Chapter Twenty-One: Old and New

I brought a cup of water to Kotomi as she rested in the shade of a tree close to the baseball field. "You okay?"

"I am fine," she answered as she accepted the cup from me. "Thank you."

"I didn't expect Pops to say something like that," I commented. I had taken to calling him 'Pops' as a mild insult after his little stunt.

She deliberately swallowed her water before responding. "I believe that he was teasing me."

"Well that's kinda obvious, but why?"

Her cheeks, which had returned to their normal color, pinked again. "I believe that he was teasing me because of the request I made earlier."

"Oh, yeah, that reminds me; what did you ask him about earlier?"

Her blush deepened. "I am sorry, Tomoya-kun, but it is a surprise."

I was a little hurt, but Kotomi was anything but a liar so I let it go. If it was a surprise, I would find out eventually anyway. I figured in the end that it would all work out. "Well, all right. I trust you."

She gave me another smile before taking another sip. I returned the smile before turning to watch the others.

Akio had apparently decided to take a break from baseball; he leaned back on his elbows next to his wife, occasionally yelling something to the people who were still playing. Kyou and Fujibayashi had already had turns at bat and were standing on second and third base. The rest of the people were playing ball or milling about, talking with each other; I figured they were the Furukawas' neighbors.

I watched as Akio got to his feet and made his way over to us.

"You okay, Kotomi-chan?" he asked when he got close enough.

Wait…'Kotomi-chan'?

"I am fine, thank you," she replied. "You surprised me."

"I guess so," he said with a smile as he put his hands on his knees to lean down to look her more in the eye more easily. "I'm sorry about that." He jerked a thumb in my direction. "I don't mind embarrassing Brat here, but I didn't mean to upset you like that."

"Hey!" I protested.

"I am fine," she repeated. "Please do not worry about me."

"All right," he said as he straightened. Then he shifted his gaze to me. "If you're done hitting on your woman, I'm ready for us to play again."

Kotomi spoke before I could: "If it is okay with you, I would like Tomoya-kun to stay with me."

He looked back to her and his eyebrows raised. "Looks like you got a reprieve, brat." He lifted a hand in a wave as he turned to walk back. "Have fun, you two."

I watched him for a bit as he walked back toward his wife before turning to Kotomi. "You sure you don't want to watch me play?" I asked with a slight smile.

Her cheeks pinked again as she shook her head. "No. Please stay."

I knew someday that I might have to learn to say 'no' to her, but it wouldn't be this day. "All right."

She shifted uncomfortably. "There is something I would like to do with you."

I looked around us. "It's not reading books is it?" I didn't see any around, but… "I don't think it'd be polite to read at someone else's party."

"Oh, no!" she exclaimed; then she looked at the ground. "It was…a game we used to play as children."

"A game, huh?" I was genuinely surprised. "Which one?"

She drew her shoulders up, like a turtle trying to retreat into its shell. "…Tag…?"

"Tag?" I repeated. "I thought you didn't like tag."

"I…did not like it," she admitted. "But…But it has been a long time since we have had a chance to play together."

I looked back to find a group of kids milling around. "Well, I guess I could grab some kids and-"

"No," she interrupted as she gently placed her hand on my arm. "Just…us."

I think I understood. "For old time's sake, eh?" I then smiled at her shy nod. "Okay then, if you're up to it."

She smiled and gently squeezed my arm. "Tag," she said as she started to get up.

She should have known me better than that because it took all of two seconds for me to reach out and tap her ankle. "Tag!"

"Tomoya-kun!" She turned around with the second-cutest pout – I was sure that I had seen cuter in a prior chapter. "That is not fair!"

I gave her what I hoped was a playful smile. "Hey, all's fair in love and tag."

Her pout remained. "I do not recall reading that anywhere. I seem to recall that it says-"

"I give! I give! Just spare me the history lesson!" I said as I quickly raised my hands in defeat. "What do you need me to do?"

Her pout vanished, replaced by a thoughtful look, her finger by her lips and her eyes pointed upward. I marveled at how sudden the change was. "Well, you used to give me to the count of five." She looked back at me. "Could we do something like that?"

"A five-count?"

She nodded. "We could try that and see if it works."

"I don't know how we'd determine that…" I muttered, but to her I said, "Sure. We can see if it…works. Ready, and…go!"

A smile of pure joy spread across her face as she turned and started to run. Unfortunately, her running speed hadn't improved much over the years, so by the time I got to 'five' she was only a couple dozen feet from me.

I shook my head with a smile of my own and trotted off after her. I could have easily caught up with her, but I didn't want to spoil her fun. She giggled as she changed directions repeatedly, and I had to admit that just seeing her having fun felt good. I deliberately got close a couple of times and reached out just to hear her squeal with delight.

After a couple of minutes I decided that I wanted to be chased for a while, so I closed the distance and gently tapped her shoulder. "Tag!" I yelled and started backpedalling away.

"Oh! You!" She wasn't able to change direction quickly enough and nearly lost her footing as she turned to chase me. "Wait!"

"If I did that it wouldn't be tag, would it?" I said while keeping a safe distance.

This went on for a bit, with Kotomi tagging me and vice versa. Some kids tried to join in but wandered off again when neither of us would tag them. It was a private game, after all.

It was her turn to chase me, but she was looking really tired. "Want to call it quits, Kotomi-chan?"

I think she misunderstood my intent because she puffed out her cheeks and said, "I am fine! Here I come!"

I deliberately ran more slowly to make it easier for her to tag me so we could end this; I was getting concerned that her pride would outlast her stamina. I even let an arm trail behind me to give her something to tag. After a few seconds, I turned to see how close she was. Unfortunately she was a lot closer than I expected and in the process of turning around my feet got caught up in hers and we both started to fall.

I reflexively grabbed her and held her tightly to my chest, one hand on her back and the other behind her head as I let myself fall backwards onto the grass. We both 'oof'ed as we hit the ground.

From our prone position I looked down. She didn't seem hurt. Even though the ground was soft where we had fallen, I knew that Kotomi wasn't the most durable. "Kotomi-chan, are you okay?"

I felt her move, so I removed my hand from the back of her head, and she looked up at me. "I am okay. Thank you, Tomoya-kun."

"Good."I breathed a sigh of relief as I started to sit up. "I'd hate to think that you could've-"

I was surprised when she pushed me back down. I turned surprised eyes to her face; she simply…gazed at me. "Kotomi…chan…?"

She slid up my body to bring her face much closer to mine; the sensation was…interesting. "Tomoya-kun?" She blinked away a tear.

I brought a hand up to wipe away another tear. "Are…Are you okay?"

She nodded before lowering her head until our lips touched.

That public displays of affection were taboo in Japan was the farthest thing from my mind as she kissed me, and I let my eyes fall shut and just enjoyed the feel of…her.

It could have been a second or ten minutes for all I knew, but she suddenly broke the kiss as she started crying wholeheartedly. "Kotomi-chan? What's wrong?"

"Nothing! She cried into my shoulder. "I-I am so happy that…that…it is too much!"

I smiled as I held her tightly again. The poor girl was overwhelmed by her own feelings, huh? "Why…" I started to say before I felt my throat constrict with sympathetic emotion. "Why are you so happy?"

She answered when her sobs let her: "You! You make me so happy! I am happy when you are here!" Still crying, she slid back down me to rest her head on my chest.

Me? I made her happy? The idea brought tears to my own eyes as I gave her an extra squeeze and let her cry as long as she wanted.