Disclaimer: Itazura na Kiss is not mine.

Setting: Months have passed since Irie proposed to Christine. Kinnosuke and Kotoko are dating, not engaged.

Chocolate

"Isn't this great!" shouted Jinko through the loud blare of techno music blasting through the speakers. Kotoko grimaced and placed her hands on her ears, unaccustomed to listening to loud music. Satomi, she noticed from across the room, began to jump with the others in the living room as the music began to beat in a fast rhythm along with the strobe light.

Like a movie reel in slow motion, everyone began to jump to one side, then flick darkness governed the room for less than second as the light came back, illuminating the party-goers in a different angle. She watched the dance floor for a few seconds, noticing Satomi raising her arm and then flash, green and red were flickering over her body as her arm began to descend.

She then saw Jinko jumping beside her in glee.

Kotoko still couldn't understand how they managed to convince Mrs. Irie to throw a Halloween party at their house. Then again all they had to say was the magic word which was her name joining with Irie's to save a possible marriage between the two. Even though Christine Robbins was Irie's fiancée his mother heavily believed that there was a chance for Kotoko to win her son's heart.

Kotoko doubted it.

As of now, she had her own problems to deal with than a one-sided love.

It's only been a couple of months since Irie announced his engagement with Christine. Like her own relationship, she felt as if it were like an eternity since Kinnosuke asked her out. Kinnosuke was a good man but he was not Irie.

He was the imperfection, the faulty person, a resemblance of herself. He was nothing compared to the immaculate man who captured her heart. Her marriage with Kinnosuke, since he began hinting about the possibility, would be a sad one.

Those troublesome thoughts needed to fade away.

She didn't want to think about her future proposal with Kinnosuke—even if she was miserable being with him. She didn't even want to think that her only excuse of dating him was to forget about Irie. No, she was not using Kinnosuke and abusing his feelings. She really did love him, although more sensitively as a friend, not a lover.

Kotoko looked toward the dance floor to where Christine laid.

The red light splashed over her beautiful face before the blue light flickered on her. She smiled and moved her hips to the beat of the music. And dancing in front of her was not Irie but Kinnosuke. He bounced to the music before he twirled Christine. Her white dress rose and rippled in waves. He leaned her back as he looked into the eyes of the beautiful Marilyn Monroe copycat.

His eyes then met with Kotoko's from across the room; although, she imagined the flickering lights were simply playing tricks with her vision.

Kotoko lowered her hands from ears and looked toward her friend, Jinko. Dressed as a bloody nurse, she had droplets of fake blood across her face. She had someone detailed her face with spiderlike veins to make her seem more ghoulish and pale. Her eyes smeared with black eye-shadow made her red lips stand out.

Kotoko mentally applauded whoever did her makeup. They certainly did a fantastic job.

"Hey!" Jinko shouted. "I'm heading toward the dance floor! Wanna come, beautiful fairy?"

Kotoko blushed at her comment.

Dabbed on her skin the glitter sparkled against the flashing lights. Her bodice fairy costume hung low around her thighs as the wings rested against her back, the straps digging into her shoulders. With her red locks tied in a high ponytail, and light makeup used on her face, she certainly felt dolled up.

"No! I rather stay here!" she shouted back through the loud music in the background.

"Suit yourself!" Jinko then hopped down from the stairs and plunged through the crowd toward Satomi.

Left alone, she leaned against the wall and stared at the front entrance. Mrs. Irie took her family and her father out for a mini-adventure as she described it. The house was entirely for her and Irie to enjoy; although, it seemed that the house was solely meant for her. She looked up the stairs and noticed the clear darkness at the corner.

She wondered what Irie was possibly doing up there.

"Oi, Kotoko!"

She turned her head toward the voice. Kinnosuke beckoned her away from the stairs. She sidestepped around a couple heavily making out and hopped over a shoe missing from somebody's foot. How did somebody not notice that they were missing a shoe—she did not know. The music began to pick up again as a moment of silence invaded the room before a rising tempo of the beat began to take over.

Kinnosuke smiled and spun on his heel. His garment consisted of a sparkling red button-up shirt tucked in a white flare pant, giving him that 70's disco vibe he wanted to meet. He leaned close to her, almost a breath away. She smelt the aroma of his cologne sprayed on his clothes. It was an enchanting smell, better than her daisy perfume she bought from the store.

"Dance with me?" he insisted. He offered her his sweaty palm and motioned his head toward the dance floor. She forced a smile and shook her head.

"I don't feel like dancing!" she refused gently. "I have a headache!"

He curled his fingers and pulled his stretching hand away from her. Sadden by her refusal, he pressed his lips tightly together and looked toward the dance floor, noticing the happy expressions everyone was displaying. Through the heavy crowd, Christine slithered through and stumbled toward them. Kinnosuke grabbed her by the arm, saving her from a nasty fall.

In the darkness, Kotoko couldn't see that well. But as the lights flickered, she thought she saw Christine bite her bottom lip nervously. It was hard to tell if she was blushing or not. Nevertheless, Kotoko clearly heard her yell thanks.

Christine straightened out her dress and broke into a grin. "Are you going to dance?" she asked Kotoko excitedly.

"No!" She glanced between her two friends. "Why don't you dance with Kinnosuke again? He wants to dance!"

Christine uneasily looked at Kinnosuke.

"You… want to dance a bit more?" He glanced between the two women. Christine wrung her hands, anticipating his response eagerly. Kotoko envied her somewhat friend. It was very noticeable that she was having a blast.

"Sure!" Kinnosuke gave in. After all, Kotoko insisted he have fun. He pulled Christine to the dance floor—until he looked behind, waiting for Kotoko to change her mind and join him among the sweaty crowd. But when he turned his head to focus on his dance partner, he knew that she wasn't going to budge from her spot, not even at his request.

Leaning against the wall, she pressed a hand against her forehead. Her head throbbed as she tried to massage the headache away. It only increased when the music began to drill into her ear, making her grimace. She really wasn't a party person as the others.

She could handle a few drinks and goofing around, but partying wasn't her type of thing really. Bodies pressing against each other, as a few rubbed their hips together, she pulled away from the dance floor.

In a glass, candy-filled bowl left in the kitchen, she grabbed a Hershey bar and ripped a side of the wrapper. The sweet taste of chocolate melted in her mouth. She licked her lips, devouring every single drop. She took another bite; some of the chocolate smeared on her lips.

Walking back into the living room, she pushed past the sweaty bodies and made her way toward the stairs. The living room, barren of couches and the coffee table, was an open space taken by a group of people and the DJ. There wasn't a large crowd; mostly fifty people—and counting—arrived to the house. Some took the kitchen and chatted. Others were drinking outside in the background, playing some sort of game; while the rest danced in the living room, as their bodies swayed, moving to the rhythm of the music.

Kotoko still couldn't believe that Mrs. Irie allowed them to throw a party. It made her wonder how much Mrs. Irie truly believed that Jinko and Satomi were planning to get Irie and Kotoko together.

Finishing the last piece of her bar, she placed the wrapper in her hand, promising herself that she'll throw it away in the trash, and not on the ground as the rest did. As she examined the area around her, she noticed with despair that the house was a mess.

Garbage littered the ground. Plastic cups were found scattered around; a few spilled across the floor. Her friends promised to help cleanup afterwards, but she doubted it when they'll be too tired to do anything.

The strobe light began to flicker. Again everything seemed to move slowly. Where the stairs lay she thought she saw a figure descend. It must've been her imagination when she saw nothing there.

There were a few hollers coming from the dance floor. It distracted her away from the stairs, toward the party-goers whom were cupping their hands around their mouths, howling, "Go! Go! Go!" to a man making a few moves, aweing the audience with his dance.

The lights began to fade in and out. The man, she could hardly tell who it was, popped out his chest and robotically twisted to the left. Everyone kept roaring with excitement, hardly aware of anything around them. Their focus was captured by a man who knew how to dance professionally.

She then turned her head away from the audience toward the stairs. And without ever realizing it, someone stood in front of her, wearing a black masquerade mask. She tried to lean back to better look at him. However, he never gave her the chance when he placed his hands on her cheeks and dove for a kiss.

The wrapper in her hand slipped and landed somewhere on the ground. He wiped the chocolate away from her lips and grazed her bottom lip with his teeth. Opening her mouth to speak, he took the opportunity to invade inside and sweep his tongue against hers. It only took a few seconds, which in those few seconds she should've acted and pushed him away.

She wondered why she didn't.

He pulled away from her mouth, taking a breath.

Kotoko stared at him, mouth agape, realizing at that moment how much she had participated in the kiss. Was she a horrible person to respond to a stranger's kiss when her boyfriend was nearby? Yes, she really was.

But before she'd the chance to regain her composure, he leaned away and took a few steps back, putting some distance between them. She wanted to chase after him; to hit him for taking advantage of her shock state. And she would've gone after him if her friend, Jinko, did not appear at the exact moment she was about to chase him down.

"Why aren't you on the dance floor?"

Kotoko ignored the question and turned her attention toward the stranger. Then, with striking realization, she cursed her luck when she noticed that the man was nowhere in sight. All she remembered seeing was his black masquerade mask and matched black clothing. She glanced around the room, hoping for a sign to see him.

Jinko distracted her when she said, "Kotoko, something wrong?"

She easily grumbled, "No."

xx

Two-thirty in the morning and Kotoko was tired.

Jinko and Satomi held their end of their deal and helped cleaned up the house when the party ended at twelve. It would've kept on going, probably at three in the morning, but knowing Irie, she would've received his cold treatment for keeping him up when he'd other important things to do in the morning. No, she rather end the party early and head to sleep.

Originally she was going to leave the mess until the afternoon, but then again, knowing Irie she really did not want deal with his cold attitude in the morning, demanding that she clean up immediately. She was planning to sleep in after all. There was no need for him to wake her up. Nah, she rather preferred cleaning up immediately than regretting it later.

She walked up the stairs and placed a hand on the rail for support. She could barely keep her eyes open. Exhaustion never hit her as bad as it did tonight. Just a couple more steps. That's all she needed to get to her room and get in her bed. Then she realized with a groan that she had to shower.

Forget it. She'll do it in the morning. She was just too tired to do anything. It was already a struggle to get to her room.

Passing by Yuuki's room, which was being shared with his older brother, she glanced at the door and noticed that it was open a bit. She halted in her steps and knocked on the door.

Sometimes it was best to ignore her curiosity. But when it came to Irie, Kotoko could not stop from wondering what he was possibly doing, especially at this hour.

"Irie," she called.

No answer.

She pushed the door open, revealing an empty room without an owner. She stepped in and took in the empty bed. The sheets were smoothed out, not a wrinkle in sight. It was clearly unused. She then noticed the most contrasting object in the room. A black masquerade mask...

"What are you doing?"

Kotoko whipped her head to face Irie.

He stood by the door, drying his hair with a white towel.

"You took a shower at this time?"

He stopped in his actions. "Would you prefer I take a shower while the party is going on?"

"No…?"

He sighed. "I simply did not want to leave the responsibility entirely on you." He then added, "There were people up here looking for an empty bedroom."

"Oh!" she blushed. "I should've been more vigilant."

"Yes," he said, "you should have."

He stepped in.

"Do you mind?"

She blinked at him, uncomprehending.

He pointed at the door.

"Oh…" She moved her feet but stopped and looked back at him. "Irie…"

He slammed the door on her face before she had the chance to question the possibility—the possibility that he, Irie Naoki, was the one who stole a kiss from her tonight. Kotoko looked at the door and placed her fingertips on the solid wood. On the other side was a man she loved with all her heart, a man that was making it impossible for her to forget about. She leaned forward and rested her forehead against the door, whispering, "Why are you doing this to me," as if she expected the answer to come from the voice from behind the door.

Kotoko pulled away and retreated to her room, thinking, I need to be strong. I cannot let a kiss stop me from what I must do. And that is to let him go.

But—

She stopped from entering her room and glanced down the hallway. His bedroom door remained closed, not that she was expecting for it to open.

—But no matter how much I try I can't stop from loving him.

Kotoko entered her room at last.

Notes: I wrote this one-shot a few months ago. I do apologize for the lack of updates for my other stories. To be perfectly honest, I lost my inspiration in writing. It's really hard for me to get back into the writing world at the moment.

Thank you for reading and take care!