Kinnosuke's left leg was throbbing painfully and his head felt as if it would split in two. When he tried to bring his hand to his face, a tugging sensation on his arm halted the action. His nose twitched and he cracked one eye open. Yep, he was in a hospital all right. He could hear muted conversations and unfamiliar rattles beyond the door. A steady beeping sound emanated from his left side. Slowly and carefully he turned to look for the source and caught sight of his least favorite person thumbing through a book.

"Irie!" he croaked.

Naoki glanced over then stood to pour a cup of water from a pitcher. He bent a straw and brought it to him. "Sounds like your throat's dry. Have a sip!"

It took some effort, and he dropped his head back onto the pillow, exhausted. "What—?"

"Wait a while." Naoki raised a hand to stop him. "I need to let them know you're awake."

For the next few minutes Kinnosuke endured bright lights flashed in his eyes and various questions which all boiled down to, "Does it hurt when I do this?" The majority of his answers was a strained, "Yes!" He noticed that Naoki paid close attention to all the procedures, and when the room was finally vacated by the medical personnel he asked, "Is this Tonan Hospital?"

Blinking in surprise, Naoki hesitated then answered, "No. You were taken to a facility in Hokuto, as that was the closest one."

"Huh? That doesn't make sense," said a confused-looking Kinnosuke. "What are we doing in Hokuto together?"

Naoki narrowed his eyes. "What's the last thing that you remember doing?"

Kinnosuke began to raise his hand to scratch his head, but the attached IV made him think better of it. "Um, maybe going home after work?" At that, Naoki called in another regiment of doctors and they decided to take him to a different room and torture him some more. By the time they brought him back, he was so exhausted that he fell asleep immediately.

"Now remember, Kotoko, as of last night he had no memory of traveling out here. He thought he was back in Tokyo, maybe a few weeks ago." Naoki pressed the elevator button. "The doctor recommends that we let his memories return on their own."

She sniffed into a handkerchief. "Do they think he has a permanent brain injury?"

He resisted the urge to answer, With Kinnosuke, how could anyone tell? and instead patted her shoulder. "There's no indication of that. We'll just treat him as if we don't know what he's been up to and let his mind heal itself from there."

"Okay." She grabbed his arm as a sudden idea struck her. "If he never remembers, then he won't go to Otosan with that wild story!"

Naoki chuckled. "I must admit that would be a welcome side benefit for us. However, being…as he is...normally, I doubt if your father would place much credence in his tale; even less now with a head injury."

"That is true." Kotoko nodded. As they paused outside the door to his room, she clutched her bag. "What should I say to him?!"

"Just greet him as you always do, then follow his lead," Naoki advised her.

"Kin-chan!" She smiled widely as she called his name.

"Kotoko!" He was so excited that he forgot himself once more and tried to sit up straight. He collapsed with a wince. "You came all the way out here to see me too!"

She glanced at Naoki, who nodded at her, and sat down and patted Kinnosuke's hand. "I was already in the area. It wasn't far at all."

He grasped her hand, clutching it with desperate strength. "Kotoko! They won't tell me how I got to this part of Japan! But I know I can depend on you to tell me the truth! I must have been drugged and kidnapped! Was it secret government agents? Or, maybe…aliens?"

Kotoko's eyes widened and she bit down on her bottom lip while Naoki coughed suspiciously behind her. After composing herself, she admitted, "I don't exactly know when or how you came here, Kin-chan. Naoki and I were here for the college break…"

"Family vacation again, right?" His eyes glared at her companion.

She looked desperately at Naoki and then slowly answered. "The entire Irie family came to Kiyosato, yes."

"Good!" His grip relaxed somewhat. "At least you and that devil had chaperones!" Naoki covered his eyes.

"Now you shouldn't speak that way!" Kotoko scolded him in a strong voice. "Naoki and I found you crashed by the side of the road, and he bandaged your head and waited until the ambulance came!"

"Crash?" Kinnosuke looked confused. "Don't tell me…my moped?!"

"Destined for the scrap heap, I'm afraid," Naoki informed him. "You're lucky you weren't hurt even worse."

"Or killed!" Kotoko added.

"But my Kotoko saved me!" Kinnosuke easily overlooked Naoki's participation in the matter. "And I'll be good as new soon, because you're going to nurse me back to health!"

"Say what?" Kotoko pulled her hand from his.

"But you're my lifesaver…my ministering angel…my Fiona Nightingale…" He attempted to reclaim her hand but she stood and stepped away.

"Kin-chan, Otosan is going to drive out here when the hospital releases you and take you home. He will see that arrangements will be made for your care once you get back and see your own doctor." She took a deep breath to calm herself. "I'm sure that when you think about it, you will realize that it would be inappli—inapor—"

"Inappropriate," Naoki offered.

"—what he said—for me to take care of you. You can start doing that right now while I go to a vending machine and get that special coffee blend you like." She patted his cast before leaving.

The two men watched her exit the room. Kinnosuke broke the silence. "You and she are really together this time, aren't you?"

"We always were," Naoki corrected him.

"Well," sighed Kinnosuke, "I suppose I ought to thank you for doing first aid on me."

Naoki raised an eyebrow when no actual words of thanks were uttered but still replied, "You're welcome. And I owe you some thanks as well."

"Huh?"

"Ever since spring I have been wrestling with myself over the possibility of the medical field being in my future. It was only yesterday, when I actually had my hands on a patient, that my mind was fully made up."

"What do you mean?"

"Treating your injuries, little as I did, made me realize that I want to be a doctor. I'm grateful to you for that flash of insight."

Kinnosuke chewed on his bottom lip. "You're probably not grateful enough to give me Kotoko, are you?"

"Not on your life," Naoki laughed.

Sachiki wiped her eyes every now and then as she and Sudo rearranged Naoki and Kotoko's double room back into two rooms for the new employees moving in that afternoon. "I know that they never intended to stay, but I will miss Kotoko-chan so much!" She poked her nephew between the shoulder blades. "You'll need to send me a picture when the baby arrives."

"Baby? What baby?" Sudo turned a puzzled face to his aunt.

"Why, Irie-kun's and Kotoko-chan's baby, of course. I never did find out when she was due…"

"Aihara's not pregnant!" Sudo scoffed. "What gave you that idea?!"

"You did, you baka! You were right over there," she pointed to the desk, "when you told me that she was in a delicate condition."

He snorted. "She was malingering because of an almost-ulcer! Pregnant, ha!" he chuckled.

His aunt sniffed at him. "Well, I may have misunderstood, but a pregnancy wouldn't be anything out of the ordinary for a young married couple!"

"Who's married?" he asked.

Suffice it to say that by the time all the truth was revealed, there was much evidence that Sudo's 'Demon' tendencies were not inherited from his father's side of the family.

"Well, that was quite an eventful trip," Kotoko commented on the train back to Tokyo.

"Yes," agreed Naoki, "not exactly a relaxing vacation. It even ended with Kobito-sama trying to follow his 'Mermaid-Sama' home!"

"Quote my fans correctly, Naoki. The name is 'Girl-Who-Is-Not-Mermaid-Sama'. But at least your mother didn't find us!"

He grinned in response. "Partly thanks to my mercenary brother!"

"But Kin-chan did! If he had made it all the way back home, she might have tried to claim the credit for herself."

"I hadn't thought of that," mused Naoki. "This sounds awful, but that's one more silver lining to his accident."

"And it will be interesting to watch Matsumoto-san and Sudo when Tennis Club starts back up. Say!" She sat up straight. "I never found out why he doesn't like his full name!"

Naoki chuckled. "Say his name quickly, shortening his first name."

"Sudo Kou. Sudokou. Sudoku!" she cried when she finally got it. "But why would that bother him? It's fairly harmless for a nickname."

"Yes, but he never mastered that sort of puzzle, so his classmates would mock him for not being able to solve his own name."

"That is a little mean," Kotoko agreed. "And I can't do them either. You know how awful I am in math."

"Kotoko, math has nothing to do with it. It's a logic problem."

"Stop teasing me! There are numbers! It has to be math!"

Naoki rubbed the top of her head and laughed.

A/N: And...this is the end of this story. Thanks to all who read, reviewed, followed and favorited. The follow-up story will be coming in a day or so.