The day was finally here, the day that Kotoko had been preparing for. Today was the day of the Tokyo University entrance exam. She had been hard at work studying and after a good night's sleep and some more studying at breakfast, she felt ready. Though, she could do without the stomach aches and cramps. Must just be my nerves, Kotoko thought.
"Hurry up, Kotoko!" Kotoko heard Mrs. Irie shout from downstairs. "You don't want to be late."
After what happened with Naoki and Yuzan the weekend before, Kotoko conceded to Noriko's request that she at least stay with them until the exam. Kotoko closed her book and grabbed her bag filled with her pencils, extra paper, a calculator, her water bottle, and some snacks. Never know when hunger is going to strike but with the way that her stomach was tossing and turning, she didn't feel like eating.
"Coming!" Kotoko yelled as she threw her bag over her shoulder and adjusted her skirt.
Kotoko ran down the stairs where she saw her dad, Noriko, and Naoki waiting at the landing.
"Are you ready to go?" Naoki asked as he folded his arms and looked up at Kotoko.
"Wait!" Noriko exclaimed, "I need to give you two something."
"We are going to miss the train if we don't hurry." Naoki groaned.
"Be nice, Naoki." Kotoko scolded as she stepped off the landing and stood next to Naoki.
Naoki rolled his eyes as he watched his mother run over to the kitchen and return with two small white boxes. Kotoko smiled as Noriko handed her the small white box. Opening the box, Kotoko reached in and pulled out a small red and gold charm.
"They are good luck charms!" Noriko beamed. "I thought that you two might be able to use them today for the test. Not that you two need any luck but I thought that it couldn't hurt. Plus, I really just wanted to give you something for your big day. Well, other than your wedding."
Kotoko and Naoki both began to blush at the comment but Kotoko was the first to break the silence, "Thank you, I am sure that they will come in handy. My stomach has been tossing and turning since this morning."
"Oh no, do you need some medicine?" Noriko asked.
"No, I think that it's just nerves."
"And your stomach will feel better when you get there," Naoki replied, "so we need to go now before we miss the train."
"Naoki is right, we need to get going." Kotoko smiled before giving Noriko and her dad a hug.
"Good luck, your mother would be so proud of you. I will be sure to have your favorite foods waiting for you when you get home."
Kotoko smiled at her father before walking out of the door with Naoki.
"So, are you really that nervous?" Naoki asked as they walked to the metro stop.
"I have just been working so hard that I just want to do well." Kotoko answered as she looked down at her feet.
"Kotoko, you went from being one of the worst students at our school to having a full-ride to Tonan University and now you are about to take the entrance exam for Tokyo University, your hard work has paid off." Naoki smiled at Kotoko. "Besides, I should be the one that is nervous. My father went to TU and his father before him and I don't have the full ride to fall back on."
"You are the top student at our school, I am sure that you will do fine. All of this is just second nature to you. You are going to be successful in whatever it is you do."
"I am not good at everything." Naoki sighed as he snuck a glance towards Kotoko, "These past few months have taught me that."
Kotoko let out a small laugh before she winced. She grabbed her abdomen as she walked, a sharp pain radiating in her lower abdomen.
"Are you alright?" Naoki asked.
"Yeah, lets just keep walking. I think that it will help." Kotoko moaned.
Kotoko and Naoki kept walking until the reached the station and got on the train to the testing facility. Kotoko took her charm and attached it to her bag. Kotoko reached into Naoki's blazer pocket and attached his charm to his bag.
"There, now we are ready." Kotoko smiled as she flattened the charm against Naoki's bag. Naoki looked down at her and smiled.
Kotoko's eye twitched and she frowned.
"Are you sure that you are okay?" Naoki asked.
"Yes, I just keep getting these sharp cramps. Maybe I am just early." Kotoko shrugged. "I'll stop by the bathroom when we get there to make sure."
Naoki nodded and turned his attention back to in front of him. Kotoko grinned, always finding it odd that Naoki never seemed to care when she talked about her menstrual cycle, unlike her father or Kin-chan.
The train sign went off, letting the passengers know that the next stop was coming up. Luckily for Kotoko and Naoki, it was the stop for the testing facility. The butterflies in Kotoko's stomach were really starting to flutter. Her stomach also began to cramp again and as soon as the doors opened, Kotoko ran out, Naoki close behind her. Kotoko stopped and bent over again, Naoki turned and looked at her with concern. Unfortunately, her charm became stuck between the sliding doors of the metro train.
"Oh no, not now." Kotoko groaned. She really needed to get to a bathroom. Sweat started to pool around her brow and fell down her face and neck. She felt herself unable to breathe but she knew that she needed to get inside. Naoki walked over to Kotoko and yanked the charm out of the doors, ripping in the process. He reached down and lifted Kotoko up from her buckled state.
"Kotoko, are you sure that you are okay?" Naoki asked.
Kotoko panted as she looked up at Naoki. Naoki stared as she noticed how paled she looked and her hair started to become wet with sweat.
"Just get me inside." Kotoko breathed in heavily.
"No, we need to get you help."
"No! I need to take this test!" Kotoko exclaimed as she wriggled out of Naoki's grasp and began to walk towards the gates of the testing site. However, despite her best efforts, Kotoko collapsed to the ground.
"No no no." Kotoko whispered to herself. She needed to get in. She couldn't let some silly menstrual cramping get in the way of her taking a test.
Naoki ran up to her and knelt down by her side.
"Kotoko, we need to get you to a hospital. You look terrible."
"Get me inside!" Kotoko yelled at Naoki as she grabbed the collar of his shirt to help herself up.
Naoki grabbed her as he did his best to help her up but she began to shake in his arms. Naoki gripped her tight as Kotoko's breathing became more and more labored.
"Kotoko, you can't-"
"Get. Me. Inside. I am not missing this! Especially not for some stupid period cramps."
"Kotoko, this isn't your period."
"You don't know that. Jinko has bad cramps like this every month."
"Jinko should really see a doctor if her cramps are that bad." Naoki scoffed. "Kotoko, you can't take your exam like this."
"I have to, today is the only day." Kotoko gasped as she felt another sharp pain.
"Kotoko, no. We have to get you to a hospital! Stop being so stubborn for once!" Naoki yelled.
"No! I have to do this!"
"And what? If I let you into this building you are just going to get worse and I will be damned if something terrible happens on my watch."
Tears started to well up in Kotoko's eyes. She wasn't sure if she was crying because of the pain or because she knew that she was going to have to miss the test.
"Naoki..." Kotoko pleaded as she looked up at him, her complexion becoming more and more sallow. Her breath becoming more and more ragged and finally with one more sharp pain, she gasped and saw the world around her growing dim. Soon, she slipped away into unconsciousness.
There was a faint beep as Kotoko felt herself come back to the conscious world. She groaned as she looked around and noticed that she was in the hospital. She turned and saw her father sitting in a chair by her bedside.
"Dad?" Kotoko croaked out.
Shigeo turned his head and smiled as he saw his daughter finally back from unconsciousness.
"Kotoko, thank goodness you are awake." Shigeo placed a soft hand on top of Kotoko's.
"What happened?" Kotoko asked as she looked around at all of the machines beeping and the IV in her arm.
"Your appendix burst." Shigeo replied. "It was a good thing that you arrived at the hospital when you did. They were able to remove the appendix before it became infected."
Kotoko smiled, thankful that she was okay when suddenly the realization set in that she had missed the test.
"Oh no!" Kotoko exclaimed, tears starting to fall down her cheeks.
"What's wrong, Kotoko? Are you in pain?" Shigeo asked, his eyes widening in fear that something was wrong.
"I missed the test! I worked so hard and now everything is ruined. I am just a giant failure. I do everything that I can to prepare and my stupid stupid body had to ruin everything!"
"Kotoko, listen to me," Shigeo tightened his hand around Kotoko's, "the important thing is that you are still alive. I don't know what I would do if I lost you too. Forget about the stupid test. I don't care if you go to Tokyo University, Tonan, or if you don't go to college at all, I will always be proud of you. You are not a failure, you have never been a failure. If anyone is a failure, it's me." Shigeo exclaimed as tears now started to fall from his eyes. "I have tried to do everything right but it was my terrible judgement that left us homeless, my inability to speak up that allowed Naoki and Yuuki to treat you the way that they have. I tried to be both a mother and a father to you, but I have come to realize that I have failed at being a parent at all. I am the one who failed you, Kotoko."
"Don't say that, dad. You have been the best dad and mom that anyone could ever ask for." Kotoko reached up and placed a hand on his cheek.
The door to her hospital room opened and Kotoko heard a gasp. She looked up from her father and saw Noriko standing in the doorway, Yuuki and Shigeki behind her. She held a bouquet of flowers, a large stuffed bear, and large purple balloons that read Get Well Soon.
"Kotoko!" Noriko exclaimed, "You're awake! We were all so worried about you!"
"It was just my appendix." Kotoko tried her best to stop Noriko from going off the deep end.
"But when Naoki called us, we didn't know what was going on." Noriko explained.
"Naoki called you?"
"He brought you in." Yuuki chimed in from behind his mother and his father.
"Where is he now?" Kotoko asked.
"He left shortly after we arrived." Shigeki said.
"Oh, I suppose he went back to the testing site to take his exam." Kotoko sighed.
"Probably." Yuuki shrugged, "He wouldn't have missed that test for the world, especially not for some silly girl with a burst appendix."
"Hush you!" Noriko snapped her head towards Yuuki.
Suddenly there was a faint knock on the door. The door slowly opened and Naoki slowly walked into the room.
"Onii-chan, you're back." Noriko smiled at her eldest son.
"Yeah, I kind of had something that I needed to do."
Kotoko lowered her head, saddened by the fact that she had to miss the test and Naoki was able to take the test. I guess no matter how hard she tried, she could not change fate. She was going to go to Tonan and Naoki was going to go to Tokyo University where he would go on to be an amazing engineer.
"May I have a moment with Kotoko?" Naoki asked. "Alone?"
Noriko perked up when she heard that her son wanted to be alone with Kotoko. She wasted no time in shooing everyone out of the door and leaving Kotoko and Naoki in the room alone. Though both Kotoko and Naoki knew that she would be right by the door, ear pressed against the small pane of glass.
"How are you feeling?" Naoki asked.
"I am fine but I think that they have me on a lot of pain killers so who really knows how I am feeling." Kotoko smirked.
"I didn't mean physically." Naoki sighed. "How are you feeling about not being able to take the test? I know that you worked hard on studying and I know how much it meant to you. I wouldn't have pulled you away from it if I didn't think that you were in danger."
"Sure." Kotoko rolled her eyes.
"Kotoko, I am serious." Naoki's eyes hardened, "If I had not taken you in when I did, you could have gotten an infection and died. I am not going to let you die."
"So why did you want to speak to me alone? So you could rub the fact that you took the test and that you are going on to be a big successful engineer and businessman and that you were right about me not being as good as you, no matter how hard I try?"
"No," Naoki exclaimed, "I wanted to tell you that I didn't take the test! I just didn't want my parents to find out, I know how much they wanted me to follow in my father's footsteps."
"What?" Kotoko muttered in shock, "Why didn't you take the test?"
"Because," Naoki sat next to Kotoko, "I don't want to go somewhere where you aren't. You are the most interesting woman that I have ever met. I couldn't imagine my life without you as a constant in it."
"I'm not marrying you." Kotoko looked up at Naoki.
"I'm not asking you to marry me, Kotoko." Naoki defended, "But I am asking you to please, stop hating me."
"I don't hate you?"
"And you were constantly arguing with me for fun?" Naoki raised an eyebrow.
"No, you just made me angry and I think that all of the anger that I had been holding in for years finally came to the surface. You really treated me like crap for years and you didn't think that I wouldn't be the least bit mad at you? Did you really think that I didn't have feelings?"
"No." Naoki replied.
"If I am going to stop hating you then you have to promise me that you aren't going to treat me like crap anymore. No more snide comments, no more teasing, no more making me feel like an idiot."
"I promise." Naoki said, "I never want to make you feel like that again. Though it will be hard for me."
"Well, you can help me study at Tonan and I can help you work through your feelings."
"What? Like some sort of therapist?"
"No," Kotoko smiled up at Naoki, "Like a friend."
"A friend?" Naoki asked.
"Yes, is that okay?"
"I've never had a friend before."
"Well you do now. What do you say?"
"I think that I would like that a lot." Naoki smiled.
Kotoko reached out and grabbed Naoki's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. He lifted up her hand and placed a small kiss on the back of it.
"Friends don't do that."
Naoki let go of Kotoko's hand.
"Right."
"There is so much for you to learn."