Remnants
Author's Note: This story was originally intended to be a one-shot fic, but I decided to add one more chapter as a special gift. I hope you'll like it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Itazura na Kiss.
The curtains fluttered in the breeze as the sun's pale orange rays peeked through. It was a new day. The downpour the previous day had lasted the whole night. Although the morning still remained gloomy, the buildings and vehicles that lined the streets glistened as the light reflected off the water droplets on their surface.
The alarm clock in the bedroom rang incessantly, rousing Kotoko from her sleep. Although her head was still hazy, her hands instinctively searched for the annoying object before finally hitting the snooze button. She groaned, thinking she had to get ready for work, but then remembered that she had taken a few days off after learning of the news about Naoki.
Strange, she thought. She could not recall falling asleep. The last thing she remembered was enjoying a long conversation with Naoki. Slowly, she gathered her strength to lift her head off the pillow, revealing traces of wet stains that had almost dried up. As Kotoko stared at her pillow, then turned to notice the empty room, realization dawned on her and her cheeks began to redden and her eyes became puffy.
Kotoko slipped out of the bed and headed towards the dresser table. Her hands found the framed picture mama had taken for them years before. Naoki had a mischievous look on his face, seemingly mocking her.
"Baka (idiot)," Kotoko muttered under her breath.
"Mama shouldn't say bad words," a tiny voice piped in, jolting Kotoko back to reality.
Wiping away her tears quickly, Kotoko swiveled around to see Kotomi's beaming face, which held the same gleam of mischief in her eyes. Without waiting for a response, Kotomi leapt off the bed and skipped out of the room, a stuffed teddy bear dangling from her tiny fingers. Kotoko was somewhat jealous of her daughter's innocent bliss, yet worried over how long she could keep the truth from her.
Before Kotomi was out of earshot, the little girl cheerily added, "I can't wait to see papa again!"
That afternoon, Kotoko wandered aimlessly about the empty house, packing and tidying messes that occasionally popped up out of nowhere. She was thankful that papa and Naoki's parents had offered to take care of Kotomi, leaving her with some time to herself.
As she walked past a large oak bookshelf, a familiar Math book caught her eye. It was Naoki's math book from high school, the one she had been so skilled at "borrowing" from Naoki. A small chuckle escaped from her lips, catching her by surprise.
Just then, Kotoko spotted a black leather book, waiting in the shadows behind the math book, which would have easily been missed to the untrained eye. Curious about the secrets lurking within its pages, she flipped what she assumed to be Naoki's diary open.
There sitting at the top-right corner of the first page were two words in a recognizable handwriting, "Caught you."