What If Series One: Before The Amnesia...
"Papa!" Kotomi ran to me as soon as she got up in the morning. She braced her arms around me, making me chuckle for the loveliness of my daughter. She was five years old now, but she can understand things clearly. No doubt, my daughter inherited my brain.
"You're so jolly, Kotomi. Did you sleep early last night?"
She kissed me on both of my cheeks, "Hai... so desu, Papa! I slept for exactly eight hours. I need to get tall!" she answered, "Mama's too short." she whispered, "When I grow up, I wanted to be as tall as you, Papa!" there she is, she wanted to be exactly like me, and yes, she's right, she's exactly like me.
"You know what... Mama's planning another scheme. She arranged another date with you, Papa! Please don't go! Come and play at me instead. Coming with Mama's whereabouts, you will just get bored. She has a long detailed list of your date! I hate that! You will be only controlled, Papa!" she said. I don't know what's gotten to my daughter but she seemed to hate it when Kotoko is in charge of everything, yes me too. It would never turn out to be fun, based on my experience. "You know what, Uncle Yuki has taught me about the trigonometry! It was fun! And it was very simple! I called simply recall the formula in just one glance! All about the Reciprocal Identities, the double angle formulas, power reducing formulas, Pythagorean identities, Sum-to-product formulas, and so on! Uncle Yuki told me to grab the opportunity to enter a math contest but... Mama won't allow me to!"
"Are you sure you want to enter that contest?" I asked her, the happiness of my daughter is my priority. If she likes it, then why not? As long she's happy doing it, then I won't mind.
"Yes, Papa! I wanted it so badly! I wanted to be like you and Uncle Yuki!" she pleaded.
God, she was only five years old but she's talking like a mature woman already.
I sighed, "Okay. Ask your Mama to help you with your registration. Entering in an international competition will be hard, Kotomi. You are only five years old, you are so young. I don't want you to have enough for yourself, you can take it to step by step. You are reading too much book at your age..." I told my daughter, she may be looked like exactly to her mother but I remembered she was so like me when I was younger.
"Irie Kotomi!"
Kotoko was running down the stairs, her hair was in mess and she has doodles on her face. I laughed at the sight of her, she's looking like a complete idiot. I turned to my daughter, "What did you do this time?" I know it was one of her pranks, they are not in bad relation but Kotomi's liked to tease her mother. She wants my attention only to her.
"Hehehe." she laughed like Kotoko. "Papa... you even... well, she put on mine in the other night, I wanted to get even." she smiled. I swear these two get along with each other. Kotoko came in, and she took the spot beside me, sticking her tongue out to our daughter, "You are so bad, Mi-chan! You should prepare for my revenge!" her eyes squinted with determination and I could sense up the extreme attention with these two. They are always been like this... every morning and because of that, it was always bright and a scene to be looking forward to.
And Kotoko fluttered her eyes, a kind of a hint indicating that she wants something again, "Irie-kun." with her cute voice and pouty lips, I have a slight idea what it is all about, "I have a very good idea!" she surprised me and I glared at her as I leaned back in my seat. Dammit, with these two on me, I could never finish the newspaper I'm reading. "Mama, stop fawning on Papa! You are so disgusting!" she berated her mother... like Kotoko's friend. At least, Kotomi always has the confidence to talk about something.
"I'm his wife, Kotomi!" Kotoko emphasized it again, "You are just only our daughter!" she talked back and I guess they are going to pull each other's hair again. "You always give Papa a hard time! Look how stressed he is! It is not easy to be a genius!" she fought back and continued, "Lucky you! You were born with stupidity, Mama!"
"How dare you, Kotomi! How dare you to underestimate your Mama!" she pinched Kotomi's chubby cheeks until her face stretched, "You should give us our time to be lovey-dovey! You will always get in the way!"
And then Kotomi pinched her mother's cheek until her face turned like a fish, "Mama! You are hurting me! Papa has to teach me trigonometry again! I have to study hard for the contest!" she said, she's still pushing in. It was Kotoko's turn, "I told you, you can't enter that kind of mind-blowing contest! You are still in your primary years! You should enjoy your childhood with your friends! You should play a lot! Kotomi, you have to listen to me!" the same in how she told me, Kotoko's eyes got a will of determination flowing in, but knowing my daughter was a hard-headed one, she won't listen to her mother.
I sighed...they have a strong-willed determination. Sometimes, Kotomi's decisions are like her mother. They won't stop once they got the power and determination to get it.
"Kotoko, let's talk about it tonight. Leave it for now," I told her. Nothing's gonna solve right now if they keep on fighting about that. Sometimes these two surprises me. One, they got along with each other talking about some romantic crush topics and girl stuff. Two, they are always going against each other when it comes to my attention.
She stopped pinching her daughter's cheek, "Hai. I have a lot of things to say then and besides, we have to be alone together tonight... to make up the nights." she pulled her brows up and down, and then her cheeks blushed, before I could stop it, Kotoko's is in her wide daydream now. I took a deep breath, she still never change... and I kind of liked that. I rolled my eyes.
"Kotomi, close your eyes," she demanded.
"Why would I close my eyes, Mama? I'm not stupid!" she answered.
"Because you're too young to see us kissing..." she shyly said it as she put her thumb on her lips. I had a quick smile, sometimes Kotoko always embarrassed me... not that kind of way but... she still struck me with a bolt of lightning, making me falling deeper to that pit that she dug.
"Don't kiss Papa, you idiot! You have an ugly face and you didn't wash it yet! I won't let your lips touch my Papa's lips! Not now! Shoo! Mama! You should practice how to make pancakes without getting it burnt instead!" she pushed her Mama away and I swear with these two, bickering in my sides, no breakfast will happen this morning.
"Common, close your eyes! I thought you want to have a younger brother!" she hushed her daughter.
"No! I changed my mind! You always torture Papa in bed!" she yelled.
"Kotomi! Where did you get that word?!" she acted like a real mom.
I don't know where these two will come around, they are always fighting... two Kotoko's in this early morning... at least they make a happy ambiance in this home. My mom and dad are taking up a vacation in Hawaii. Yuki is attending a conference and he'll be back next week. I'll have these two yelling at each other for the entire week. I have to look out for them... if I leave them in just a second, probably they will burn this house into ashes.
She covered her daughter's eyes with her right hand and she asked, "Can I kiss you, Irie-kun? So that I have the reason to make pancakes perfectly!"
I tried to push her away, "No... with your face like that?" I teased her and unfolded the newspaper to her face. Her face never changed expression, she was still smiling like a clown. She pushed the newspaper away and leaned her face forward to me and kissed me swiftly, enough to taste her sweet lips. "There!" and then she left, singing a familiar lullaby to her way in the kitchen. I was left dumbfounded. I still find it was like what happened during our graduation day, I kissed her on a whim... not realizing that I was starting to fall in love with her...
"Eww! That baka kissed you again, Papa!" Kotomi said disgustingly.
She'll never know that I always get my morning kiss whether she kiss me or not.
I smiled at that thought. Kotoko's funny face when sleeping occurred in my mind. I laughed. I was so angry last night that she did it again, she pushed me out of the bed... I got my head hurt and when I started to stand up, she immediately followed me to the floor, and she fell on top of me. And guess, she was so heavy... she gained weight again after eating twelve pieces of cake. I swear who eats that lot? Yeah, I know there's only Kotoko. But ironically, she never got fat. She's still thin. Earlier before she wakes up, I kissed her for revenge, and then Kotomi came in carrying markers. I helped her putting doodles on her face... at least it was quite fun of revenge. We had a high five at that time... me and Kotomi.
"Kotomi! Prepare yourself now! You are going to be late again!" she shouted in the kitchen. Kotomi just nodded, sometimes, she obeys her mother's command at the right time. She was quiet when she was going back to her room, I know she wants to stay here with us but she can't have a habit of being absent. And she needs to enjoy being in school and to be like those normal kids.
"Kotomi," I called her, and she met my eyes, those kinds of squinty eyes that Kotoko makes me when I declined her comical idea. "Enjoy being in school. We will fetch you up once you are done, and we'll eat your favorite pizza." I told her.
She got that wide smile, her teeth gleamed and her eyes sparkled... like she can't wait anymore. "Really!" she was so delighted... in blessedness. "You promised me, Papa!" and she ran to the stairs, squeaking like a happy little girl... I've always yearned to see her growing with happiness.
Kotoko came in, "Did Kotomi already finish her home works?" she asked... and she sounded like a concerned mother, "Oh no! Her teacher will make her sit on the air again! Her teacher has a huge crush on you, Irie-kun! Of course, she'll give our daughter a hard time. I will pull her hair next time!" she leaned on me, eyes were filled with temporary anxiety while carrying that spatula.
"Hey... remember Kotomi inherited my brain, not yours." I reminded her and then she took a step back, eyes looking to the ceiling... "Oh, I just thought that there would be the time that she'll do it as I do it when I was in school... you know, like mother, like daughter!" she said after a light bulb beat her head.
I sighed... I should have been used to her.
I heard a frightening high pitched voice in the bathroom. I immediately ran to the door, and I knocked. That baka got into trouble again. I'm hoping she was not hurt. I knocked consecutively, "Kotoko! What happened? Answer me!" I'm starting to get eaten with my worst-case imagination and I hope it would not be...
She said to the door, "Irie-kun! Irie-kun!" she called me.
"What? Are you done there?" I felt a huge relief, I thought she slipped herself again, got her head crashed to the sink and got her blood spilled until the water drained it.
"Waaaah... I can't believe it, Irie-kun! I'm crying!" she said.
"Believe what? What are you doing there? Open the door!"
"No, I won't let you in! You'll see it!"
"Baka! What are you hiding?"
"My breasts got smaller... huhuhu. What should I do? The saleslady will laugh on me again... they will mock me as your wife! Huhuhu! I don't want to give them the satisfaction! I'm tired to be the huge ball of humiliation! I wanted revenge! At least they have to respect me as your wife!"
I rolled my eyes, I thought it was something else. She scared me there. She has a habit of scaring me with my life bet on it, I should give her lesson-learned next time. "You idiot! Why are you always taking them seriously?!" I seethed. She had me there... I thought something happened to her. I wasn't done packing my things. I have to pack it later. "At least you have to understand that you can't wear brassieres with a lot of space in the chest area! You have to stick with your thirty-two cup a size!" I was going to be late and I haven't taken my bath yet! This wife of mine! She always makes a big deal out of it!
"How did you know my size?! And you are wrong! I am not thirty-two cup a size! Mine was a little bigger than that! You are always so mean to me, Irie-kun! Now, I hate you!" she told me... and I heard her leaning back to the door, sliding her back until she sat on the floor.
"Yeah, let's say that your size turned to thirty-two point five cup a size, a little bigger than the later! Now, will you get out of that drama? I'm going to be late!" I pushed the door open, and the idiot that she is, she forgot to lock it. Haha, "Waaah! I said don't come in, Irie-kun! You always peeped behind doors!" she used her might to push it back but I am way stronger than she is, "Kotoko for damn sake, we are going to be late! We have to take Kotomi at her school! And I have a medical conference this morning! And Nurse Hosoi will scold you again! I bet it will be your third penalty! Open the door! And lastly, I don't have a thing with you! As you said, there's nothing I can see to your body!"
"You meanie! I won't sleep in our bed tonight! I will sleep at Kotomi's!"
"Our daughter will probably throw you off out of the room!"
"Then I sleep outside!"
"The dogs will have you as their prey!"
I pushed the door until I put my head in, "Common, Kotoko! You will make our daughter sit in the air in her class if you will make her late!"
Then Kotomi got annoyed... she was waiting for her mother to come around and fix her hair. She doesn't want to be late... and got scolded by her teacher and to have a stain on her reputation as the five-year-old genius... "Mama! I will kill you if you make me late again!" she screamed and helped me pushed the door.
"Just say you love me first, Irie-kun," she said and she was now laughing... I will give her a beating on her head... the time is ticking for damn sake. "And you too, Kotomi!"
"Fine, I love you!" I told her... and I pinched Kotomi, "Hey, say you love your mom too, you know she won't stop this scene if you don't." I told her. And she managed to force herself to say it even if she wanted to pull her mother's hair, "Okay, I love you, Mama!" she said and Kotoko opened the door with her hair dripping wet and with only a towel covering her body... "Okay... let's go! Kotomi you will be late, wait for me in the living room. I'll change my clothes quickly while your Papa is taking a bath."
"You have no boobs..." I said to get even... and, with a smirk.
"And I hope I will never get that body when I turn to lady, Papa." Kotomi agreed and she smiled evilly. We both wanted revenge for Kotoko. She wasted a lot of time. Tsk.
"You two beat me up again!" she cried.
Dr. Funatsu and I were discussing things about neurosurgery. I am not into that field because I finally became a pediatrician but sometimes, Funatsu's intense competitiveness wakened the beast inside of me. We were discussing the patient's case that was brought two hours ago.
"The 56-year-old woman is brought to the emergency department by her partner. She had initially complained of a severe headache before collapsing unconscious on the floor at home. She has no significant past medical history but smokes 30 cigarettes a day. She has now regained consciousness and is complaining of neck stiffness. Her initial assessment is carried out using the system shown below. Her condition is quite complicated but... based on the story of her partner, it now made sense to me." he showed me a paper containing the result of her initial assessment.
I nodded, and I have a quite knowledge about it since I have so many intern experiences at every department, "As I have heard and read to the books, the Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) is composed of three parameters: verbal commands, eye-opening and motor responses. The patient is assessed on their 'best' response. The scores are summed to give an overall value from 3 (being the worst) to 15 (being the best). In this case, the GCS is 13." I answered based on the data given on the paper. Funatsu agreed to my idea.
And there at the corner of my eye, I saw Kotoko with her friends looking at us... damn... we are already married and she still acted like her love is on the other side of the world. I smiled... nothing has gotten a change to our situation... we are both getting older but we acted as we can still do those things 'cause we were young. She has now that kind of look that she admired me like in high school. Hell, we just got here in the hospital together... she still hasn't gotten her enough with just that.
"Irie-sensei?" Funatsu called me when my attention caught by her, making a phone call sign. She even winked her eyes and blew me a kiss. "This woman has nothing to do with her life... even at work." I murmured and remind myself again that I have to get used to my wife because that's the way she is.
She threw a paper plane to me until it landed straight after it hit my chest. I picked it up and opened it. I'm curious about what's written on it.
"A romantic medical romance. There is a handsome doctor who was assigned to Tonan hospital temporarily. There is a shy nurse who works there. She was asked to assist that handsome doctor. After a week of knowing each other, they were loved by the patients that they have successfully taken care of. One day the nurse was assigned to another hospital... because her two years working time is over... the doctor chased the girl... and swear..."
I didn't finish all of it because I already know that this is the product of her daydream again. Recently, she was watching too much drama every night. And now she got carried away.
I used my pen and I replied. I wrote.
"GET LOST."
I mean, I was just kidding. I threw the paper to her head and she read it... she smiled while writing something. She threw it again, I picked it up. And I read what was written there.
"LET'S HAVE LUNCH TOGETHER AT THE VACANT ROOM. ROOM 309."
I looked at her as she tucked a strand of her hair back to her ears, and she winked at me again.
And I threw my head back laughing like a little kid, "Idiot."
I kept the paper inside my pocket. I don't know what Funatsu is talking about... and I lost track of our conversation but I'm sure he'll manage it.