Summary: Kotoko decides that maybe it is better to experience being loved than never being loved at all and decides to give the more obvious Prince Charming a chance.

Another new fic idea, again based in the manga verse since sadly Takendo only exists there. Based on the chapter where Takendo asks Kotoko out and she agrees to make Naoki jealous.

Hope you enjoy it and as always would love to here your suggestions and thoughts :)

A Different Choice

Kotoko had never felt more ashamed of herself as she did at that moment. Why had she stooped so low as to purposely arrange to meet Takendo for their date at the diner where she and Irie-kun worked, and at a time when she knew for certain that Irie-kun would be working? Honestly what had she been expecting? For Irie-kun to get jealous? Who did she think she was kidding? Just herself apparently.

***Flashback***

The day Takendo had asked her out Kotoko had been shocked and flattered but had turned him down without hesitation. He had persisted however and asked her to think it over and give him a reply the next day.

That night at home she had casually dropped into the conversation at dinner that a guy had asked her out. She had been disappointed by the lack of reaction in Irie-kun, although what he had lacked in reaction was more than made up by the hysterics of Noriko. The older woman had been hysterical until Kotoko had quietly assured her later on in public that she intended to refuse Takendo.

Immediately Oba-sama had done a complete 180 and told Kotoko that she absolutely had to go out with Takendo to make Irie-kun jealous. Kotoko had protested, thinking it was wrong although she admitted to herself that Oba-sama's persistent persuasion was tempting since she too wanted to see how Irie-kun would react. Although to be honest there was a large part of herself that was very intrigued by Takendo Nakagawa.

Kotoko had intended to reject him again gently, letting him know that she couldn't go out with him because she couldn't give up on Irie-kun. Despite pressure from Oba-sama to date Takendo just to make her son jealous Kotoko refused to do so out of principle because she was just not that sort of person.

But then she had to go and throw all her principles out of the window the very next day when Irie-kun had shown up to tennis practice and once again humiliated her so that when Takendo had miraculously appeared out of the blue she had agreed to a date with him there and then mostly, she was ashamed to recall, to spite Irie-kun.

***Flashback End***

So now here she sat in Donny's Diner, feeling guilty for agreeing to the date and even guiltier for leading Takendo on and bringing him to parade in front of Irie-kun. It was this feeling that overshadowed any guilt that she might feel for 'betraying' Irie-kun.

She should've known from Irie-kun's earlier reactions that he wouldn't care if he saw her with Takendo. So in the end it was only herself and an innocent guy who got hurt when Irie-kun dismissively took their orders. A feeling of self loathing rose within her when she had caught the brief, hurt look in Takendo's eyes when he arrived with a smile that fell at once when he saw that Kotoko had chosen to come to a place where his rival worked.

***Flashback***

Kotoko had dressed up for the occasion in a sleeveless black, flared sundress with white polka dots only she wasn't quite sure who she had dressed up for, Takendo or Irie-kun. Kotoko shook her head to clear those thoughts and strengthen her resolve.

Just then Irie-kun himself came over. "Oi, what are you doing sitting there as a customer?" he demanded.

"I'm not working today," Kotoko replied. He frowned back.

"Then what are you doing here? Couldn't keep away from me even for one day?" Irie-kun said with a smirk.

Kotoko felt her eyebrow twitch in annoyance, especially when his smirk only increased as she didn't deny it. They both knew she would be lying if she did.

"I'm waiting for someone," Kotoko said imperiously.

Takendo made his appearance then, dressed handsomely in a fitted black shirt and dark blue jeans. His smile as he caught sight of her faltered as he saw Irie-kun standing beside her. He recovered it though and made his way over to her table.

"Ah, sorry I'm late," Takendo said, sliding into the seat opposite her. If Irie-kun was surprised to see him then he didn't show it.

"It's okay, I just got here myself," Kotoko assured him, at once feeling horrible for this selfish scheme of hers.

Irie-kun had smiled that fake smile of his, the one he wore when he would rather be someplace else (anywhere but near her), and asked if they wanted anything to drink. Kotoko quietly ordered an iced tea whilst Takendo ordered an iced coffee. Kotoko didn't need to watch to know that Irie didn't spare them a backward glance as he walked away but she looked anyway and was once again disappointed.

***Flashback end***

She looked back up to see Takendo watching her. He smiled at her kindly and Kotoko wanted to cry.

"I'm happy that you agreed to this date today," Takendo said. His smile was so gentle and his voice was sincere, as if he had not just watched her watching her unrequited love walk away. "Where do you want to go? I have a car."

"You have a driver's license?" Kotoko asked; glad to make small talk with him.

Takendo nodded. "Yeah, you can take the test when you're just 18."

Kotoko hummed in reply. "Actually I'm not sure where to go. I'm totally inexperienced in these things." In truth she hadn't planned anything; a large part of her hoped that Irie-kun would swoop down and sweep her off her feet with a declaration of love.

"You've never been on a date before?" Takendo seemed very surprised about this.

Kotoko flushed in embarrassment. "Nonsense, who says I haven't?" she said defensively.

Takendo looked at her thoughtfully. "With Irie?"

"...Yes." Kotoko replied. If you call that a date, she thought as she remembered what had happened after she had followed him on his date with Matsumoto. However even she was not convinced by the strength of her answer. Takendo smiled as if he knew what was going through her mind.

"Ah, we can't have that. Life is short; we should enjoy it to the fullest. Just count on me, I'll make sure you have a good time." He sounded so enthusiastic that Kotoko could not help but smile back at him.

"Since the day is still young we could go to the theme park first. I heard that there is a new rollercoaster there," Takendo suggested.

"Sorry for the wait." Irie-kun had returned with their drinks. This is where Kotoko did something stupid yet again.

"So Takendo we're going to the theme park? That will be fun. Which one is it?" She asked casually.

"The one on Lotus Hill,"

"Oh Lotus Hill?" Kotoko clarified, just to make sure that Irie-kun heard it.

"Enjoy your drinks." Irie-kun said curtly and walked away. Kotoko flushed as she realised she had very blatantly and obviously tried to make Irie-kun jealous again.

Takendo was watching her still, this time contemplatively. "Kotoko, how long have you been interested in Irie?"

"Er...for about four years now," Kotoko mumbled quietly, too ashamed to look into his eyes.

"Since high school," Takendo murmured. "Ah, so I'll have a long battle then."

"Huh?" she looked up at him then in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Takendo grinned. "The past four years you've only been interested in one person and I realise that you can't stop liking someone just like that." He leaned forward. "If you're willing to hang out with me today and take notice of me, I'll be very happy."

She looked at him then, really looked at him. Takendo was extremely handsome, she had noted it subconsciously but now she really took it in. His gently tousled hair was an interesting shade of almost blonde brown and his earnest, kind brown eyes looked at her as always with an expressive emotion. This guy, even though he knew her feelings still wanted to take the time to hang out with her.

Kotoko nodded slowly. "Okay." It was the least she could do anyway to make up for her behaviour.

They finished their drinks and left. She let him take her to the theme park, let him try and win prizes for her, sat next to him on the Ferris wheel and rode roller coasters beside him until she felt sick.

Kotoko, when she did feel like she was going to be sick, let Takendo manoeuvre her to a bench. He sat her down and left with the promise of bringing back drinks. When he left Kotoko sat and marvelled at how much fun she actually had.

When she thought about it, apart from Irie-kun and Kin-chan she had never properly interacted with another guy before. Was that another result of being so obsessed with Irie-kun?

Takendo ambled back with the drinks. "Here, lemon soda. Have a cold drink; it might make you feel better."

Kotoko took the can and swallowed a grateful sip. As the cold sugary liquid ran down her throat she contemplated a time when Irie-kun had ever been as considerate of her. Her mind came up blank. Sure there had been times when he had helped her but that had been more out of obligation or blackmail.

"Are you alright?" Takendo sat down besides her frowning slightly. "Are you feeling unwell?"

"Umm no, I'm fine," Kotoko assured him. She hesitated. "In truth, I've had a really great time. The most fun I've had in a long time in fact. Now I'm feeling confused."

Takendo smiled. "Well to be honest, that's a good sign, for me anyway. It shows that you're not completely adverse to me." He put down his soda can and looked at her intently. "So what do you say? Do you think you could consider someone like me as your boyfriend? You don't have to answer that right now, take as much time as you need. If you really are sure that it won't work out between us then I will say nothing more on the subject and we'll just be friends." His expression was kind and sincere as he looked into her eyes intently, making Kotoko blush.

This guy, she thought, was the epitome of Prince Charming. He was chivalrous and considerate, handsome and smart. There was nothing yet she found to dislike about him. She had heard from Ayako how he was as smart as Irie-kun too. He was persistent in pursuing her but nowhere as smothering as Kin-chan. Takendo actually listened to and respected her wishes.

Neither Irie-kun nor Kin-chan did that. One looked down on her and the other just made decisions for her.

Kotoko's motto was to never give up on true love but her love was extremely one sided so how could that count as true love? She had liked Irie-kun for four years and he had been aware of her feeling for two years but nothing had changed between them. Takendo was right, life was too short so did so did she really want to waste more of her time chasing after Irie-kun?

What if Irie-kun never returned her feelings and she had wasted the only opportunity she had to have a boyfriend like Takendo? It wasn't often that boys showed interest in her after all. She remembered her earlier thoughts of how she had never really talked to any other guys apart from Irie-kun and Kin-chan. How did she know that Irie-kun was the right one for her after all when she had talked to so few guys? In fact, why had she been so certain that Irie-kun was the one for her even before she had spoken to him?

Kotoko related these jumbled thoughts to her companion. He listened to her without judgement, he didn't criticise her or say anything bad about Irie-kun to make himself look better, like Kin-chan often did.

"Why don't you try it?" Takendo suggested.

"Eh? Try what?" Kotoko asked in confusion.

"Try dating me to see what it's like being with someone other than Irie," Takendo suggested. "That way you'll know for sure whether you can like only Irie. You'll never know if you don't try it. And like I said, if you feel like it won't work then we can just be friends."

"But what about how you feel?" Kotoko protested. "Isn't it unfair to you if I say yes but you know I like Irie-kun?"

Takendo grinned again. "Well I asked you out twice knowing full well what your feelings were. But if you did say yes to dating me and later you change your mind well...I'm sure I'll treasure the memories of the time we spent together. I'm happy with even this chance to be with you. And if you say no at least I'll know I tried my best."

She felt the heat rise to her cheeks. Nobody had ever said such things to her, ever. It was such a new feeling to be wanted by such a guy like Takendo.

Takendo leaned back, shielding his eyes as he looked at the sunny sky. "I reckon that you've focused your attention the past few years on Irie, doing things just because he did them too." Kotoko blushed but couldn't deny that statement.

"Haven't you ever wanted to try something just for your sake rather than his? Find something that makes you happy?" Takendo questioned. "It's a big, wide world out there with lots to do and see. Would you rather spend the rest of your time in an unrequited love without seeing what else the world has to offer?"

Kotoko felt her inner turmoil rise as new thoughts and ideas ignited in her mind. It was true; she had wasted her high school years and her first year of college chasing after Irie-kun. She had accidently joined the mange club only because she had chased after him to find out where he was going. Then she joined the tennis club because he had too. But did she actually enjoy it?

Did she actually enjoy the harsh training that Sudou-sempai only seemed to inflict on her alone and the ritual humiliation that Reiko, Ayako and Irie-kun threw at her? Did she even have friends in the tennis club? Heck, they all knew she was a terrible player and she knew they considered her more as entertainment than an aspiring player. Did she really want to endure all that just for the chance to be in the company of a guy who constantly showed how little he actually cared for her?

"It's scary." Kotoko said quietly. "That I've never considered anything else other than being with Irie-kun. I don't think of it as not being possible. But the truth is he hardly pays attention to me and I may have wasted the past four years of my life doing things just so I can see his face."

"Did you know that there are nearly a hundred societies at college, forty seven of them being sports clubs?" Takendo asked suddenly.

Kotoko looked at him with a jolt of shock. He was still looking at the sky. "Really? I never knew that!" She didn't. Her criteria in joining societies had been to join whatever activities Irie-kun did. "There's really that many?"

"Hm, yeah. I make it my aim to try as many of them as I possibly can. That way I'll be sure to find something I really enjoy. I want to live my life no regrets, knowing I tried as many options that I could."

Kotoko wrapped her hands around her now empty soda can. "That sounds fun. Exciting and adventurous. I've never done anything like that before."

"It's never too late to try," Takendo stated. "And if you ever wanted a companion to go on a crazy adventure than I would be more than happy to be by your side."

Once again his words made her cheeks burn. This date had been one big enlightenment for her. If Kotoko had to describe her achievements to date, what would people think of her? That she was a crazy stalker who needed to be locked up most likely. What had she done to better herself, what had she done because she enjoyed it? Kotoko honestly didn't know.

One hand let go of the soda can which had grown warm in her grip. She reached out tentatively and placed her hand on top of Takendo's. He looked at her in surprise; creating a nice silhouette against the sunrays as his eyes bore into hers, hope in his eyes. Kotoko didn't move her hand.

"You know you're right, life is an adventure which I should be exploring to the fullest. And, if you were to be by my side, I would be more than honoured." Kotoko blushed a little as she said this, even more so when Takendo's face burst into a beaming, radiant smile. "Like you said, I'll never know until I try, right?"

She thought of her shameful actions from earlier. Would she really give up a chance at happiness to become someone who did such selfish things just for a smidgen of Irie-kun's attention? There was a genuine Prince Charming sitting right next to her who wanted to give her his love. She would be a fool to spurn him for the one in a million chance that Irie-kun might love her back.

He squeezed her hand gently in reply and they spent a while sitting side by side in the sun. Kotoko wasn't sure if it was possible to get over Irie-kun but Takendo was offering to help her try. Not only that he was offering her the chance to experience having someone who really liked her for being her.

After all, it was better to have loved and lost than never been loved at all. And at the rate things were going with Irie-kun, Kotoko doubted he would ever love her. So she would take this chance to be happy and see where it took her because in the end love didn't just happen because you wanted it to.