantly pushed him to do better but would always catch him when he fell. Chris knew his weaknesses, weaknesses that he would never allow himself to show in front of Kotoko. Only now he realised that in a relationship, he shouldn't be afraid to show his weaknesses but he had wanted to prove himself to Kotoko. Instead Kinnosuke had created an act, a mask around Kotoko, trying to be someone else. An unintentional barrier had come between them without him realising. Chris had come to understand him and his moods perfectly and he eventually could do the same for her. He felt stricken when he realised that he could not do the same for Kotoko.

Part of him realised that Kotoko was only trying to give him what he had wanted for so long. And now Kinnosuke realised that she probably never could. Furthermore she was trying to make herself meet his expectations but the thing is, his expectations of her were skewed. He knew she was clumsy and bad at cooking. All he had wanted was her love.

And then what?

Throughout his relentless campaign for her love, Kinnosuke had not thought to what would happen once he had it. All that filled his head were thoughts of Kotoko becoming his bride, of the wedding but not the marriage. They would live happily ever after of course, had been his thinking all those times. Long after he had achieved one victory in the journey to his goal Kinnosuke realised that his love for Kotoko was biased. How could he love her properly if he did not truly know her? He had spent the past five years claiming to love her but to his shame, Kinnosuke could not understand her fully.

She was always happy around him. Smiling, laughing. He could tell that sometimes she was genuinely happy, other times her eyes didn't seem to match her smiles. Kinnosuke noticed that it seemed to be a regular occurrence of late too. Kotoko's eyes had become a little dull, guarded. And then Irie would sit with her at lunch, the sparkle would come back and Kotoko unconsciously acted differently, more like herself. Even if the guarded eyes became conflicted and confused, around Irie they always showed more emotion.

Kotoko had told him that he did not always have to make her happy; she wanted him to be himself. He hadn't listened. Didn't he say that he would always make her smile? And so he strove to do so.

Alas, that was his downfall. Because of his stubborn promise Kotoko never got to know his true self either, not in the way that Chris had come to discover it. Kinnosuke always strived to make her happy and Kotoko wanted him to be happy too so she put that mask on. He always made a fuss if she seemed to be down, worrying that he wasn't trying hard enough.

It was only when he was with Chris that Kinnosuke began to see that a successful relationship didn't mean making each other happy all the time. It meant being able to understand that person and accept them, all of them. Like Chris accepted all of him, and how Kotoko had accepted Irie (even though he was a complete jerk). They had been friends and now they had been engaged for almost a year but in a way they were strangers to each other.

When Irie and Chris had split part of him had expected their relationship to follow, only a small part mind. What he did know of Kotoko was that she was determined and she was loyal and even if she did still have feelings for Irie, she wouldn't do anything about it. And although his heart had begun to waver Kinnosuke said nothing because he had made a promise to her...

No.

This wasn't fair, to Kotoko or himself. Kinnosuke was deceiving himself in thinking that the promise was so important when in reality it meant both he and Kotoko were trying to be things that they were not.

As he and Chris became close, Kinnosuke knew neither he nor Kotoko could be happy for long, not when his feelings for someone else had become so strong and when her feelings had never been that strong in the first place.

He would have to end things, soon. Kotoko might be upset with him but in the end they would both be better off.

Acceptance

It was early evening and the shop had closed early but Kinnosuke and Chris had stayed behind to tidy things up. Chris had been a bit down today, not really talking to him much. Kinnosuke was worried, wondering what had gotten her so upset.

Christine was adjusting the bar stools, brooding a bit as she contemplated the situation. Her feelings for Kinnosuke were so strong yet she couldn't do anything about it. Kotoko showed no signs of wanting to be with Naoki-kun, and Chris was not willing to go after Kinnosuke if Kotoko was with him.

"Hey."

Chris jumped suddenly as Kinnosuke addressed her. Her bright blue eyes widened in surprise as she turned around to seeing standing very close to her, arms crossed as looked at her.

"You've been acting very strange today." Kinnosuke stated. "Is something the matter?"

She looked a little downcast as she replied, "Um, no, nothing's wrong Kin-chan."

"You're lying." He stood there, his eyes resolute in finding out what was wrong with her. Chris got a bit nervous.

"I can't tell you what's wrong." She said it stubbornly and he stepped closer.

"Why not?" Kin-chan demanded. "You usually tell me when things are bugging you."

Chris huffed. "Well I don't have to tell you everything, do I?" He gave her a strange look.

"Fine, you don't have to tell me, I'm just worried about you. You can tell me if something's wrong, you know that," Kinnosuke said placating.

"I like you!" she blurted out before she could stop herself. Once she realised what she had said, she gasped, hands covering her mouth in horror.

Kinnosuke's arms fell to his sides in surprise, staring at her. Her cheeks were flushed now, and there were tears gathering in the corner of her eyes as she stared back in a mixture of horror and embarrassment. Whatever he had been expecting, that hadn't been it.

"What?" Kinnosuke said incredulously, scarcely daring to believe what he'd heard.

Chris shook her head. "It doesn't matter," she said. It came out slightly choked as she held back a sob. She took a step backwards but because she wasn't looking where she was going, her legs hit a stool. The stool toppled, tripping her legs and she began to fall.

Chris braced herself for the impact but it never came. Opening her eyes, she found Kin-chan's face dangerously close to hers and his strong steady arms held her just above the ground. He settled her down gently and knelt in front of her on the floor.

"Me too." He said it so quietly that she almost missed it.

"Wh...what?" Christine stammered. Had she heard right? She scarcely allowed herself to feel hopeful.

Kinnosuke looked her straight in the eyes. "I like you too." He said it loudly this time, more firmly, and resolutely.

Her heart soared at the confession but it was quickly dampened by the feeling of guilt. "What about Kotoko? I thought...you loved her?"

He sighed. "Things have changed between us. I do care for her but I realise now that my love for her was misguided. I kept proclaiming to be in love with her but in the end I've just made her unhappy by not understanding her feelings." He trailed off, thinking for a moment, before continuing. "I was going to talk to her. Even if she doesn't like Irie anymore, she still doesn't love me, at least, not in the way you do. It isn't fair for me to keep her if our feelings aren't the same," Kinnosuke told her.

Chris felt her heart flutter. He was breaking up with Kotoko? Then that meant she could be with Kinnosuke...but..."But she loves you at least? You said her love wasn't the same as mine but she still loves you?"

He shook his head. "I don't think she does. She cares for me but it isn't love."

Kinnosuke placed a hand on her cheek, marvelling at how soft her skin felt. Chris looked so beautiful; her eyes were shining brightly with happiness. Her cheeks were still red and so were her lips, they looked so tempting that without thinking, Kinnosuke leaned closer, his head dipping down. Chris' eyes widened as she realised what he was about to do.

The restaurant door opened suddenly and their heads whipped up fast, stunned as they saw Kotoko standing in the doorway. She stilled as she saw them on the floor, faces just inches away from each other.

"What?" Kotoko stood in the doorway looking flabbergasted as she took in the scene before her. "What? What's going on? What are you two doing?"

He wanted to yell out that the situation was not at all what it looked like but that was a lie. The situation was exactly what it looked liked. "Um, well," Kinnosuke began, trying to think of something else to say. He had been planning to talk to Kotoko soon but not like this! However Chris spoke before he could.

"I'm really sorry Kotoko but I can't hide it anymore," Chris burst out, her eyes shining with tears. "I'm in love with Kinnosuke! I know you're engaged to him but I love him so much, I can't bear it anymore!" She couldn't. If Kinnosuke hadn't told her his feelings she would've kept quiet but now she knew the truth, she couldn't.

Kotoko looked shocked. Well, she hadn't suspected that. Her dear friend Chris was in love with Kin-chan? She never even suspected! But...why was Chris telling her this now? "I...don't know what to say. I had no idea." Kotoko had no idea what this confession meant to her and Kin-chan. It wouldn't change things...unless Kin-chan felt the same way too... She looked at Kin-chan. "Kin-chan? Do you...what about you? Do you like Chris too? Have you been cheating on me?"

"NO!" Both he and Chris shouted this, jumping to their feet. They looked at each other briefly before looking at Kotoko again.

"Nothing has happened between us," Chris said resolutely. "Kin-chan only discovered my feelings tonight but that was an accident. I didn't mean to tell him!"

Kotoko looked slightly placated and turned to Kinnosuke to hear his side of things.

Kin-chan was looking at her guiltily. "We really didn't do anything. But...I'm sorry Kotoko but I have fallen in love with Chris as well." Kotoko looked at him blankly as she took in his words.

"I love her, I really do but I didn't mean for it to happen, I just..." he trailed off, watching her carefully. "I was going to talk to you, but I wasn't sure how to approach the subject with you. I know you care about me Kotoko but for some time now I think we've both been deceiving ourselves about our real feelings." Kinnosuke sighed. "I didn't mean to make you unhappy."

Kotoko looked stunned. "What...When? How long has it been like this?" she asked. Kin-chan stepped hesitantly towards her, fearing she was about to cry but Kotoko shook her head.

"I'm not mad at you." They looked at her uncertainly. "I think, I'm more confused than anything else." Kotoko said. "You're right, things haven't been right between us, have they?" She trailed off, looking away distantly at something. "My feelings... I don't really know what to feel. I do love you Kin- chan but I not sure if I am in love with you." Kin-chan didn't look too surprised when she said that. "Maybe this is a good thing for all of us. You love Chris and she loves you back...that's much more than I can do."

"I..." she sat down on one of the stools. "...I think we need to talk about this." Kinnosuke agreed. Despite the fact his feeling had changed, he had been in a relationship with Kotoko for nearly a year. All those times they shared together and those kisses...they weren't meaningless. They both needed to talk to each other.

Kotoko got over her shock and she ended up having a long heart to heart conversation with Kin-chan about their relationship. Chris excused herself to give them some privacy, apologising once again for the almost kiss Kotoko had witnessed. Kinnosuke and Kotoko sat for some time, talking about their thoughts and feelings.

Kinnosuke had realised his feelings had changed only in the past few months but he had been determined to keep his promise to Kotoko. Only recently did it occur to him that staying with her would cause more harm than good. He realised it had been selfish of him in the first place to expect Kotoko to return his feelings when she herself had been in love with someone else for so long but she had accepted him anyway so he had thought it hadn't mattered then. Kotoko had admitted to him then that although she did love him when she accepted his proposal, it was only as a friend. She had agreed to his proposal because she wanted him to be happy and because he had always cared for her. However her feelings hadn't been able to change in the time they were engaged.

Kotoko could never love him the way she could see now that Chris loved him, she had realised that early on, but she had tried to do her best. But if he was happier with Chris, Kotoko wouldn't get in their way and she assured Kin-chan he didn't have to keep his promise, they had been friends before and would go back to being friends again.

Kotoko had told him time and again that she didn't have many talents, especially in regards to cooking and he hadn't cared about that but it was only when he worked seamlessly with Chris that he realised how nice it was working as a team with someone he cared deeply for. Although Kotoko understood Kinnosuke, Chris seemed to anticipate his wants and needs just by looking at him and he could understand hers too and it created a deep bond between them, something he did not quite have with Kotoko.

Before he had gotten close to Chris, if Kotoko had told Kinnosuke about her uncertain feelings he would have been devastated, since he had loved her for so long. He suspected Kotoko had known this and that it was one of the reasons she had accepted him. But now that he'd experienced working alongside Chris, he had gotten to understand Chris in a way he hadn't managed to understand Kotoko despite the many years he had loved her and understood how a relationship should be. Kotoko shouldn't have accepted him no matter if he'd hurt at her rejection but she hadn't wanted him to be sad.

In the end they both agreed to end their engagement. Kotoko apologised for not being able to love him properly and he responded that that was not something to apologise for and that maybe they were meant to be just good friends after all. Kinnosuke apologised for making her feel that she needed to love him just because he had loved for her for so long, that hadn't been his intention.

Kotoko had tried to be happy for him and strove to make him happy in return and Kinnosuke realised deep down she hadn't truly been happy, no matter how much she denied it to herself. Kinnosuke had inkling maybe she had gotten the impression from someone else that not accepting his proposal would be selfish of her. She of course said it was all her fault for being stupid and not facing up to the truth.

They both agreed that the engagement had been too hasty and it was a good thing Shigeo had told them to wait two years for the marriage. Nearly a year had passed since his proposal and his feelings had changed so much since then in a way he never thought possible.

They parted ways and Kinnosuke offered to walk her home but she shook her head. Her dad was over at the Irie household and she would go and talk to him. She let Chris know it was ok for her to come back into the room and Kotoko hugged them both, saying she was happy for them. Kinnosuke and Chris bid her farewell, hoping that things would work out for her too.

Throughout the journey on the tube and departure from the train, Kotoko mulled over her feelings as she made her way to the Irie house. Kotoko felt relieved that the engagement was over, but also a little sad. Although she hadn't loved Kinnosuke like Chris did, she cared about him and she thought they could have been happy together, in time she might have fallen in love. She was happy however that he had found Chris, who really truly loved him and that he loved Chris back as well. Now Kotoko was sure he would definitely be happy.

Kotoko cursed herself, thinking that although she had accepted his proposal to because she wanted to make him happy; it had been selfish for her to do so when her feelings were uncertain. If she had only been truthful with herself and Kinnosuke then he could have been with Chris much earlier. So much time had been wasted and it was all her fault.

She knocked on the door of the Irie household, not really paying attention as the door opened. Noriko looked down at her in surprise.

"Oh, Kotoko-chan, I didn't expect to see you today. It's good to see you, come in!" Noriko opened the door for her to step inside.

"I apologise for my unexpected visit, I just wanted to talk to my dad about something and I didn't want to wait until tomorrow," Kotoko explained. Noriko looked at her in concern, noting how downcast the girl was.

They entered the living room and everyone was surprised to see her. Kotoko greeted them softly and Noriko told her to take a seat, telling them she came to see Shigeo. Shigeo frowned in concern.

"Is everything alright Kotoko?" They were all looking at her. Naoki repeated the question, the book he had been reading lay abandoned on the table.

She was silent for a moment. "Kinnosuke and I have broken up." Kotoko said finally.

Yuki-kun dropped his book on the floor in surprise, and the older adults gaped. Naoki went very, very still.

"He's in love with Chris. And she's in love with him." Kotoko told them.

"Do I need to go and teach him a lesson?" Shigeo said protectively, drawing a strangled laugh from Kotoko. He got up from his seat and sat next to her, drawing her into a hug. "Was he cheating on you?"She shook her head.

"No, no, it's nothing like that" she explained hastily. "It was a mutual decision to end it." Kotoko bit her lip. "I'm just feeling a little confused about it and I wanted to talk to you. You're...not mad about it? I know you liked Kin-chan."

Shigeo smiled softly. "What I think of him doesn't matter. As long as you're happy, I'm happy." Kotoko hugged her father in thanks.

They said their goodbyes and Kotoko apologised once again for her interruption of their evening. As soon as the front door closed, Noriko came bouncing back into the living room, crying tears of joy.

"Do you know what this means?" she cried. She didn't give them a chance to answer. "It means that there is still a chance that Kotoko will become part of our family for real! I must make plans at once!"

"Mama!" Yuki-kun protested, "You shouldn't interfere! It's up to Kotoko and Oni-chan to decided whether they want a relationship or not."

As one, their heads turned to look at Naoki to see what his opinion was.

"Don't interfere," Naoki warned and his mother deflated visibly. "If anything happens between Kotoko and I it will be because we wanted it to happen. Please don't get involved." With that he went upstairs.

Noriko waited a good few seconds after the door had closed before squealing again. Yuki sighed in annoyance and asked what on earth she was squealing for now.

"Well, he didn't say he didn't want Kotoko-chan, did he?" Noriko said smugly. "And he says that anything that happens is up to them, meaning he's not so adverse to her after all! Yippee! I knew he liked her!"

Yuki shook his head and quickly left the room. He worried briefly that his mother would do something drastic but hopefully since Papa was still in the room with her, she wouldn't do anything too crazy.

Fate keeps playing games

Sometimes Kotoko wondered if she were trapped in a bizarre TV drama being broadcast to the world for the entertainment of others, because really, why did these things keep happening to her?

It was the next day after the end of her engagement and she had told her friends the news in class that day. Although Kotoko had admitted she hadn't been in love with Kin-chan, she did feel a bit sad that things hadn't worked out. So her friends had insisted they come round to cheer her up and so Kotoko had come back from college them, only for them all to stop and gape in astonishment at the pile of rubble that was the remnants of her house. This time it turned out that a lorry had swerved and skidded off the road into her house. Luckily the driver hadn't suffered injuries, the house wasn't so luckily. Kotoko wondered why her dad always hired such rubbish construction workers.

Things happened quickly after that, she had run to her dad's restaurant in alarm, and when Shigeo had come to see the sight for himself, he had quickly made a few phone calls. By the end of the day Kotoko had found herself somewhere she never expected to be again: in Yuki's old bedroom in the Irie household. It was only seeing Mama's surprised delight that stopped her suspecting that she had played a hand in all this.

Kotoko didn't know what to do. It seemed that every time she intended to distance herself from Irie-kun, she would somehow end up being closer to him than ever before. Now that she was no longer with Kin-chan, and Irie-kun's engagement had been broken off too, Kotoko should be elated that there was a chance for them again.

In reality, it made her scared thinking about it. She remembered the feelings she had experienced throughout high school and into college, how her whole life then had been about Irie-kun and how heartbroken she had been when he said he liked Chris and intended to see the engagement through. Kotoko was scared that she had made Irie-kun the centre of her world, it frightened her how much she had depended on him. She didn't ever want to feel like that again.

Thinking back to her past actions, Kotoko couldn't believe how fanatic she had been in getting his attention. How high she would be if he so much as spared her a glance. It was sickening. Kotoko had wasted so much time on him only for her feelings to be crushed. She vowed that it would never happen again.

Kotoko didn't want the decisions and actions of her life to be based on the considerations of someone else; she wanted to base them on what she wanted.

Now, if only her heart would stop saying that it was Irie-kun she wanted, this would be a whole lot easier.

A few weeks later

Uncertainty wasn't a feeling that Naoki was used to dealing with but he had been experiencing a lot lately. When Kotoko had come in that night to his house, telling them that she was no longer engaged to that idiot, Naoki couldn't stop the tide emotions that swept over him. He felt stunned by the news, a little nervous and excited. He had felt anticipation rise within him, wondering what the news meant for him and Kotoko now.

The next day when she had suddenly moved back to the Irie household after an accident (which he was one hundred per cent sure his mother had everything to do with), everything felt right again. The house was so much livelier with Kotoko and her dad staying, it wasn't just Mama and Papa, he could tell even Yuki seemed happy with the way things were. And so was he. Now that Kotoko was back, Naoki realised merely talking to her at college hadn't been enough for him and that he was far more content with her being so close by.

However...

Now that they lived together again, Naoki could spend more time with Kotoko. They talked a lot more, ate meals together and walked to college together. Yet something wasn't right. Sure Kotoko talked to him but he felt as if she weren't being as open with him as she had been before. He searched her face many times for signs that she still liked him but she had built a pretty strong mask, wearing a smile and cheerful expression. The only thing that told Naoki she may be feeling otherwise was her eyes. Naoki had always been able to read her mood from her eyes and now they did not match her cheerful expression and instead he could read conflicting emotions in those eyes. Happiness, sadness, determination, he could read those emotions perfectly. What they related to however even he did not know.

All he needed was a sign that she liked him still but so far he hadn't seen one. Naoki felt his heart clench painfully. Maybe...she really had gotten over him after all.

Kotoko knew it would be hard acting like she wasn't in love with Irie-kun but she knew it would be better this way. This way, he wouldn't tease her about her feelings and she wouldn't get her hopes up. Still, they spent more time together now then they had ever done before and she was starting to feel the strain of pretending she didn't love him. Their routine felt comfortable and she couldn't help enjoying the time she spent with him. Irie-kun could read her well and could understand when she needed help with something without her even saying a word. Kotoko found that sometimes they could communicate by looks alone, without any words exchanged. She mused that this was about the closest thing to a relationship with Irie-kun that she'd ever experience.

The Plan

The gang gathered at a small bar, Jinko's boyfriend Narasaki was playing with his band and they all used that as an excuse to get together, brood and plot. It had been a few weeks now since Kotoko and Kinnosuke had broken up yet still there was nothing going on between Kotoko and Naoki even though it was plain to them all that they had feelings for each other. So, it was time to take matters into their own hands. They had invited Kinnosuke and Chris too, who had been surprised at first that their actions over the past months had been analysed all along by these people. They were a little embarrassed but they wanted to help Kotoko and Naoki too so agreed to come along.

Currently they had consumed a few drinks and were trying to figure out why Naoki hadn't confessed his feelings yet. Yeah so he wasn't the time to suddenly spout out declarations of love but they all knew he like Kotoko, Reiko confirmed this and also that Naoki had said that he wouldn't do anything if Kotoko was with Kinnosuke. Now that Kotoko was free again, they were expecting something.

Then there was Kotoko. None of them knew what her feelings were and no amount of prying from Satomi nor Jinko could get the truth from her.

Motoki smiled thoughtfully. "Hey Keita, you really care about Kotoko don't you?"

Keita tried to smile but it ended up as a grimace. He sighed as they all looked at him. "My feelings were confused at first. I began to pay more attention to her when I realised how determined she was to succeed and that made me respect her. And when I suspected that she wasn't really happy with Kinnosuke I wanted to do something to help her but I didn't know what I could do. "

They watched as he fidgeted a bit. "I could see that when she was around Irie- san, she acted more like herself, and that's when I realised that nothing I do could ever make her happy. Only he can, but she doesn't seem to realise it yet."

Marina smiled softly. "Our dear Kotoko, dense as ever," she said with affection.

Kinnosuke banged his head on the table. "I feel like this is all my fault. I shouldn't have been too hasty in proposing to her. I was just so blind towards her that I couldn't see that we weren't suited at all." He sighed as Chris patted his arm comfortingly. "And even when she seemed to realise that, she still stayed with me out of loyalty and tried to be a good girlfriend because she wanted me to be happy."

Kinnosuke sighed. "We had a long talk, me and Kotoko- chan. She blamed herself. She said she should have broken things off when she realised her feelings, even if it made me unhappy, because I would've ended up unhappy anyway." He grinned a bit, chuckling.

"But then she said actually she hadn't thought of that, her father told her that when she talked to him about it later." They all laughed a bit at that. "He told her that marrying me would've made us both unhappy because we both had unrealistic ideas of what to expect from each other."

"You're not to blame," Jinko said encouragingly. "It's Naoki's fault too. That robot shouldn't have strung her along like that in the first place. Then she might never have asked you out."

"Jinko!" Satomi scolded, but the other girl continued.

"It was because of that she stayed with you, you had wanted to make her happy for so long that she believed staying with you was the right thing to do," Jinko explained.

Chris contemplated this before contributing her thoughts. "She knew what a one sided love felt like and maybe she thought that requiting your feelings, she might have felt what she would've experienced if Naoki had returned hers, that the feelings between you and her would be the same as between her and Naoki."

Satomi put in her thoughts too. "Not just that, maybe Kotoko thought that she could never be truly love you, but because you were her friend and had loved her for so long, she wanted to make you happy so you didn't have to feel the same way she did."

Tomoko leaned back on her seat and summed up what they all knew. "Irie- san and Kotoko will only be happy with each other, that much is certain. The question is how to get Naoki to confess to her. Why he hasn't done so already is beyond me."

Satomi's boyfriend Ryo took a sip of his drink before speaking. "Irie-san may be afraid to approach her," he said thoughtfully. "Kotoko seems to be a lot more guarded with her true feelings. Naoki may be feeling discouraged by this."

"It seems that she doesn't want to fall for him again in case she gets hurt again."That was Takendo who said that. They hadn't thought of that but thinking of it, it did make sense.

Motoki tapped his chin thoughtfully He looked around the bar and his eyes settled on Keita. At once his eyes lit up. "I have a plan," Motoki said, beckoning them closer, and they all huddled round to discuss how to get Kotoko and Naoki together once and for all. When they departed for the night, it was with gleeful smiles on their faces.

"I'll let the others know," Jinko promised them, referring to Reiko, Sudou, and Ayako. "They'll want to take part in this too."

When Kotoko came home from classes that day she was surprised to see Reiko sitting with Naoki in the living room, but she welcomed her friend and joined in their conversation. Reiko told them a bit about the computer company she worked for now, and told them about Sudou, who had started work as a car salesman, but had decided it wasn't for him and worked instead as a fitness instructor which it turned out he was surprisingly good at. Reiko then asked about Kotoko's classes before asking about her friends.

"Oh, so this Keita guy helps you out a lot? What's he like?"

Kotoko was surprised at the question but she answered it all the same. "He's very zealous about nursing but he's a very nice guy and even though he tries to hide it sometimes, he's very kind and considerate towards other people." She laughed a bit at that and only Reiko saw Naoki narrow his eyes in annoyance. She hid her smile, only just though.

"Does he have a girlfriend?" Reiko probed. At Kotoko's confused look, Reiko continued, "I'mnot interested in him but I'm just curious. A guy as nice as he sounds would surely have a girlfriend right?"

"Hm, no he doesn't," Kotoko said thoughtfully. "Keita is quite serious about his studies and only socialises with his us, he doesn't go out much. He lives on his own too, away from his hometown."

"Ah, did he tell you he lived on his own or did you visit his house?" Reiko asked curiously.

Kotoko smiled. "He told me about it. He says it's only a small place but when my house got wrecked again, he offered to let me stay with him but then Dad sorted everything out."

"He did?" Both of the girls turned to Naoki in surprise at his sudden question. "You never mentioned that before."

"Um, sorry?" Kotoko replied in confusion. "I forgot about it. Anyway Keita was only trying to help out a friend, that's all."

"Hn." Naoki looked uninterested again. This time Reiko turned her head away, unable to stop her smile. Really, these two were just so entertaining.

There was a practical the next day, the only one that Kotoko had been nervous about: the autopsy. She had only seen one dead body before (her mother's) but even that could not prepare her for the experience of sticking her hands into one and examining the different organs.

Luckily she didn't have to go first, but that still didn't make her any less nervous. Tomoko was currently the one taking her turn and she seemed to be enjoying it too. Kotoko got queasier as the not so angelic girl started describing everything she was touching in minute detail.

"Ah, I feel the heart; it's surprisingly small and squidgy. Oops, I squeezed it too hard, ha-ha, I didn't mean to squirt all that blood out!" Tomoko said this all so cheerfully. Kotoko began to feel a little dizzy.

"Oh so these are what lungs look like?" Tomoko exclaimed. "My, they're so slimy, look at all that mucus! Still it's amazing how they fit into the ribcage so nicely. Wow, the stomach is so much smaller than I thought it would be; it feels quite stretchy though. Hm, kidneys. They don't look to different to the ones in the supermarket..."

That did it. Kotoko felt her mind go black and she fell to the floor. The rest of the class stopped what they were doing, looking at her in surprise. Keita immediately sprang into action.

"Kotoko!" he scooped her up in his arms, yelling at everyone to get out the way as he rushed through the door. He grinned a little as he rushed to the medical office. Hopefully, if everything was going to plan, Marina had done her bit too.

Naoki strode quickly to the medical office. Marina had bumped into him and told him that Kotoko had fainted and that Keita had carried her to the medical office. He had felt alarmed at the news, mostly because Kotoko had fainted and he was worried for her but there was a tiny part of him that was annoyed Keita had been the one to help her.

The door was already opened and he walked in quickly. He stopped abruptly, unprepared for what he saw. His blood began to boil in anger.

Kotoko lay on a bed, oblivious to the world. Keita was leaning over her, too close to her, one hand on her face, staring intently at her face. He moved forward, bending down as if...he was going to kiss her?

"What do you think you're doing?" Naoki demanded.

Keita looked up in 'surprise'. "I wasn't doing anything." Keita said defensively as Naoki strode over. He straightened up, facing the over man.

"You can go back to your practical. I'll look after her." Naoki instructed. Keita narrowed his gaze but said nothing, walking past him. He had almost past the older guy when Naoki spoke up again. "You shouldn't do things like that."

Keita turned slightly, a smirk on his face. "Oh? Kotoko would probably enjoy it. I'm sure she would've appreciated it,"

Naoki regarded Keita coolly. "Huh, what makes you so sure?"

Keita looked at him cockily. "What does it matter to you? You didn't care about her before when she had feelings for you."

"I never said I didn't care," Naoki said through gritted teeth. "I couldn't do anything about it then and now her feelings have changed. Kotoko doesn't love me anymore."

"Humph." Keita slipped his hands into the pockets of his lab coat. He had planned to bait Naoki by saying that he was more considerate to Kotoko than Naoki but in light of this confession...

"You can't take her feelings for granted. If you really want her this time, you'll have to fight for her. Otherwise, someone like me will come along and take her instead." There was a challenge and warning in his eyes, and then Keita inclined his head slightly before leaving Naoki with Kotoko.

Kotoko felt something touch her cheek gently and she stirred, eyes blinking open. The room spun slightly and after a few seconds Kotoko could make out enough to realise where she was. She wondered what it was she felt just now and turned her head slightly to the right.

"Irie-kun!" she exclaimed, shooting up suddenly in surprise when she saw that indeed it was him sitting beside her bed, hand outstretched and she realised that it had been his hand she had felt. "Urgh..." Kotoko held her had in her hands as the dizziness crept up on her again.

She heard Naoki sigh. "Dummy, don't try and sit up so fast." He put a hand on each shoulder and pushed her backwards. "You're still feeling light- headed from when you fainted."

Kotoko blushed at his proximity, cursing her lack of control as Naoki studied her face curiously. The blush only deepened as he brushed her hair back from her face, tucking it behind her ear. The expression on his face was almost tender but that couldn't be right surely?

"Kotoko."

"Hm?"

"Did you love Kinnosuke?" The question was unexpected and Kotoko wondered why he was asking it. Naoki saw her look and explained. "You didn't seem to be that upset when the two of you broke up."

Kotoko was quiet for a while, fingers playing with the edge of the bedcover. "I did love him," she began slowly. "But I wasn't in love with him. I knew that when I accepted his proposal but I thought I would fall in love with him eventually."

"So why did you accept him if you knew you weren't in love with him?" he questioned. "Was it...because of the marriage interview with Chris?"

Kotoko felt her face flush a little bit more and she turned her head away slightly."Partly. It made me realise that despite my feelings, I would never be with you. Kin-chan loved me and he made me happy, he's completely different to you so I thought it would work out between us."

"Peoples' feelings can change," Naoki mused. He was referring to her feelings and how she didn't have feelings for him anymore.

"Yeah," Kotoko agreed, nodding her head slowly. "I really didn't see it coming. I had no idea that Chris and Kin-chan felt like that for each other!" she exclaimed, and Naoki's eyes widened in surprise. "I'm glad though, I can see that those two are well suited for each other."

They sat in companionable silence for a few moments as they mulled over recent events.

"You had me worried when I heard you'd fainted," Naoki murmured as he watched her.

Stupid heart, stop beating so fast, Kotoko thought furiously. "You were worried about me? Why?"

"Idiot," he said, but there was a small smile on his face. "Because I care about you of course."

"You do?" she asked, perplexed.

He looked at her in surprise then. "Of course. How can you not be able to tell that? We've become good friends now haven't we?"

Kotoko smiled. "You are a good friend Irie-kun, I'm glad I know you."

Naoki opened his mouth to say something but someone called his name.

"Irie." They both looked to see a student from Naoki's class standing in the doorway. "Sensei wants you in class."

Naoki frowned, looking back to Kotoko.

"It's fine, I'll be alright," Kotoko said quickly. "I'm fine now, really. You should go to classes."

"If you say so," Naoki said reluctantly. "I'll come see you later." He left, following his classmate. Kotoko closed her eyes with a smile on her face. It was nice knowing that Irie-kun was so concerned about her, even if he wasn't in love with her.

Outside the medical room, Marina and Keita cursed as they watched Naoki leave. "Damn that student, I'm sure Irie was about to confess," Keita ranted.

Marina looked put out too, but then she brightened as she got another idea. "Hey, this could work to our advantage after all. However it looks like you'll need to do your part for a bit longer Keita. Now, here's what you do..."

Setting things right

Well plan A hadn't gone quite according to plan yesterday but at least Naoki had shown some emotions, Motoki mused as he glanced at the rain outside. The nursing gang had managed to persuade Naoki and Kotoko to come with them to a bar after work for a few drinks where they were joined by their fellow conspirators. They all sat round one big table, talking amiably as they worked through their first drink. Naoki sat beside Kotoko, ignoring Keita who sat opposite them. It was time to initiate the hastily concocted plan B. Motoki caught Tomoko's eye and she smiled angelically back at him.

"Say Kotoko-chan." Tomoko began innocently. "I hear that Keita took good care of you yesterday. Is there something going on between you, hm?"

"Yeah..."Marina said with a grin, leaning towards the two. "I heard he walked you home even though he lives on the other side of town."

Kotoko looked flustered. "Wh-what?" she squeaked. "Where did you get thatidea from?" She got even more embarrassed as everyone else tuned into their conversation.

"You do spend a lot of time together," Motoki pointed out. "Alone..."

"Keita's just helping me, that's all!" Kotoko protested. She looked to Keita for assistance in fending of these rumours. Keita smiled wolfishly at her.

"I have to admit Kotoko, I think you're cute. I like you, a lot." he said calmly with no qualms whatsoever.

Kotoko was pretty sure her face had gone red. "Whhaaatt?" She was shocked. Keita...liked her? Really? How could she not have known this?

Keita took a sip of his drink, eyes sliding from Kotoko to Irie's stormy eyes and then back to Kotoko again, the smile on his face growing stronger. "So what do you say Kotoko? Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

The others gasped; Kotoko thought they were as shocked as she was. However if she had looked she would see how entertained they were too. But she didn't see this, her focus was on Keita. Kotoko had no idea what to say to this sudden confession.

"No, she doesn't want you." All heads swivelled to look at Naoki he stood there, glaring at Keita.

"Huh?" Kotoko was confused. "I don't?"

"Because you love me," Naoki stated. Kotoko looked shocked at his answer. Motoki only just refrained from banging his head against the table in exasperation. "Don't you? Yesterday, you never mentioned that your feelings for me had changed. You still love me."

"Why are you so confident?" Kotoko cried.

Naoki just looked at her. "Your feelings for me didn't change even with your engagement to Kinnosuke. They are still the same now. You won't be able to love someone else."

Kotoko trembled slightly, feeling ashamed that he could tell and angry that he was right. "That's right, it's exactly as you say. But what does it matter to you? You don't love me! Maybe Keita wouldbe good for me!" Naoki's eyes flashed dangerously.

"You don't need anyone else except me," Naoki told her. Jinko and Satomi exchanged exasperated looks. Really Naoki? He could try to be a bit more romantic.Ayako looked from him to Takendo beside her, glad she had given up on Naoki a long time ago. Takendo grinned at her, as if he knew what she was thinking.

"No!" Kotoko cried, standing up and knocking over her chair as they all looked at her in shock. Naoki stood up, reaching out to her but she continued, "You're always like this! Every time I try to get over you, you come along and give me false hope. I'm not going to fall for it again!" she turned, running out of the bar before anyone could do or say something.

Naoki stood frozen, unsure what to do.

"Irie you idiot!" That was Kinnosuke's voice, his mind told him numbly. "What are you waiting for? Go after her!"

"This would be the part where you fight for her," Keita remarked dryly.

"Yeah, hurry up," Reiko called. "Now's your chance!" Sudou encouraged.

Naoki didn't look back at them. He ran.

They cheered as he went. They didn't know what would happen but by the end of the night Kotoko would hear how Naoki felt. It was down to the two of them now.

Naoki smiled slightly as he ran out of the bar after her. It was pouring with rain now and he was reminded vaguely of sitting next to Kotoko in the darkened cinema and watching that movie, where the cold hearted guy delivered a passionate confession to the girl Hitomi.

He caught sight of her, his long legs managing to catch up to her quickly. She slipped, falling forwards. Naoki reached out, one arm going over shoulder, the other round her waist and he pulled her towards him.

Kotoko was cold and numb, her clothes were completely soaked but she didn't care. Her hair was probably a complete mess now. Kotoko might look like a wreck but her heart was in even more of a mess. Her flats were no match for the heavy rain pounding against the pavement and with one miscalculated step, Kotoko felt herself falling forwards. She felt an arm wrap across her front over her right shoulder, another grabbed her round the waist and then Kotoko found herself being pulled backwards onto a warm, familiar body. Kotoko trembled as she felt Irie-kun's head rest on her left shoulder. His warm breath tickled her ear.

Gently he turned her around so they were face to face. Naoki gently brushed her wet hair from her face, hands cupping her face.

"I know that my actions haven't been clear in the past. But, know this Kotoko, I love you." His words were bold, firm and he didn't give her a chance to react as he swooped down and kissed her, pouring all his feelings, his passion into this kiss, showing her how much he loved her.

Kotoko's heart was soaring and she felt her knees go a bit weak as she drowned in the passionate kiss.

He loved her.

He loved her!

She felt a euphoria she had not felt in a long time as she kissed him back. Kotoko ached at how right this felt and how much had had wanted have this feeling again.

He LOVED her!

Naoki broke the kiss reluctantly as his need for air became too great to ignore. He held her, clasping her against him and running a hand through her hair, just enjoying the feeling of her being in his arms.

"This is the second time," she murmured into his shoulder, enjoying his warmth in contrast to the cold rain.

"What?" Naoki asked, moving his head slightly as he tried to ascertain what he was talking about. He felt Kotoko smile against him.

"That you kissed me," she said simply. It was his turn to smile then.

"This is the third time, isn't it?"

"Eh?" Kotoko pulled away from him, looking up at him with her adorable confused expression. "What are you talking about?"

Naoki pulled her close to him again so she didn't see his smile grow wider. "Never mind." He kissed her again softly. "You don't have to count anymore."

Kotoko felt her eyes tear up slightly at his words. Irie-kun... She shivered and then realised that it wasn't from how she was feeling. Irie-kun seemed to realise it too and he pulled away from her as if he only just remembered they were standing in the pouring rain.

Kotoko felt a pang of regret as he pulled away, already missing the feel of him. However he grabbed her hand and she looked at him in surprise.

Naoki smiled down at her. "Come on Kotoko, let's go home." She smiled, nodding, and off they went, walking alongside each other contentedly.

As it should be

Ire-kun was still holding onto her hand as they burst into the Irie living room. Everyone was there, and they looked up with a start as the two came barging in, gaping at their soaking wet appearance.

"What happened to you two?" Mama gasped, somehow missing their interlinked hands. "You're soaking wet! I'll go get some towels!" She went bustling off at once but Naoki paid no heed. Naoki walked over with a purpose to where Papa and Shigeo sat.

For a moment Kotoko wondered what was going to happen as she stood clinging to Irie-kun's hand, nobody said anything as Irie-kun regained his breath after rushing to get to this point.

"Oji-san," Naoki said in a no nonsense voice.

"Yes?" Shigeo said, wondering nervously if he was in trouble. "What is it Naoki-kun," Kotoko looked from Irie-kun to her father in confusion. At that point Mama came back in with the towels.

"Please allow me to marry your daughter."

There was a short silence as everyone processed his words. And a bit more as they checked they had heard right. And then...

"WHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAT?" they all cried in surprised. Mama accidentally threw the towels in the air as she clutched her face in astonishment. Yuki had dropped his book, Papa looked confused and Shigeo was gaping like a fish.

"Are you being serious?" Mama yelled.

Naoki turned towards her. "Yes. I've finally realised that Kotoko is the one I want to spend my life with." He turned back again to Kotoko's father.

Shigeo stood up and sighed. "Naoki-kun. She can't do anything right."

"I know," Irie-kun replied, and Kotoko felt her eye twitch. "Not at first. But she gets there eventually." Kotoko smiled at that.

"She's also not very smart." Sadly, still true.

"I know." Sigh. Did he have to say that so bluntly? "But she worked and studied hard to get where she is now." True, but whilst her book smarts had increased, she was still dense, Kotoko thought.

"And she can't cook either."

"I know...that might never change." She cringed at that. True, but she wouldn't stop trying. "But it doesn't matter to me whether she can cook or not."

Her father sighed again. "And she's always making mistakes because she carelessly jumps to conclusions."

"I know," Irie-kun said, and his voice sounded somewhat affectionate. Kotoko gripped his hand harder.

There was a pause before Shigeo spoke up again, and his eyes looked suspiciously moist. "But she's lively, strong- willed, single- minded and adorable."

Kotoko, busy watching her father, missed it as Irie-kun's face broke out into a tender smile. If she had looked, she would've have seen the warm look in his eyes as he replied.

"I know."

Shigeo smiled, happy that Naoki understood Kotoko, and nodded his consent. "Naoki-kun, please take care of Kotoko."

"I will." Naoki said firmly. She felt Irie-kun turn to her and she looked up to him and it was then she saw the tenderness in his eyes, the sight made her blush slightly, especially as she realised that he had not let go of her hand. "Can I, Kotoko?" he asked.

"...Yes," Kotoko managed to stumble out, nodding her head slightly, unable to convey what she was feeling. In her normal state she would have yelled her answer, flinging herself into Irie-kun's arms. But things had happened at such a fast pace she was unsure whether she was dreaming or awake.

She vaguely heard Noriko...Mama screaming in the background about getting a camcorder, and finally having a precious daughter. Her dad and Papa were congratulating each other and bawling about how now they would be proper brothers.

Kotoko's head swam. Was this really happening? Was she dreaming? Why did she feel so dizzy? She wished the room would stop spinning!

She vaguely realised that she was falling, and she heard Yuki-kun yell about her feeling light headed. Kotoko felt two strong arms catch her before she hit the floor, not quite fainting but not quite coherent either.

"I'll take her upstairs," Irie-kun said. "Kotoko is probably feeling overwhelmed by everything that's happened." Mama handed him the towels and he picked Kotoko up and carried her bridal style up the stairs and she blushed a little. Naoki smiled a little as he saw her flushed expression. They went through the door at the top of the stairs and she tugged at him to let her down outside her room but instead he opened the door, walking inside to deposit her on the bed, and then sitting beside her. Grabbing a towel, he started to pat her dry.

She was still blushing as she looked up him, and he was still smiling tenderly. "Do girls usually react like that when they're proposed to?" Irie-kun said teasingly.

"I..I," Kotoko stammered. "It was surprised, that's all!"Are...are you sure this is what you want? Do you really want to marry me?"

He placed his hands on her shoulders and brought her closer. "Of course. Why? Do you not want to marry me?" he said it lightly but she saw the uncertain, apprehensive look in his eyes.

"It's not that," she protested. "It's just like my dad said. I'm stupid, can't do anything right and I'm always causing trouble. There are much more ideal girls out there than me."

Understanding dawned in his eyes and he put his arms around her, pulling her forward into a hug, resting his head on hers. "You may be dense Kotoko but you are not stupid." His hands stroked her soft hair, enjoying the feel of it beneath his fingers. "You can achieve things but sometimes it just takes time. And you do cause trouble but that's ok because it makes life interesting."

Irie-kun pulled away brought his face down to hers so their foreheads were almost together. Kotoko blushed again at the proximity but did not look away from his eyes. "I don't want a girl with the same qualities as me because they can and never will make me feel the way that you make me feel."

Kotoko felt her eyes getting misty. "I love you Irie-kun! I never stopped loving you...even though I tried so hard to!"

His eyes were soft and Kotoko had never seen such a happy expression on him before. "I'm glad you didn't." He kissed her softly, a short sweet kiss that left her lips tingling. "Kotoko, you never have to stop loving me. I love you."

"Irie-kun!" Kotoko exclaimed, giving in to her tears and hugging him once again. They stayed that way for a long while, savouring the feeling of each other and how right this felt. The towels lay on the bed, long forgotten.

Outside their room, Yuki-kun tried in vain to drag his mother and the camcorder away.

The wedding took place two weeks later. Kotoko was surprised with Mama's hasty rush, thinking that Naoki had wanted to wait till after graduation before the wedding. Mama though had insisted that she and everyone else had waited long enough for this moment and she wouldn't risk waiting till later, in case Naoki changed his mind. Besides, why leave a good thing till later?

To the surprise of everyone, Irie-kun agreed with his mother when she had announced her plans. "Not with the fact I might change my mind," he said assuredly to Kotoko. "But I think that I've wasted all this time by not telling you my feelings. There's no one else I will ever want to be with other than you and I want everyone to know that." He had paused for a second, before adding as an afterthought. "However, I would have taken more than two weeks to sort everything out." One look at the extremely overexcited Noriko had told both Naoki and Kotoko that they wouldn't be having much say in the wedding plans anyway. Turns out they were right.

So here she was, standing in a backroom of the church Mama had chosen, staring at her reflection nervously. Kotoko almost didn't recognise herself; she really did seem like a princess at the moment. She had at least got to choose her dress. It was a beautiful strapless white gown with a fitted bodice trimmed with a simple pink ribbon. The skirt was full, with overlays of chiffon and lace. Her hair sat in an elegant bun at the top of her head, the veil fastened to her head with a pale pink bow. In her white glove encased arms lay a bouquet of pink and white flowers.

"Kotoko-chan, you look so beautiful!"

Kotoko turned looked around quickly to see Mama, Papa and Yuki-kun standing in the doorway, all looking at her in awe. Mama looked like she was trying to hold back her tears.

"I'm starting to feel a little nervous." Kotoko admitted. "What if I mess up my vows or something? That might actually happen." Kotoko asked, trying to calm her nerves.

Yuki-kun smirked. "Try not to." He walked over and beckoned her to lean down. "Here, to celebrate your marriage, let me tell you something good." She complied and he whispered in her ear.

Her cry of surprise could be heard by all in the room outside.

She walked with her arms linked with her dad's; taking the journey that she had long ago thought would never happen. They stepped through the door towards the congregation and she was hit by the happy atmosphere. Kotoko, feeling a bit shy, did not look immediately to the altar, instead looking at the guests.

There were her friends, Jinko and Satomi, sitting with their boyfriends Narasaki and Ryo, beaming happily and tears of joy in their eyes. Reiko sat with Sudou, smiling a genuine smile instead of the usual smirk that she directed at Kotoko. Sudou looked as though he were envisaging his own wedding with Reiko. Ayako waved, and Takendo shot her a thumbs up. She recognised Watanabe- san, Irie-kun's classmate from high school, looking as if he had expected this time to come eventually and he was happy it was here. Her classmates sat in an excited huddle, Motoki and Marina smiled and waved whilst checking out the cute guests. Tomoko smiled angelically and Keita gave a soft smile. And there were Kin-chan and Chris sitting close together, their smiles and shining eyes conveying how happy they were for her and that everything has worked out in the end.

Eventually she mustered the courage to look forward and almost gasped when she saw Irie-kun looking at her in open admiration. That he never usually showed his emotions so openly made her feel warm. With a few more steps she and her father reached the altar where he handed her over with tears in his eyes.

Kotoko looked up at Irie-kun and he stared back down at her, his lips curving into a smile. "You look beautiful," he whispered, and she blushed as the priest began talking.

The ceremony went off without a hitch. Kotoko didn't mess up her vows as she feared. The only thing she did wrong (because she would do something wrong) was when she accidentally tried to put the ring on Irie-kun's right hand. He had smirked at her then and told her to stop daydreaming. She resisted the urge to scowl and instead smiled sweetly at him.

"What's with that look?" Irie-kun asked in suspicion.

"Say Irie-kun, you've loved me for a long time, haven't you?" Kotoko asked slyly. "I heard from Yuki-kun, the second kiss was at Romance Village, wasn't it?" He looked surprised and Kotoko chose that moment to swoop up and kiss him passionately. Breaking away, she observed the slight blush on his cheeks.

"Serves you right," Kotoko said with a wicked smile.

She had expected him to scowl and glare at Yuki-kun for revealing his secret but he smiled and leaned closer to her.

"That's right; I have loved you since then." Naoki looked a little wistful just then. "I just wish I hadn't waited so long to tell you." With that, he kissed her again, both of them oblivious to the cheers and catcalls from the guests.

Mama had gone all out with the reception, bringing Naoki and Kotoko down into the hall on a descending platform. Surprisingly Irie-kun hadn't complained and he managed to get in a sneaky kiss before they appeared to the guests. Kotoko spotted her father blubbing in a corner crying over how his baby girl had grown up and happy knowing she was now married to the man she loved.

They all ate and drank happily, Kotoko blanched slightly when she saw the cake that was almost as tall as her. As they ate the cake, Mama started a slideshow of pictures showing the lives of Kotoko and Naoki. Naoki immediately knew it was a bad idea to have let his mother plan the wedding when his cross dressing childhood pictures were shown for all to behold. He cringed as everyone laughed, and Kotoko tried to placate him. Poor Yuki-kun was in shock for the rest of the night.

Naoki forgave his mother however and even thanked her mentally for her stalker tendencies when the slideshow started showing the story of how he and Kotoko had ended up together. Both of them felt nostalgic as moments that had happened years ago were shown again before their eyes and they both relived the emotions that came with those moments.

It started of pictures of them in high school, the two of them studying in Kotoko's room, falling asleep on the desk with their heads side by side and the explanation of how Naoki had helped Kotoko get into the top 100 for her mid- terms. Another one was taken at Water World during summer vacation, Naoki massaging Kotoko's cramped leg after he had saved her. She blushed a bit at that one, not knowing she had been watched. The next was at the sports day event, him falling on Kotoko and then carrying her away. There was the graduation, and the memory of Mama forcing Naoki to have a photo with Kotoko.

Mama appeared to have followed them to college too, and there were pictures of tennis practice and that moment after the doubles tournament when Kotoko sprained her ankle and Naoki helped her home. Kotoko blushed at the pictures of the university fair where she was crowned queen and had picked Naoki as her king, mostly from the reminder of the manga club's Tenisu no Onna/Legend of the Racquet Warrior Kotorin production. She had been flattered that they had chosen her as their focus but at the same time embarrassed by the attention she had gotten.

Then there was the trip to the hot springs and she remembered sitting on the beach with Irie-kun, happy to sit with him in companionable silence. And another trip, this time at his grandmother's inn/ Romance Village, where they had, as she recently discovered, had their second kiss.

There were pictures from her birthdays, one from high school when Kotoko had pulled away from Naoki in shock when he revealed he had seen her in her work outfit when she had worked at Beef Don Stop and another from the time when Naoki had arrived late and taken her upstairs, unbeknownst to everyone who thought something else was going on, to help her study.

There were pictures of Kotoko and Naoki around Papa's workplace, and Naoki admired how cute Kotoko looked in her office wear. She thought that the pictures would stop there but it seemed that Mama had prevailed in her hopes that they would get together and had taken more pictures of them, stalking them on campus when they had eaten lunch together and walked around the medical department together. Kotoko was surprised at how many pictures of that there were, not realising just how much time she and Irie-kun had spent together.

The slideshow ended with a close up picture of the kiss in her room and Kotoko blushed at her private moment being relayed to everyone whilst Naoki sighed again at his mother's stalker tendencies. At the end, everybody cheered and there was a toast from both their fathers. Then, the lights dimmed and Kotoko was led to the dance floor by Irie-kun for their first dance.

As they moved slowly together swaying to music, his arms enclosed her petite waist and her arms resting around his neck, she laid her head on his shoulder and smiled contentedly.

"I can't believe it's been so long," Kotoko murmured to him. "To think, it all started when I gave you that stupid love letter!" She laughed, remembering how embarrassing that moment had been.

Naoki smiled. "I still have it you know. I took it from your room before you moved out at the start of college."

"Eh?" Kotoko looked up at Irie-kun. "Why? I thought you didn't like it."

He pulled her closer. "At the time, I told myself it was to remind me that you were a nuisance. But really it was because I had started to like you and was confused. I had never felt like that about anyone else before."

"At first I disliked the disruption you brought but then I realised you made me experience things I had never experienced before and I began to see that there much, much more to life. You showed me what it was to have a dream."

Naoki continued, "I admired your determination. At graduation, when I kissed you, I told myself it was revenge for you showing that photo to everyone. But actually I did it instinctively, because deep down I did not want you to forget me. Because, if you were determined to, you would forget about me."

Kotoko smiled softly at the memory of that moment. "It's been three years since that first kiss. It seems a long time ago now."

He bent down and kissed her. "I never should have let it been so long. But now, we have all the time in the world to make up those lost kisses." And so he kissed her again.

"Kotoko is incapable of doing 90% of the things that I can do. But, as for the 10% I can't do, she succeeds where no one else could."

Hello Irie- kun, I'm Aihara Kotoko from Class F.

I don't think you know me but I know you very well. You made a very good impression during your speech at the school opening ceremony, and my admiration towards you has continued to carry on for 2 years.

My hope for us to be in the same class is already impossible; therefore I wrote this letter to convey my feelings to you.

I like you Irie- san.

"I don't want it!"

"A person's feelings will change...they may dislike something today, but maybe they'll like that thing tomorrow."