A/N: As usual, I do not own Itakiss. [sigh]
Kotoko completed reading the passage and turned to her boyfriend. "How was that?"
"Very good. With a little more practice, a native English speaker might almost be able to understood you."
"Naoki!" Her mock hit to his shoulder caused her to lose her balance and fall against him on top of her bed. Their eyes, then their lips met, but just as things were beginning to get interesting…
Knock! Knock! "Kotoko-chan! Onii-chan!" Mrs. Irie's voice could be heard in the hall. "I've brought you some study snacks!" Because of the large tray she had to balance, it took her a while to coordinate turning the doorknob. By the time she entered, Kotoko had tugged down her tee-shirt and Naoki had a book propped in his lap.
"Thank you, Obasama!" Kotoko gave her an extra-wide smile of thanks. "It looks so tasty!"
"Yes! This quite takes me back to when you first moved here and Onii-chan was helping you study in high school! I remember how sullen you were, Onii-chan! Shame on you for treating Kotoko-chan so meanly! And now look at you! Don't you regret all the time that you've wasted?"
"Yes, 'regret' is a word that comes to mind," her son mumbled under his breath.
"I'm just so happy that you finally saw the light and are now dating Kotoko-chan. Isn't it romantic?" She clasped her hands together under her chin and raised her eyes to the stars, which were unfortunately blocked by the ceiling.
Kotoko nodded and smiled weakly, her mouth full of sandwich.
As his mother made herself comfortable in the desk chair and continued to reminisce, Naoki gave up on any further privacy and reached for the food.
"…and then Kotoko-chan made me so worried when she said she was renouncing you and began disappearing on us. And it turned out that she was helping those poor awkward young men to be comfortable with women. And as their love began to blossom, so did yours." Mrs. Irie reached out a hand and shook her son's foot. "Onii-chan! Are you listening to me?"
"Mm—what?" He blinked his eyes at her blearily. "Sorry, Mom, I dozed off around the time we graduated high school." He looked at the head resting in his lap. "And Kotoko is down for the count. We'd better leave and let her get some sleep."
"Oh, of course, how thoughtless of me!" she exclaimed as she gathered the dishes and napkins. "But something about that festival where you two confessed to each other in front of the whole campus…"
"Ma! You can watch the recording any time. Let's get out of her room."
"You're right. But what was it…? I saw something that day that I totally forgot in the excitement, but this cool weather is bringing it to mind. Oh, well," she laughed and shrugged. "It will come to me eventually."
"Of that I have no doubt," her son sighed as he tucked Kotoko under the covers and turned out the light.
As usual, the family was fairly quiet during breakfast the next morning. Mr. Irie dug into the eggs, Naoki absently fed himself while reading a newspaper, and Yuuki and Kotoko exchanged funny expressions while eating. Mrs. Irie looked as if her mind was troubled, sighing and gazing far away, sometimes tapping her temple. Finally, as she used both hands to lift the teacup to her face, her eyes focused on the faint cloud of steam.
"I've got it!" she shouted and stood up suddenly, sloshing tea onto the table.
"Mama?" asked Mr. Irie in a concerned tone, "are you all right?"
Naoki lowered the newspaper, and Kotoko had a small coughing fit as a piece of toast caught in her throat. Yuuki seemed torn between showing concern for his mother and making fun of the girl across from him.
"I remember it now! Atami!" As everyone stared at her in perplexity, she sat down and explained. "Last night—what I couldn't recall from the festival."
"Atami?" Kotoko asked. "Swim shoes?"
Naoki turned a laugh into a cough, but Yuuki had no such sensibility. "Baka Kotoko! Atami is an old-fashioned tourist town!"
She put out her bottom lip. "I know that! But I don't know what that has to do with the festival. And why were you even thinking of the festival anyway?" she turned and asked Mrs. Irie in puzzlement.
"I'm afraid that Mom's monologue put you to sleep last night, Kotoko," Naoki explained. "I was the same, but she insisted on waking me."
"Mama!" Mr. Irie's face had an usually blissful expression. "Atami! The springs!"
"Yes!" she replied. She turned to the children. "Your father and I took several 'second honeymoons' there, most memorably on our fifteenth anniversary." She sighed and pressed her palms to her cheeks. "What a romantic trip that was!"
"But what made you think of that, Mama?" asked her husband.
"Papa, I was reliving that wonderful day at the festival in October—"
"Here we go again," muttered Naoki.
"—and I recalled that an overnight trip to Atami was the prize for some contest. That's what brought it to mind."
"So are you planning to go there again?" asked her older son. "For your, what would it be, twenty-fifth anniversary?"
"No, I had a better idea," she exclaimed. "I think the whole family should go!" She looked around at the shocked faces. "Just think of it! Your school holidays are coming up and you won't have anything better to do. Papa can take off work any time; after all he is the owner of the business."
"Uh, Mama…"
"I'm sure that Ai-chan would be able to make it as well, don't you think, honey?" She blinked her eyes at her husband.
He harrumphed a bit and then admitted that it was probably so. "Go ahead and see what you can do, dear. Although it is a little late in the season to be making reservations…"
"Pish-tosh! That little challenge just makes it more fun! And we're not going for a poky little one night trip, I'm planning to make it for several days."
"That sounds great, Obasama, but don't you think this should be just for your family? Otosan and I will be happy to stay here and watch the house and, uh, Chibi," she said. The large St. Bernard, hearing his name, suddenly rolled over on to her feet under the table.
"No, no, Kotoko, you must come as well. This will be so romantic for you and Naoki also!" She stood up and almost danced her dirty dishes into the kitchen.
Kotoko and Naoki's eyes met. "Romantic?" They seemed to say to each other. "With the entire family?"
"And don't worry about Chibi!" Mrs. Irie called from the kitchen. "I'll find a ryoken that will accept pets."
"You don't seem too thrilled about Obasama's idea of a trip, do you?" asked Kotoko that evening.
"It's not that I dislike it exactly," Naoki answered, pulling her closer as they watched the second of three proposed commercials for the Racquet Warrior game on his smart phone, "but she's just indulging herself. She has these grandiose ideas about how things will work out that aren't based on reality—even in the slightest. Despite separate rooms, how romantic is it supposed to be for you and me with the entire family tagging along?"
She giggled. "And let's not forget the family dog! You know I still get nervous when Chibi jumps at me. That's so relaxing—NOT!"
He turned his head to look at her. "Maybe I can do some counter-aversion therapy to help you overcome that."
"Naoki." She poked his chest with a finger. "You're using 'Class A' words again. What's this 'counting' thing?"
"Counter." He rapped her on the forehead. "It means 'opposite.' Aversion therapy is aimed to create negative feelings towards bad habits or situations. Maybe I can create positive feelings in you about being around a large dog."
"I'm not your private guinea pig for psychology class," Kotoko warned.
"Are you sure?" He flipped her onto her back. "Woof! Woof!" he barked and then began nuzzling her neck.
"Stop! Stop! You're tickling me and I can't catch my breath!" she protested as she grabbed his jaws and lifted his head. "I don't think that way is going to work."
"Well, let me try something else," he began as he removed her hands and began to eliminate the distance between their faces.
"Onii-chan!" his mother called outside his door. "I have great news!" As she turned the doorknob, Naoki leaped out of bed and pulled the comforter over Kotoko's head.
"Yes, Mom, what is it?" he asked casually, leaning on the half-height bookshelf that partially hid his bed.
"I just got off the phone with our favorite ryoken in Atami! They managed to switch some reservations around and we are all set for a week from today!"
"What did you do?" he asked sternly.
"Nothing much." Mrs. Irie waved her hand. "I just reminded them of how much your father and I enjoyed spending time there. They were more than happy to make accommodations. Plus, we can take Chibi!"
"Great," he groused. "It's not as if Yuuki and I don't have friends who could stop by and take him for walks."
"It's going to be so wonderful!" she gushed. "They have all-natural springs, with dinner served in the room so we don't even have to change out of our yukatas at night. Then we can visit the historical sites, and play games, and—"
"So how are we getting there? Driving?" he interrupted.
"Papa and Ai-chan will drive down there with Chibi. The rest of us will ride the bullet train later that morning. I was just about to make reservations but first I wanted to tell you and Kotoko the good news." She turned. "I'll just pop into her room."
"Uh, Ma!" he called out. "Kotoko said…that she was tired and was going to make it an early night. Why don't you save it for tomorrow?"
"Oh, that's a great idea!" she beamed. "Even at a young age, she shouldn't neglect her beauty sleep. Goodnight, dear!" She blew a kiss at him.
"'Night, Mom." He let out a deep sigh. "Kotoko, are you still alive under there?"
She threw her arms to her waist and uncovered herself, laughing as she did. "If she had seen me here, do you think she would have stayed and talked forever again?"
He chuckled. "It wouldn't surprise me if she did. I guess we'd better call it a night before Dad and Yuuki decide to drop by."
"Yeah," she agreed, standing up. "After all, I need my beauty sleep."
"Oooh! A romantic trip to a hot springs over the holidays!" Satomi hugged her briefly in congratulation.
"Nice, Kotoko! So I guess you and Irie-kun will finally be getting all lovey-dovey, huh?"winked Jinko.
"Doubtful. The entire family is…"
"Kotoko! What's this I hear about you leaving town with Irie?!" Kinnosuke bellowed.
"Yikes!" Kotoko backpedaled as he advanced on her, fist waving in the air.
"I won't allow it! I'm coming too!" he proclaimed loudly.
Jinko and Satomi grabbed him by the elbows and propelled him quickly out of Kotoko's earshot. "Now, calm down, Kin-chan," Jinko advised. "If you keep chasing Kotoko like that, she's going to start avoiding you."
"W-what?" he sputtered. "That'll never happen! Kotoko and I go way back, all the way back to the beginning of high school!"
"And you don't think we know that? We were there too, baka!" snapped Satomi. "But she never gave you the time of day, even back then."
"Don't you remember? It was 'Irie-kun this', 'Irie-kun that'," reminded Jinko. "And now that they are dating—"
"I never gave them my blessing! It was a big mistake for her to—"
Satomi and Jinko smacked him simultaneously. "What makes you think they need your blessing? And what even makes you think that they'd care how you feel?"
"But… but I could take better care of her! When she was being seduced by those—those Anime Animals, he didn't even notice! I had to tell him again and again before he would help me—"
For his explanation he was swatted again.
"Um, guys?" Kotoko held up a hand in inquiry.
"Never mind us, Kotoko!" Satomi snapped.
"Yeah, we just need to catch this idiot up to speed," added Jinko.
"Okay." Kotoko's voice trailed off, and she rocked on her heels and decided to look over the campus landscape a little longer.
"There was no problem with the Anime Club," Satomi hissed in his ear. "The problem was with your brain!"
"All you did was interrupt a perfectly normal modeling session, which is part of Kotoko's job in promoting the video game!"
"Yes, and you embarrassed Irie-kun and Dylan-san too!"
"Erggh!" Kinnosuke covered his mouth with the back of his hand. "Don't mention that name to me!"
"Wait a minute." Satomi suddenly struck a thoughtful pose. "Of course, all that hubbub did force Kotoko to confess what she was hiding…"
"Right," Jinko agreed. "And they've been even more kissy-huggy since then. Okay!" She slapped Kinnosuke on the back heartily. "Since your plots always seem to backfire and instead help their relationship, go ahead and interfere!"
"Wh-wh-what?!" he sputtered.
"Right, Kin-chan," Satomi purred in his ear. "The more you chase after her and try to cause trouble, the closer they get. If you really want to have Kotoko look at you when this relationship fails, then you need to back off and give them some space."
"They're such opposites, who knows how long it will last?" prodded Jinko.
Kinnosuke appeared deep in thought. "So, if I want to look like good boyfriend material to Kotoko, then I need to stay away from her?" He shook his head. "That doesn't make sense."
"But Kin-chan," Jinko reminded him, "sticking to her like glue never helped either, did it?"
"You really have no idea how a woman's heart works, do you?" asked Satomi, almost maliciously.
"So…I stay away from her? That's all?"
"And for the love of the gods, don't go to Atami!" They shook him ferociously.
"Ri-right, st-stay away…" he agreed. He turned suddenly and waved violently. "Have a nice holiday, Kotoko!" Then he stumbled toward the cafeteria building, muttering, "Doesn't make sense, but they're Kotoko's best friends…"
Jinko and Satomi rubbed their hands together in celebration of a job well done. "Yo, Kotoko!" Jinko called. "I hope you appreciate what we've done for you."
"Right," added Satomi. "Take full advantage of this trip to make our efforts worthwhile."
"Well, I'm not sure what you're talking about, but okay," she responded.
