Disclaimer: Love Hina is the property of the guys and girls of TV Tokyo, and the creation of Ken Akamatsu. This includes all characters that appear in Love Hina.

Cherish Hina is MY property. Takeshi Urashima, Hiroko Urashima, Yumiko Nakamura, Kasumi Mitsumaru and Mizuki Kanashiro are MY characters. Please e-mail me at one_man_cult@hotmail.com if you want to use them, or if you want to post this story on your site.

This is episode 4 of a 13 part series. Reviews and constructive feedback are welcome. The more help and reviews I get, the faster I can finish an episode. No flames accepted. I mean, no-one's FORCING you to read this.

Warning: This piece of fanfiction contains heaps and heaps of original characters. To all those who hate original characters (I really hate self-inserts), go break your butt on my foot. This also contains quite a few indirect spoilers for the manga series.

Extra, EXTRA special thanks to:

-The Archimage

-Ben Gardner

Thank these two for providing me with pre-reads. A bit of bad timing on my part resulted in me giving everybody the beta version during final/mid-year exams. To all those I didn't receive reads from, gomen nasai!! I just wanted to release this during the holidays.

Other pieces of fanfiction by either The Archimage or myself can be found on fanfiction.net.

*****************************************

It was early morning at Hinata Sou, but already several of its residents were awake, preparing for the day ahead. In the dining room Naru and Keitaro were eating breakfast so they could get to Todai on time for a morning staff meeting. Keitaro really hated these meetings; he really wasn't a morning person and the meetings were quite boring. Nevertheless, his wife took the time to wake him up, pour copious amounts of coffee down his throat and shove him into the van, with him driving a little haphazardly towards Todai.

Takeshi was awake as well, as was usual for him, and was practicing some martial arts drills on the rooftop balcony. He found that if he didn't exercise during the morning, his shoulders and back would become unusually stiff during study. His drills were disrupted by Naru's head peeking through the door.

"Takeshi, dear, we're leaving now. Take care of the others."

"Yes, mum."

"And don't forget to enrol into the tutorial school today."

"Of course, mum."

"Bye, then. See you tonight."

Naru disappeared downstairs again. Takeshi could hear her dragging his father to the van, along with Keitaro's protests of 'But I don't wanna!' All this ended with a screech of tires and the sight of a van shooting out of their parking space. Takeshi shook his head, amused by the scene. After so many years, his mother still had so much power over his father.

CHERISH HINA

Episode 4: Sports Day. COMFORT?

'It's going to be a wonderful day today,' thought Takeshi. The sun was bright, even though there were a few clouds around. A gentle breeze was blowing, not cold but enough to keep the temperature comfortable. 'A perfect day to be outside.' Takeshi's ears caught the sound of someone coming up the stairs. Apparently someone else had woken up, probably disturbed from slumber by his parents. Iwako was already changed into her uniform and was standing at the door, sword in hand. 'Judging be the short skirt,' thought Takeshi, 'it was probably Kasumi's old uniform. It seems to be a looser fit though. Kasumi must have really filled that jumper out.' Her almost-waist-length raven hair was held back by a bow, which was fluttering in the wind.

"Prepare yourself, Urashima," Iwako said before throwing him the cursed Hina Blade. Takeshi unsheathed it just in time to parry the first wave of attacks.

'This sword is really weird,' thought Takeshi. 'Aunt Motoko said that there was an evil spirit in here, but it still seems strange for an evil spirit.' Takeshi was snapped out of his thoughts when a sword whistled through the air and stopped only moments before connecting with his head. A sound of surprise escaped his lips.

"I've got to get breakfast ready now, so I've got to go. You don't mind waking the others up, do you?"

Iwako pondered this for a minute before proposing, "Only if you make me two eggs, sunny side up, and extra lunch then no, I don't mind."

"Deal" replied Takeshi, making a hasty retreat.

************************************

Takeshi was working over the stove when he was hugged from behind.

"Good morning."

"Get off me, Ka-chan! I'm trying to cook breakfast here. I don't want to burn anything."

"Ara! Sorry!" said Kasumi, looking slightly sheepish.

"That's okay. Is everyone ready yet? After breakfast we're all leaving straight away."

"Your sister and Mizuki still need to get changed, and I think Yumiko's still asleep."

"No, I'm awake," said Yumiko from the door.

"Oh, good morning," greeted Takeshi. "Kasumi, could you tell Iwako that breakfast is almost ready? And ask the other two to stop playing around and get changed. We don't want to be late for the opening."

"Okay," answered Kasumi merrily, skipping out towards the hallway and accidentally bumping into Takeshi. He lost balance, and to avoid falling on the hot stove he desperately tried to grab on to the nearest handhold he could find. Relieved to avoid such a nasty accident, he let out a sigh.

"KYAAAH! PERVERT!"

Takeshi looked towards the source of the scream, and saw that his hand had caught Yumiko's shirt and had pulled it halfway open. She looked extremely angry. It was definitely not a good sign of things to come.

Takeshi winced, "If you're going to hit me, make sure Iwako's eggs are sunny side up when I leave."

"Fine, Is that all you have to say for yourself?!" answered Yumiko while slapping Takeshi across the room.

A figure leapt through the window and into the kitchen.

"Never fear! Masaru Kiriten is here! Defender of peace, justice and hot babes everywhere!"

"What are you doing here?" asked Yumiko, having already buttoned her shirt up but still slightly annoyed from before.

"I heard a damsel in distress. Did you scream? I could 'rescue' you now and then we can go back to my place and we could…"

"Get lost, creep."

"Okay, okay," said Masaru, raising hands up defensively.

Takeshi came back into the kitchen, rubbing the large red mark on his cheek. "Hey Masaru. What are you doing here?"

"Why is everybody asking that? If you must know," said Masaru, rolling his eyes in mock exasperation, "I've got to go to school and I have no idea where it is."

"Oh yeah. It's your first day isn't it?"

"You're going to school looking like that?" asked Yumiko. Masaru's yellow-dyed hair had been gelled up, and his shirt was already untucked. His pants were too large for him, and he was wearing an extremely long chain on them. "You've got to take off that earring. The school doesn't allow jewellery."

Masaru sighed and took the sleeper out.

"And don't tell me you're going out looking like that, Takeshi."

Takeshi looked down at himself. He was wearing his usual oversized jumper and worn-in old jeans.

"I don't see anything wrong with what I'm wearing."

"You look like a slob."

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Masaru mouthing the word 'women'. Takeshi had to agree.

**************************************

All the Hinata Sou residents made their way towards the school where they all, minus Takeshi, were attending. Heading the group was Mizuki, who kept running in front of the group and then running back, followed closely by Hiroko, who was trying to calm her friend down. The two of them seemed excited about the day's events. Iwako kept a close watch on them. Yumiko and Kasumi followed, apparently having a conversation about the opening festivities. Bringing up the rear were Masaru and Takeshi, having been made to take everybody's lunch and the day's supplies. Neither of them wanted this job, but they had to do it anyway. Yumiko reminded Takeshi that 'as kanrinin, it is your job to help us'. Masaru, however, was a sucker for a pretty face (and a nice body), and Kasumi knew how to use hers well.

"Hey sis, give us a hand, would 'ya?"

"Why should I?" asked Iwako.

"You're gonna eat everything anyway, so you should carry it."

"No."

"Fine. Be like that." Masaru sulked slightly.

They reached the front gate of the school, where Mizuki and Hiroko ran off to report in to the marshalling area. The others decided to get good seats on the grandstand. After moving around for a while, they managed to get a spot that was shaded by a tree, and where they could see everything. Iwako and Masaru sat with them; being new to the school they didn't have to participate.

"It's going to be a great day today," said Yumiko, trying to start conversation.

"Huh? Yeah, lucky the weather is nice. I wouldn't fancy sitting out here on a hot day," answered Takeshi.

"Why did you come, anyway?"

"Well, it's not like I have anything else to do. And since my mum and dad couldn't make it they sent me here to support Hiroko." Takeshi gave a less than enthusiastic cheer. "Yay."

**************************************

It was already half past nine and the opening was due to start. The stands had been filled and many of the latecomers had to take seats on the ground next to it. The group had spread out their possessions as best they could in order to get the most space. Hiroko and Mizuki were down on the grounds with the other competing students. They were to walk a lap of the track before the events actually started. Kasumi was playing with the video camera they had borrowed off Takeshi's father.

Apart from the senior students sitting in the stands, many parents had shown up to support their children in the competition. Takeshi could see the friendly banter going on between the fathers of two best friends, talking about how hard their sons had trained for the events. A group of mothers was huddled together halfway down the stand, catching up on the latest gossip. Some parents were setting up tripods for cameras to record their child's triumphant moment. Other parents, Takeshi noticed, were dressed in their business suits and skirts, ready to race off back to work as soon as their child's event was over. A few senior students had passed by to greet Yumiko and Kasumi. Judging by the looks of things, Yumiko was quite popular around the school. A number of boys had asked her to join them, but she had politely declined, preferring to spend time with the rest of the Hinata Sou residents.

The headmaster of the school stood up on the presentation stage, and addressed all the students and guests. Making a brief speech about the history of the competition, and a short summary on the events of the day, he introduced the school band, which started playing the school song. The students marched out onto the track, split into form groups. The youngest of the students walked first, and Takeshi noticed how nervous they looked about the whole event. Many parents stood up to wave at their children, who waved back.

Hiroko and Mizuki were in the fourth group to walk out. The students here seemed a lot less nervous than the first group, though some students still had the jitters. Both the girls were in the school sports uniform, which consisted of short gym shorts and a white t-shirt. This was the clothing that Mizuki Kanashiro wore most of the time, even at the dorm, but Hiroko looked a little less than comfortable parading in front of everyone in that attire. 'I feel sorry for her,' thought Takeshi. He sighed. Masaru had already rushed up to the front fence, and if it weren't for his sister restraining him, Takeshi was sure that he would have rushed over the fence to get a closer look at all the girls. Takeshi and others stood up to wave to them, and the two girls waved back, with Mizuki jumping up and down with excitement. Hiroko tried to restrain some of her friend's enthusiasm, but to no avail.

The band stopped playing, and the last of the students passed by. Kasumi handed the camera to Takeshi so he could place it on the tripod that he had set up. The headmaster made the announcement that the events were now beginning.

*************************************

There was much activity going on down on the field as the students began to compete in their heats. As students ran on the track, others were participating in events such as shot put and discus throw. A few were taking final practice runs for their long jump. There were several students talking along the fence between the field and the spectators, cooling down after taking their run.

"Competitors in the girl's under-15's 100 metre sprint heat 3 and under-14's long jump please head to the judge's table. Repeating that message: girl's under-15's 100 metres sprint heat 3 and under-14's long jump to the judge's table. Thank you." The message was broadcast on the PA system to ensure all the competitors were in one place.

"Isn't Mizuki in heat 3?" asked Yumiko, giving Takeshi a light nudge to get his attention.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I think she is, but I'm not entirely sure," replied Takeshi. "Look, there she is," he said pointing towards the starting lane.

After being assigned her lane, Mizuki looked for her friends in the grandstands. Kasumi, Yumiko and Takeshi had set up camp on the grandstand, and were all waving at her. She waved back enthusiastically. Hiroko was sitting in the competitors' area, waiting for her event. Masaru was near the fence between the field and the spectators, ogling at the various girls in sports uniform that passed by. Mizuki caught his eye and she decided to have a little fun, giving him a wink and a peace sign. This seemed to cause extra trouble for his sister, who was busy holding him back. Mizuki giggled to herself while making to the starting line.

The competitors for this heat were all lined up at the starting line preparing themselves for the start of the race. Many of the parents were shouting encouragement down to their kids.

"Come on sweetie! I believe in you!" shouted one mother.

"Try your best, dear!" shouted another mother a couple of seats away. The two women gave each other cold stares before resuming their cheering.

Some students in front of the Hinata crew were also paying attention to the race.

"Hey, who do you think is going to win this one?"

"I don't know. These are still the juniors, right?" answered another student.

"Is that Kanashiro down there? If it is, then she'll win. She beat my sister last year in the finals."

"Kanashiro…Kanashiro… Didn't she win one of the sports awards last year?"

"Yeah, that's her."

Takeshi, overhearing the conversation, looked at Kasumi for explanation.

"She won a lot of events in track and field last year and she's in a couple of sport teams," whispered Kasumi."

"Oh," replied Takeshi.

"Hey you two," said Yumiko to get their attention. "Watch, they're about to start."

The girls were standing in their lanes, getting their feet onto the starting blocks.

"On your marks!"

The girls bent over into ready position, waiting for the signal to start.

*BANG*

The starting pistol went off, and the girls exploded from the starting blocks. It was a clean start, and the girls got away quickly. Already Mizuki had the lead, and was leading by half a step. They past the halfway point, and several girls were already falling behind. Mizuki now had a fairly commanding lead. As the finish line drew closer, Mizuki switched off, knowing that she had won and conserving the energy for later races. The others finished and they walked back towards the judge's table to retrieve their times. The girls that came second and third looked happy, knowing that they secured a spot in the semi-final. A few didn't seem to care as they only competed because it was compulsory. There were a few, however, that were being comforted by their parents, sobbing because they didn't make it into the next round. Mizuki saw a girl being hugged by the girl's parents, getting support from them. Mizuki's constant smile faded a little.

************************************

"Where are you going, Kasumi?" enquired Takeshi.

"Just visiting some friends," answered Kasumi as she got up. "Now you two lovebirds behave yourselves," admonished Kasumi jokingly. "I don't want to have to come back to pry you two apart."

"You know something like that's never going to happen," replied Yumiko.

"Well, you never know. Bye!"

"Looks like it's just you and me, Takeshi."

"Yeah… I guess."

"We've never really had a chance to talk."

"Haha… yeah, not really. I'm… I'm not really the talking type, though."

"I didn't think so." A few moments of silence passed. "Tell me a bit about yourself."

"Um… I'm not sure where to start."

"At the beginning."

"I was born. I'm here now. The end."

"Come on! Stop joking around!" Yumiko was slightly annoyed that she couldn't get a straight answer out of Takeshi.

"Okay, but…"

"What is it?"

"Um… I'm not really… that is, I don't know that much about you." said Takeshi sheepishly.

"I'll tell you something about myself, then."

Takeshi took a deep breath. "Well, I was born in January 17 years ago, so that makes me about 3 weeks older than Kasumi. I finished elementary school here before my parents sent me off to study overseas."

"Why did they send you to Australia?" interrupted Yumiko.

"My mother has this idea of creating the 'perfect' son, so she's been cramming stuff into my head since the day I was born. She wanted me to be bilingual, so she sent me off overseas to a boarding school. Weird, huh?"

"A bit," answered Yumiko.

"Well after 6 years over there I'm back home."

"I see. What did you study over there, anyway?"

"Well, I did an IB course, so I had to do English, a science, math, a language and an art subject. I chose to do physics and visual communication for my art subject and since the Japanese part was so easy for me I did an extra subject and studied music. I wasn't terribly good at it, though."

"Oh. I see. What's an IB course."

"It's a course that's accepted worldwide as completion of secondary level education, which means I'm eligible for entry into any university. Your turn."

"Well my dad's in charge of this really big electronics company, and my mum's a corporate lawyer. They used to live here in Tokyo, and I was born here. About a year ago my dad's headquarters moved to Hiroshima, but they decided it was better for me to stay here We went looking around for a dorm for me to stay at, and we found Hinata Sou. Kasumi and I weren't really friends at that point, but she convinced me to stay with her and that's how I ended up there. Now it looks like I'll be staying a couple more years so I can go to Todai."

"Ah, so you're a Tokyo girl. That reminds me. I have to sign up for cram school."

"Which one? Kasumi and I are signing up for the one that's near the mall. Why don't come with us afterwards and we can sign up together?"

"Er… Sure."

Kasumi returned, giving her friends a playful smile as she said, "I'm back. Ara, have you two been making out?"

"WHAT!" yelled the other two in unison.

"Well, I saw you two talking before, and I thought that you two must have been…"

"If I didn't know you so well, Ka-chan, I would be seriously worried about your mental health." Kasumi simply gave him a bemused smile. Takeshi checked his watch. "I think that my sister's event is about to start."

The PA system clicked on and made an announcement. "Could the competitors in the girls under-15's 100 metre sprint heat 6 please make their way to the judge's table? Repeating that: girls under-15's 100 metre sprint heat 6 to the judge's table."

They saw Hiroko make her way from the competitor's area to the table, then move out onto the track. They stood up to wave to her and Hiroko waved back.

"I hope she does well," said Takeshi.

"Don't worry about her Ta-kun. I'm sure she'll do fine."

The girls got into their starting positions before the starting pistol went off. Hiroko got off to a good start and was quite close to the leaders, but they were slowly pulling away. They finished their race, with Hiroko coming a respectable fourth. The runners made their way back to the judge's table to get their times, and the Takeshi made his way down to the gate to meet his sister. She made her way over to him.

"Well done, sis," said Takeshi, wrapping his arm around her shoulder as Hiroko recovered her breath.

"I did okay, I guess," She puffed a bit. "But I really didn't have a chance against them."

"Come on, let's go get you a drink."

Masaru came running up to them. "Hey Hiroko, you look beat. Want a massage?"

"Pervert!" Hiroko, being her mother's daughter, let her fist reply for her. Masaru was knocked back down the stairs. His sister applauded quietly in the background. "Couldn't have done it better myself."

"Why, thank you Iwako." Iwako gave Hiroko a small smile.

The three of them made their way up to where Yumiko and Kasumi were seated.

"Nice try, Hiroko-chan."

"Thanks, Yumiko-sempai."

"I'm sure you'll beat them next time."

"Haha, I don't think so, Kasumi."

Takeshi began digging through his bags and, after some searching, found a towel and a bottle of orange juice.

"Here," said Takeshi, handing over the bottle to Hiroko, who drank it gratefully. After she finished drinking, Takeshi began to towel her dry, starting at her forehead and face, then her arms and then reaching behind her and under her shirt to dry her back.

"Brother! Stop that!"

"Oh, stop squirming Hiroko. We need to get you cleaned up."

"I'm fine!"

"You're all sweaty. If I leave you like this you'll catch a cold. And who is mum going to tell off for your cold? Me. Well, she'll probably blame it on dad somehow…"

"…Okay. Just make it quick and don't touch anywhere you're not supposed to."

"Geez, sis! That's gross! What kind of guy touches his own sister?!"

"Well, do you remember that time mum told us about dad and Aunt Kanako?"

"I wouldn't put it past my brother, either," Iwako chimed in.

Mizuki watched the scene from where she was sitting in the competitors' area. She saw how her friend Hiroko was being fussed over by Takeshi, and deep inside it made her feel strange. 'I wonder what that's like,' thought Mizuki. 'Mizuki never had a brother before.' She continued watching as the two siblings threw the now-sweaty towel at each other. 'It must be fun to have a big brother.'

The last time she was fussed over like that was when her parents were still in Tokyo. Because they had to work somewhere else they decided to leave her with Hiroko and her parents, who ran an all-girls dormitory. It was a lot of fun at Hinata Sou, but sometimes she was still sad. 'Mizuki misses mama and papa,' she thought.  She envied Hiroko, who had her parents all the time, and now she had a brother as well. Mizuki sighed and tried to clear her head of unhappy thoughts.

***************************************

"The girls under-15's 100 metre sprint final will begin in 10 minutes. Girls under-15's 100 metre finals in 10 minutes."

This was Mizuki's final event, and she had done well in hurdles, the high jump and the long jump.  Her hurdles relay and 4 x 100 metre relay teams had won, but for some reason she still felt down. Try as she might, she couldn't get the thoughts of her parents out of her head. 'Mizuki wishes that mama and papa could be here.' The parents of the other girls had come down to the competitors' area to give their child a final pep talk and to wish them luck. One father was giving his daughter a hug. Mizuki couldn't take it any more. She burst into tears.

"Ara, what's wrong with Mizuki-chan?" asked a concerned Kasumi.

"I don't know," answered Takeshi. "I'm going down there."

"Wait up, brother. I'm coming too," said Hiroko as she chased after Takeshi.

The two made it down to the competitors' area, where they found Mizuki bawling.

"What's wrong?" asked a concerned Hiroko.

"Every…everyone has their mama and papa…but Mizuki… Mizuki is all alone. Hiroko has her brother…but Mizuki…has no-one," managed Mizuki between sobs.

Takeshi pulled the crying girl into a gentle embrace, allowing her to weep onto his chest. "Shhh, it's all right Mizuki-chan," comforted Takeshi. "You have all of us here for you, and we're all very, very proud of you." Mizuki's crying slowed as she looked up at Takeshi. "I'm sure your parents are very proud of you as well. See the video camera up there?" Takeshi pointed towards the camera and Mizuki nodded. "We'll make sure your parents get a copy of the tape. And if it's a brother you want, well… I'm sure Hiroko won't mind sharing me a bit."

"Really?" asked Mizuki tentatively.

"I'm positive." Takeshi gave her a reassuring smile.

"Competitors in the girls under-15's 100 metre sprint final please make their way to the judge's table Repeating that message: competitors in the girls under-15's 100 metre sprint final please make their way to the judge's table," announced the PA system.

"That's your cue to go," said Takeshi, wiping away Mizuki's tears with a tissue. Mizuki's smile reappeared on her face. "Go for it." Mizuki let go of Takeshi.

"Try your best, Mizuki."

"Don't you worry! Mizuki's going to win!" said Mizuki enthusiastically.

**************************************

Takeshi and Hiroko made their way back to the grandstand, where a concerned group was waiting for them.

"What was wrong with Mizuki?" asked Masaru.

"She missed her parents," answered Takeshi. "Poor girl…"

"Is everything all right now?" asked Kasumi.

"Yeah, I think shes' all right now," answered Hiroko.

"I think he just wanted to feel her. Look, his jumper's all wet from drool," stated Yumiko.

"I don't believe you," replied Takeshi. Turning to Kasumi, he continued, "I think your leaps in logic have just been beaten."

"I was joking, Takeshi. Joking," said Yumiko.

"The race is about to start," said Iwako.

The girls were already in position when the others started watching. The pistol went off, and the girls were away. Mizuki, out of nerves, faltered a bit but regained momentum. She began catch up to the others, passing them slowly until she was on par with the frontrunner. The finish line was five metres ahead, and Mizuki dug deep to find an extra surge of energy. They crossed the finish line. Mizuki won be a few centimetres.

"She won! She won!" shouted Kasumi, jumping up and down enthusiastically.

Masaru had pulled Iwako and Hiroko into a hug before the two girls hit him across the head. "Just got… carried away," he said as he crumpled to the ground.

"She won! That's great!" said Yumiko.

"I'm so glad," said Takeshi. The two of them turned towards each other and were about to hug when they stopped and realised what they were doing. Both blushed. Kasumi, however, bumped into Takeshi in her excitement. He fell on top of Yumiko and the two blushed further.

"Get…get off me," said Yumiko, trying to suppress her embarrassment.

"S-sorry," replied Takeshi, climbing off her. Luckily, none of the others had noticed this little mishap. He helped Yumiko back to her feet. All of them watched as a gold medal was presented to a beaming Mizuki.

***************************************

Everyone was now busy enjoying the lunch that Takeshi had prepared. There were different kinds of sandwiches and rice balls, as well as drinks and snacks. They all appeared to be having a good time.

"Excuse me, who made these?" she asked, pointing to the rice balls.

"I did," Kasumi answered.

Iwako's lips curved into a contented smile.  "They are exquisite. The rice is neither too hard nor too gummy and the consistency of the ball itself is excellent. You must put a lot of effort into your cooking."  She sighed dreamily as she took another bite.

"Who turned her into a food critic?" Takeshi quietly asked Masaru.

"She likes to eat," explained Masaru. "It's her hobby. With the amount she eats, I'm surprised that she hasn't become wider than she is tall." Masaru looked at his sister, who was still enjoying the rice balls. "Then again, if she was fat on top of being unfriendly, cold hearted, and having a stick up her –!" He was interrupted as a can of soda hit him in the back of the head.

"I HEARD THAT!" yelled Iwako, threatening Masaru with another can in her hand.

"As I was saying before, if she was like that, then no guy would want her, which means I'd have to look after her. That would seriously kill my social life, so I guess I should count my lucky stars."

Another can came flying over, knocking Masaru out cold

Mizuki poked Takeshi's side.

"Hmm?"

"Mizuki saw it," she giggled.

"Saw what?" asked Takeshi.

"You and Yumiko-sempai making kissy faces." There was an explosion of snorts as the others tried to stop food spraying out of their mouths.

"What are you talking about, Mizuki-chan?" asked Yumiko after recovering from choking.

"When Mizuki won the race, and everybody was celebrating. Takeshi and Yumiko-sempai were lying down making kissy faces."

"WE WERE NOT! WE WEREN'T!" yelled the two in question, looking around to assure everyone.

"Now I told you two this before. You're not allowed to make out in public," said Kasumi playfully.

Masaru nudged Takeshi in the ribs. "Way to go, man!"

Takeshi looked at Kasumi and then turned towards Yumiko, who still had some traces of red on her face. "I'll hold her down. You strangle her."

Laughter filled the air as Takeshi and Yumiko chased Kasumi around, threatening to get revenge.