A/N: Not mine.


"Where is she? Where is she?!" Kinnosuke's eyes darted to and fro and his arms flapped in frustration.

"Who?" Satomi inquired in a bored tone.

"Who? Kotoko! Who else?!" he shouted, spittle almost reaching her.

"Ew," Jinko said. "Take a chill pill, Kin-chan. And why are you looking for her anyway?"

"We need to practice our walk together," he explained. "I'm the male representative of Class F, and with Kotoko bein' the top in the class, she's my partner." His eyes almost crossed as he added dreamily, "And in more ways than one."

"Uh, Kin?" Dozo poked his arm. "I don't know what you're trying to say. Aihara and Irie've been dating for over a month now."

"Nah," he brushed off the information, "she's just playin' hard to get. Makin' me jealous, that's all."

"There's no hope for him, is there?" Satomi asked Jinko, unsurprised when Gintaro and Dozo also shook their heads.

"Now," he picked up his share of the diplomas and brandished them, "I've got my stack, and once we find her, Satomi, you can hand her the ones you're holdin'."

"No can do," she replied shortly. "I am holding these because I am the female rep for Class F."

"Kotoko's not sitting with us," put in Jinko. "She's with Class A."

"Wha-a-at?!" he screeched.

"Well," Satomi brushed her nails against her jacket, "Tshushima-sensei has been grading all her work, and he managed to bully Haka-sensei into releasing her."

"He said it was payback for being a jerk about her transfer requests." Jinko grimaced in their teacher's direction. "It wasn't fair what he did, although I'm glad to have made her as a friend."

"But he can't!" he wailed. "This ruins all my plans!"

"Kin, none of your plans have done squat all year," Gintaro told him. "Give it up."

Dozo joined him in the remonstration. "Yeah, you've made Class F even more of a laughingstock than it usually is."

"Why you–"

"Enough, students!" Hakamada barked. "Everyone, line up. Class D is almost in the gymnasium, and we need to be ready to follow E. Ikezawa, Ishikawa, go over there and stand with the other presenters."

Satomi quietly obeyed, and Kinnosuke followed, head bowed and mind racing.


Kotoko sat between Watanabe and one of Naoki's tennis friends in the front row. She had been most grateful to Tsushima for his insistence upon her inclusion, not only because it paid tribute to her intelligence and hard work, but also for getting her out of the reach of Kinnosuke. The past month he had not made any more advances except for what she supposed were yearning looks across the classroom, but she had no illusions that he was not planning something. As a result, when the class representatives mounted the dais, she shrunk into the back of the chair and tried to make herself invisible.

That was a futile gesture, for she had to mount those same stairs to collect her diploma. At least the glare she received from the female Class A representative was better than having to accept the document from Kinnosuke. She gave Satomi a sympathetic glance during her brief visit to the stage, but her eyes slid across the person standing beside her friend without focusing on the bane of her senior year.

Satomi had distributed her half of Class F diplomas, and then it was Kinnosuke's turn. To no one's surprise, he did not follow the instructions which had been given him earlier. He stepped to the front of the platform and placed one hand over his heart and began to declaim.

"Oh Kotoko, my Kotoko,
What can I say?
My darling girl,
You take my breath away.

"Oh Kotoko, my Kotoko,
You blind my sight.
And this is how,
Your smile lights up the night.

"Oh Kotoko, my Kotoko,
My heart is aglow,
Yes, together
Forever we will go.

"Oh Kotoko, my Koto–ack!"

Before the end of the first verse, Kotoko's face was hidden behind her hands and audience murmurs had created a loud buzzing in the gymnasium. When the second verse began, catcalls were made, including one which suspiciously sounded like Mrs. Irie. As he continued, various pieces of paper had been pulled out of pockets and purses, crumpled, and thrown towards the stage.

Satomi snatched up the remainder of the diplomas when administrators finally dragged the boy away, still spouting doggerel, and, face flushed, distributed the last of the diplomas. The principal, knowing that no act could follow the one recently completed, kept the closing remarks brief and dismissed the assembly.

Students lost no time in making their way to the courtyards of the campus. Satomi and Jinko embraced their friend once they found her; an easy job it was, with Naoki being so tall.

"Oh, Kotoko, that was worse than I even dared imagine!" Satomi sympathized.

"I mean, that was stinking bad!" Jinko agreed.

The girl squared her shoulders. "Well, it is over now. I assume that he is no longer on campus."

Naoki shrugged. "I suspect he is still locked up in the office. He may even have to have summer school detention before he is allowed to have his proof of graduation."

"At least he is finally out of our hair. Or, at least," Satomi amended, "not in our hair on a daily basis."

"So," Jinko grinned, "are you ever going to tell us what college–or colleges–you decided upon?"

"Silly," her friend elbowed her, "to think that they would be separated now that they are finally together."

"Right. Well, I hope it's close so we can see you on holidays and such."

"I think you will be pleased," Naoki informed them and looked down at his girlfriend, "Do you want to tell them?"

"We shall be seeing quite a lot of you," she smiled, "as we both decided to attend Tonan University."

Their jaws dropped. "Wow," Satomi breathed, "why, when you could've gone almost anywhere?"

"It is a smaller university but still rated fairly high." Naoki added, "The commute is not unfamiliar, since the campus is next door, but that was only of secondary concern."

"Yes," Kotoko beamed, "it has a great business college and the medical school provides graduates with an almost-guaranteed job at Tonan Hospital."

"Hospital?" Jinko asked. "Kotoko, I didn't know that you were interested in being a nurse or doctor."

"Oh, no, it is Naoki who will be the physician. I am the one going for the business degree."

"What about Pandai?" Satomi looked puzzled. "I mean, Mrs. Irie talked a lot about you stepping into your father's shoes."

"And Yuuki-kun is too young to know if he wants to take over the family business," Jinko said. "Or is your father going to sell out?"

"No," Naoki laughed, "Kotoko is going to take over Pandai, seeing that she has almost as many shares as the Irie family. Of course," he looked down at her fondly, "I hope that in a few years it will be obvious that it is still a family business."

The girls squealed at that and hugged Kotoko again. "It couldn't happen to a nicer girl," Jinko averred.

Satomi agreed. "And to think that it all started with an earthquake."

"No," Kotoko smiled sadly, "it started much earlier than that. But it just goes to show that although 'Weeping may tarry for the night, joy comes with the morning'."

"Aw," Jinko wiped an eye, "that's beautiful."

"One of the Bible verses I memorized at Hame-Bo," she informed them, then whispered, "but don't tell Obasama or she'll never believe I'm still Buddhist."


A/N2: Psalm 30:5b, English Standard Version. (Yes, I know it is not a translation normally used by Catholics, but if we get too technical, then this story should be in Japanese.)

A/N3: Because someone stated interest, there will be a brief epilogue featuring the Pandai Spring Board Meeting.