"Kotoko, what are you concentrating on so hard?" Naoki laid a hand on her shoulder as she looked from a binder to the computer screen.
"Huh? Oh, I'm trying to decipher some of these medical notes here." She grinned up at him, bangs flying every which way after she had shoved them back numerous times in frustration.
"Medical?" He blinked in surprise. "Don't tell me that you're planning to be a doctor."
"Not when I can only understand one in four words," she muttered back. "No, I'm trying to figure out what's wrong with Shit-kun's knee."
"Oh, the soccer player." He held out a hand. "May I?"
She handed it to him silently and watched him scan it. Few people besides herself could have read the slight muscle movements in his face which revealed comprehension.
"It looks like he had a bad collision with another player—and the goal—which resulted in a torn meniscus as well as strained ligaments. In other words, he tore some of the padding and stretched out what's holding it together. Arthroscopic—uh, miniature camera—surgery was successful," he turned a page, "and the outlook is good for full recovery."
"Enough to play soccer professionally?" Kotoko's face turned up to his anxiously.
He flipped several more pages then answered, "That's up to how well the follow-up therapy proceeds. Now," he closed the book and handed it back to her, "why do you have the therapist's notebook and what does his recovery have to do with you?"
Kotoko's mouth twisted. "Shit-kun doesn't have a designated therapist, and the soccer team manager that had been helping him left the country."
"I thought the professional team would have taken care of that."
She sighed. "Since he never got the chance to actually play for them, they claim they have no obligation to finance his recovery. He has a window of time to prove that he is physically qualified, and then they may or may not accept him."
"That bites. But it doesn't answer my question. Why you?"
"Well," she rubbed the back of her neck, "he called a Shinshuu Emergency."
"A Shinsh—wait, that was the name of the restaurant in that old picture of yours."
"Good memory, Naoki!"
"Eidetic. So this emergency has something to do with your elementary school gang?"
"Yes. It's sort of a drop-everything-and-help kind of thing." Seeing him frown slightly, Kotoko hastened to add, "But I told him that I wasn't going to do it if I didn't think I'd do a good job." She stared at the cover of the notebook in her lap.
"There are a lot of other people better qualified to help him on campus," Naoki commented. "No offense to you," he shook his finger at the flash of temper in her eyes, "but I wonder why he didn't advertise in the medical or physical education departments."
"Pride, I bet." She tossed the notebook onto the desk and rose. "He doesn't mind showing weakness in front of me, but heaven forbid his harem discover that he screams in pain."
"Does he?" His eyes lit up.
"I had to pull a splinter out of his finger once and you would have thought that it was stuck in his—well, never mind."
"So-o-o." Naoki let out his breath in a sigh. "You want to do this, don't you? And not from any feeling of obligation."
"Yeah." Kotoko's arms encircled his waist and she rubbed her nose on his shirt. "Maki-san is the one who got me started with athletic training, and I'd like to finish her work with Shit-kun. But I get the feeling that you don't think it's a good idea."
"It's just one more thing to distract you from your studies." He pressed her face upwards with a hand under her chin then laid his forehead on hers. "You'll have to cut back on the time you spend with online gaming."
Kotoko chuckled, realizing the comment was an admission that he was going to help her carve out the time to do it. "If any more of the members move next door, they can start hosting the get-togethers!"
"We almost need both houses with the extra bodies that have shown up since the festival," he added with a grin. "Something about killing aliens while in the same room as Kunoichi Kotorin has made these parties much more popular."
She grimaced. "Oh, by the way, that reminds me. Shit-kun thinks that spending time with me will discourage all those guys who have crushes on that damn anime character."
"Huh?" Naoki's brow creased.
"Yeah! Can you imagine? He thinks that they'll think I'm dating him! What a hoot!" Laughing heartily at the thought as she headed for the shower, she didn't notice that Naoki did not join in her hilarity.
"I can't believe you actually agreed to help out that scumbag," Matsumoto complained as Kotoko wrapped her wrist before tennis practice. She glared at Shitara, stretching behind Kotoko.
"Hey, he's my childhood friend, Yuuko-chan!" she chided as she ripped off the tape in a by-now skillful manner.
She sniffed. "It seems like your first loyalty would be to the tennis team."
"I'm still here, aren't I? And besides, helping him might give me some skills that would benefit you guys in the long run."
Matsumoto cut her eyes over to where Naoki and the captain were practicing their service. "But what about his reputation with women?"
"Hah! He doesn't look at me in that light!" she laughed. "And besides, he was right! Ever since he and I have been therapy-ing together, I've hardly had any love confessions."
"I wish I could say the same." Matsumoto made a face and sniffed. "There are a number of students who became enamored of 'Matsumi' in that movie, as well!"
"So it's sour grapes because you're suffering what I got free of!"
She rested the strings of her racquet firmly on Kotoko's head to keep her in place and leaned down to speak to her softly. "I'm just warning you that talk like that probably won't go over well with Irie-kun. No man likes to hear that his woman is spending time with another man!"
"Naoki's not like that!" Kotoko protested. "He actually helped me translate that medical-speak so I could get Shit-kun on the right schedule. And besides, Shit-kun doesn't—"
"I know—he doesn't see you like that. Well, I just hope you're right and my feminine intuition is wrong. I don't trust him as far as I can throw him." She rolled her eyes. "And listen to me warning you! Any other woman would be doing her best to push you into his arms to separate you from the man she loves!"
"Aw, Yuuko-chan!" Kotoko grabbed her around the waist. "That's 'cause you love me too!"
"C'mon, Ai-kun!" Shitara pulled her away by her shoulders. "Time to pay attention to the important people out here!" He winked at Matsumoto and she shuddered.
"All right, all right!" Kotoko picked up a clipboard and stopwatch. "We're doing run/jogs today, then several sets of shuffles. If you keep picking up your pace and don't have any pain, next week I'll try you on some suicides."
"That's my girl!" he proclaimed in an overly loud voice as he strutted out of the tennis area with a proprietary arm over her shoulders. "I really don't mind being an M to your S!"
Matsumoto facepalmed while the rest of the players laughed at Kotoko's confusion. On the court, Midou also chuckled, then commented. "Man, Irie, your girlfriend sure is nice to take over his training!"
"Too nice!" Naoki growled as his next serve raised chalk from the sideline. Dammit, now I have to come to practices to chaperone her!