Chapter 8

The road to hell is paved with good intentions

Naoki stared intently at Kotoko's lips as she spoke, following the movement she made with her tongue, each time it left her mouth.

"Good pronunciation," he approved with a nod, to which she jumped in celebration. It was the first time he did not give her a correction with a sentence and even he could understand her enthusiasm. For him, it was a relief.

As he predicted before, Kotoko, with the proper supervision and attention, proved that she wasn't the terrible student she initially seemed, which was made clear to him when she entered the fifty best students, in addition to all the weeks that, altogether, he had been teaching her.

From his perception, she was on a Class D level, with luck maybe Class C, and certainly not the group she was currently in. When he explained to her, she understood when he was clear in his words and with small concepts he did not need great depth, because she improved a little with what he was imparting to her.

And, on occasions like that, she received recognition on his part for her work, which made her celebrate in a way that he admitted was funny, through the form that was a child victory dance.

In that short time, he had found himself noticing why there were those who were interested in professing as educators, since seeing the result of said educating caused moments of satisfaction and a sense of power, for being the one to cause that.

However, it did not mean that he was interested in being a teacher. From just imagining having to deal with crowds of Kotokos, and those worse than her, he was exhausted. He didn't have that level of patience, nor interest in the progress of others. She was an exception—by obligation.

Additionally, at those moments he took advantage of giving comments that hinted at what she should not do, of things that bothered him.

"Do not act like a girl." She paused for a moment, smiled and continued as she had been doing.

Of that, to his bad luck, he did not see much progress.

He began to understand Shigeo-san, surely surrendered somewhere in the process. Maybe she would mature at her own pace or it was a lost cause and he had to settle for what she was like currently. However his parents already adored her like that and she did not interrupt him outside of the hours he put aside for her, so maybe he should not even bother to give her recommendations that she would not follow.

That was more exhausting and frustrating than everything else.

Or later, he could put another method into practice.

"Naoki-kun?" Kotoko sat down again and leaned toward him, who raised an eyebrow for her to speak.

That was something she was beginning to do well, to notice part of his non-verbal language.

Though on second thought, handling her was a losing battle because it was going at a slow pace, but she was fitting well enough into his life, even though she irritated him most of the time.

"Will you cheer for me when I participate tomorrow?" she asked, wrinkling her lips comically.

He rolled his eyes. "Your group is the one that should do that," he objected. "The festival does not interest me."

The sporting event organized by the school seemed like a waste of study time, as it didn't even promote the exercise, and instead the competition. It was also an excuse for the inept lower classes, to feel as if they were important, and to stand out in those contests, as they could not nor did they try to do with their grades.

The effort and interest for the competition within the classes increased as the letters of the alphabet advanced. His group participated without encouragement, just for being a school requirement, and in the following classes you could see the enthusiasm, as they were most competitive.

It was not a surprise, that every year the winners were in those groups.

For him, getting recognition in that was insignificant.

"But…"

"Better concentrate on not stumbling, clumsy." He cut her off by standing up, after seeing the clock. "Goodnight." He left her, open-mouthed, her face flushed.

[...]

Having his mother in front of him shooting the camera, Naoki wrinkled his nose as a result of her enthusiasm, which prevented him from leaving the house, because she was standing in front of the exit—dragging his father into it—until she took all the photos she wanted.

"I'm so happy! Your first public event together, and I'll have it recorded!" Celebrated his mother taking photo after photo, continuing to be an obstacle. "Kotoko-chan and onii-chan at their sports festival, I will record them in their mixed relay race."

She continued to take photos and Naoki felt his eyelid tremble with so much effusiveness.

He did not bother trying to understand his mother's enthusiasm, to her everything excited her. He did not even want to be like her, expressing ridiculously feelings. Sometimes he wondered if, observing how she acted, whether she was the reason why he refused to be more considerate of emotions, outside of his logic.

"That's enough," he mumbled, a vein throbbing in his temple.

His father stepped aside quickly, and he was able to put on his shoes and get rid of that ridiculous show, which had no use because both Kotoko and he were wearing their school uniforms, not sports clothes.

He left and went quietly down the steps, while his mother continued to take photos of Kotoko, who left the house when he was at the bottom of the stairs that connected to the street.

He heard an exclamation from her, coupled with a blow, and looked over his shoulder, at the spot where she had landed. It did not surprise him, they had been living together for a few weeks, and at least four times she had repeated that same clumsiness.

He saw her rub her arm with her nose puckered, holding her red bag with her free hand.

"And you want me to support you?" he asked with irony and kept walking to school.

Moments later, her hurried steps reached him.

"In addition to the mixed relay race, will you also participate in the 100 meters this year?" she asked when he got to his side.

"Yes."

"Oh, what a shame!" she said loudly. He frowned, his eyes on the road. "Kin-chan will also be in that race and he always wins."

Naoki tilted his face towards her, not liking how that phrase sounded.

"But it doesn't matter if you lose, I will support Naoki-kun." She continued smiling.

"Don't do it if you'll make a fuss," he snapped and hurried on, seeing on the clock that his mother and this ridicule had delayed them. He hoped that Kotoko was not so hollow-headed as to imitate them.

[...]

He had thought too soon, Naoki mused, because it was not Kotoko who gave him an unpleasant surprise, but his family, with a banner of excessive size, supporting him and her.

Reading the white fabric with pink letters cheering Kotoko-chan and onii-chan caused him nausea and increased his irritation for that day. Silly sports festival and stupid exhibition of his mother, who had dragged his father, his brother and his father-in-law there, the last burdened to carry a video camera.

The tricks of his okaa-san never ended.

Her poster excelled those of the classes, he dared to say that it was more striking than even the F-Class, whose encouragement for that nonsense was enormous.

He sighed and nodded at Yuuki, who greeted him from afar while he warmed up, so as not to suffer a muscle cramp when participating in the hundred meters.

"I will show you with my speed that I can be better than you." Naoki looked at the sky, in annoyance, when he heard the annoying voice of Class F's loudest guy.

Mainly because he was not interested in winning that stupid race or not.

"Do not ignore me!" The idiot complained. "When I win, Kotoko will prefer me, and then we'll see if you'll be still together."

What kind of idiocies did that guy think? He really hated stupid people.

Besides, as if Kotoko gave importance to that idiot, less to the point of putting Ikezawa before him.

"Do you think that competitive skills in recreation can define a person's predilection?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow, adjusting the red ribbon around his head, the color of his group.

The idiot looked at him with an expression of not understanding. It didn't surprise him.

"I'm not a horse to choose," he said, sober. "And I don't need to win for Kotoko to prefer me," he added scathingly, to feed Ikezawa's fiery appearance.

"That's what the losers say! Kotoko will prefer me to see that I beat you," the bigmouth replied.

"You think she'll leave me because you win, go ahead," he invited, shrugging condescendingly, as if the other could achieve that. He had Kotoko eating out of his hand.

"She will! She will realize that you do not deserve her, she shouldn't be your girlfriend."

"Who are you to prevent it?" He straightened up when he heard that he was named for his participation and asked them to take the initial line.

For a second, he wondered why he bothered to respond to the words of the idiot Ikezawa. He found that it was a funny image to make him rage and show that he was better. Just as making him pay for meddling in his affairs.

"I'll beat you, Irie, and I'll reclaim Kotoko!" The other guys on the line looked at them.

"Are you sure that's what she wants?" He articulated slyly, making doubt appear on the face of the other, who shook his head quickly, amid the laughter of the others.

"You just want to confuse me and distract me and it won't work, I'll prove that I'm better than you are for her."

He snorted, of course, the two of them could be better together, but Kotoko was convenient for his purposes.

"And if I win, will you leave us alone?" he replied, with feigned innocence. If that was the way to get rid of him, it much better; It would be an incentive to really run and not jog, as he did every time he participated. The idiot was so confident and could not know that his physical condition was good, only that he did not see that the competition deserved the effort.

Ikezawa opened his mouth, babbling unintelligible things, like the stupid one he was. "I… no-o… that… I'll beat you!"

The spectators shook with laughter and took a position when the professor caught his attention.

Naoki cursed to himself, he had not got his word, which he thought would be the only thing that would make him turn away. However, it made him want to shut Ikezawa's mouth, as he prepared to begin.

The shot rang out and he ran free on the running track, listening to the cries of the crowd in his ears and feeling his heart beating fast in his chest, until he reached the finish line, touching the white ribbon with his stomach, before Ikezawa, in his periphery, whose tongue came out of his mouth like a panting dog.

He raised an eyebrow in the direction of the idiot, who was stupefied by the triumph, and heard the cries of his mother encouraging him, over his now animated group, as he walked calmly to where his towel and water were, to wipe the sweat from his neck and forehead.

It was the first time he felt real excitement when running.

"Naoki-kun! You won!" Kotoko appeared in front of him when he removed the towel from his eyes.

He nodded.

"I'm very happy! It was so exciting!" Her voice sounded very impressed with emotion. "Everyone in the audience was amazed that you were running so fast without much effort, Kin-chan looked like he would lose his lungs, he must have felt very bad, but… It was awesome!"

He raised the corner of his mouth in a smirk.

"Naoki-kun is excellent!" Kotoko continued, in her exaggerated show of support, which supported the knowledge that he had her in his pocket.

"Congratulations, Irie-san," Koujiro's voice said calmly, silencing Kotoko.

His girlfriend and he did not have a chance to see her because she was walking away.

"Who is she?" Kotoko asked, tilting her head, in a different voice. The two braids protruding from her head waved comically.

He shrugged, disinterested, and went to the toilets to cool off.

[...]

When they were about to start the 12th competition, Naoki went to the place where his family was eating sandwiches and when he accepted a can of Yuuki's soda, he congratulated him for his triumph in his contest.

"Onii-chan, you were hardly in time to support Kotoko-chan," his mother said, giving him a seat and offering him one of the sandwiches.

He heard that the spokeswoman presented the girls' race and his mother enthusiastically pointed to Kotoko, approaching the starting line. His father left the sandwiches and Shigeo-san quickly pointed the video camera towards her.

Yuuki took the opportunity to take an orange slice and he took another piece of apple.

"It's going to start!" his mother shouted. "Onii-chan, you have to support her."

Naoki rolled his eyes.

They gave the starting shot and he shuddered with the screams of his mother, while watching Kotoko run to the table where the papers with the criteria needed to win were.

Suddenly, she turned to where they were and approached quickly.

"Naoki-kun!" she screamed.

"What do you want?" he asked, hating that Shigeo-san focused the camera on him.

She grabbed his wrist. "Come!"

He huffed and, reluctantly, because his mother looked at him in a way that could mean trouble, he accepted.

He walked at a rapid pace while she, slower, pulled him. He saw that it won him glances of all kinds in the audience and he noticed that the other participants carried objects, while Kotoko asked him to participate. Then he saw another girl approaching with a baby on her back.

He wondered what exactly Kotoko's request had been.

As they were going to the speed of Kotoko, and because a girl took a box that seemed lighter, his girlfriend obtained the second place and received a medal with the number.

However, she did not seem to mind, because her expression resembled that she had won the first prize.

"What did they ask you to get?" he inquired, snapping his fingers in front of her face to get her attention.

"The person you love," she answered in a whisper and he rolled his eyes.

How ridiculous and what slight for her father. Even his mother would have felt in the clouds if she had been chosen.

Although it was the proof he needed to realize that he had earned her.

"Good," he said in response, turning around. "I'm hungry."

"Kotoko!" his mother called when they approached and hugged her. "It was the perfect moment! It's recorded! Oh, I thought you'd get the first place."

"Okay, oba-sama, the second one is also a good place and it's only a game," his smiling girlfriend enunciated.

"You're so good! And what did the paper say? Take your boyfriend?"

"The person you love," Kotoko whispered, her face the color of a cherry.

"Oh, onii-chan! That's wonderful! You're a perfect match!"

He shrugged and sat down to eat and have more time to rest his food until his next participation. He wanted to avoid the heaviness of his stomach, even when it was the last competition and he had just finished the first half of them.

[...]

"Class F is up front," the announcer told the spectators and Naoki saw how a girl of whom he saw with Kotoko many times, ran to give the green baton to a dark-haired boy who had a hairstyle very similar to the loud guy at his side.

"We are going to destroy you!" Ikezawa shouted at that moment; he had returned to his old ways after his loss, of which he made no reference.

He did not bother to answer, and continued to see how the mixed relay race progressed; his group was in third place at the moment, fighting the second. He knew that they had no great interest in winning, but somehow, his triumph had driven them to show a little interest and someone had said they depended on him.

It was amazing that in the course of the day their spirits had changed, as if they had been infected.

He did not care who could have influenced them.

At that moment he saw that Kotoko, the third to run from F, received the baton.

"The F is going for its third runner," announced the woman at the microphone. "Classes are running close, class C is behind."

"Now it's impossible for them to win! We're first," Ikezawa spoke, but Naoki continued to ignore him, although his attention did turn to the leading competitor.

He watched Kotoko run and frowned at her feet. The cord of her right foot was untied, making an accident more possible, to which, per se, she was prone.

He snorted when he saw that she was running fast, but she seemed to be addressing him, something that Ikezawa noticed, beginning to call her, waving his arms.

Kotoko stopped with her hand stretched out towards him and heard the laughter around her.

"Silly, pay attention," he pressed his index finger on her forehead, making her blink in confusion. "And tie up your laces."

She dropped the baton between her hands, which fell to the runway and was announced on the loudspeaker.

Ikezawa crouched to pick it up again at the same time as her and then came the runners of his group and the E Class.

He received his baton and ignored them, running towards the finish line, listening to Ikezawa's exclamations from behind, which amused him, as he overtook the group E runner, without much effort.

The narrator said that Class F was trying to catch up with him and the groups cheered loudly, and then he began to hear that he referred to him as the best of all, matchless. He kept running without losing pace, visualizing the finish line.

He accelerated when he heard a shout from Ikezawa behind and approached the white ribbon with speed. He was about to touch it and, suddenly, Kotoko fell onto her knees to the ground, in his way.

He passed the bar, but physics did not allow him to stop in time, causing him to run into his girlfriend, automatically wrapping his arms around her, although he heard her panting over all the people in the yard when they finished on the ground, her below.

His stomach resented the blow and he felt a sting in his right palm, only that he ignored the two pains, separating from Kotoko to give her space.

Surely she had made her laces. "Silly, I told you to avoid your clumsiness," he whispered softly, scolding her. Now she did not mind that he used the word, and it was good, because he could not erase it from his vocabulary.

The announcer named him the winner, while still communicating the incident.

"Kotoko?" he whispered with a strange sensation and sighed when he heard her moan. He turned her around and saw her expression of pain, her eyes closed. "You'll always need me to take care of you," he muttered to himself, irritated.

"Class F gets second place," he heard, as he carefully maneuvered to accommodate Kotoko on his back.

"Naoki-kun?" she said softly, where his ear was.

"Hold on," he instructed and felt her wrap her arms around his neck tightly as he caught her legs to wrap around his body. "But do not suffocate me," he claimed, and she applied less pressure.

"Irie, how dare you fall on Kotoko!" There was the idiot, he thought, standing up with Kotoko already in a proper position. "You're an abuser!"

"Whatever you say," he replied, taking direction to the infirmary.

"Hey! You admit it!" exclaimed Ikezawa. "What are you doing with Kotoko?! Where are you taking her?"

"To the infirmary, where else?" he said, rolling his eyes.

With annoyance, he saw Shigeo-san being pushed by his mother, with the intention of recording everything. Meanwhile, several were whistling and the stupid idiot kept shouting from behind.

"I'm sorry," Kotoko whispered and she sounded weak. "It was not my intention, they pushed me in. Sorry to get you in trouble."

"I'm used to it," he mumbled.

[...]

In the infirmary, after fixing Kotoko's scrapes and placing a compress on her wound, the responsible caregiver applied antiseptic in the palm of his hand, which his girlfriend saw with an expression between worried and repentant.

"I'm s…"

"Shut up," he cut her off because it was the umpteenth time she apologized. "It's annoying."

"Yes, but…" she replied.

"I understand, don't bother with that," he muttered in exasperation, focusing his eyes on her with threat. Because of her usual attitude, bad things had already happened, so he could respond to her as he wanted.

"I don't wanna get you mad, Naoki-kun." Kotoko pleaded with him and he looked away. The nurse laughed, giving him a pat on the back of his hand, before smiling at his girlfriend.

"He was scared by what happened to you, young lady, that's why he acts like that," the nurse commented and he looked at her, eyes wide. Where did that come from? He simply told the truth, it disgusted him to hear that she apologized so many times, what happened had nothing to do with it.

Kotoko was clumsy, he would waste his time worrying about her.

However, the nurse's words served as an incentive for her to be quiet, and he thanked her for it, while she gave them an indication to retire with the corresponding instructions, before going to see a boy who was coughing continuously.

"Naoki-kun?" She stayed behind and grabbed him by the sleeve of his white sports shirt.

At the end of the corridor, before turning around, he saw Ikezawa.

"What?" he mumbled, hoping he would not hear another apology or have to deal with the idiot's screams.

"Thank you," she said with a smile, one of those that he was beginning to get used to.

"Yes, as you say," he said and made a move to turn, but she stopped him, making him bend, to kiss his cheek with her face flushed.

Really?

Kotoko's innocence reached another level, he thought with a sly smile. It even seemed a crime to corrupt her, although he felt like it after that demure gesture.

"Kotoko." The idiot called her, without her showing a bit of recognition.

Naoki didn't stop to think much. He caught Kotoko's face with both hands and cocked his face, close to her mouth.

"That's not a kiss," he whispered maliciously. She closed her eyes.

He then followed his impulse… and also wanted to give Ikezawa a demonstration of who the loser was. He lowered his eyelids and joined his lips to Kotoko's, who kept her mouth shut as he slowly moved his, until he stuck out his tongue and made her half-open her lips, with a soft moan.

Gently and tentatively, she made a movement with her lips, in the same way that he did and corresponded properly to the kiss, making both of them try that unknown action, but which slowly took pace, little by little giving comfort to both of them. Even he, who was not experienced, did not dislike the kiss so much that it left him with a sensation difficult to describe on the lips.

He separated from her and raised his eyelids. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the corridor was empty, his intention to piss off Ikezawa done.

He let go of Kotoko's face, causing her to open her eyes and then blush. He, on the other hand, felt a little warmth on his face.

"Do not delay," he warned and nodded to follow the path.

She nodded silently, walking beside him. He frowned inadvertently.

That had been strange.

[...]

That same night, while he was still in a pensive state, his mother replayed the video on the screen again with, according to her, the best scenes of the sports festival of her two children closing with a final flourish in the part were he transported Kotoko to the infirmary. She had repeated it so many times, to the point that, if he did not have a perfect memory, he would remember every detail, due to the many times listening.

He knew he could go to his room, but he found that being silent and alone, would help him to think more about that kiss with Kotoko.

He looked at her for a moment, who was blushing with her eyes on his mother, who was watching the screen again, amid the laughter of his father and Shigeo-san, and the grumbles of Yuuki, who every five seconds gave looks of anger to Kotoko, unnoticed by her.

Kotoko did not seem to give much thought to the past, so he should not either, he decided then, determined to continue where he was, at least until it was time to sleep—his tutoring with the redhead canceled by the fatigue of the day—and he did not have any more opportunity for his mind to think of the kiss. He had kissed his girlfriend, plain and simple. The difference was that they had both participated that time. Point.

After that, he observed those who were sitting on the cream-colored sofas in the room, in which, despite everything, Yuuki and even him, were comfortable. He came to the conclusion that, being the six of them, the company was comfortable and usual for everyone, having managed to mix well, although they had their differences.

Kotoko and Shigeo-san had integrated well into his family. They were a good addition to the Irie's and that meant that the bride he had chosen was the right one, showing that he did well.

"It's splendid!" Celebrated his mother, taking him out of his reflections, repeating the video from the beginning.

"How many times do you have to see it?" he muttered in annoyance, and his father laughed.

"As many times as I can, they're wonderful! Kotoko-chan and onii-chan are the perfect couple! They're so good together! They should get married!"

Shigeo-san choked on his drink and his father began tapping him between the shoulder blades, while his brother shouted back and Kotoko opened her eyes, amazed.

His mother laughed to herself.

If only she knew. Anyway, seeing the dynamics amongst all, the decision was clear, Kotoko would be chosen. In a while, it would be fine to do so.

"Leave it for later," he insinuated and stood up, in the midst of everyone's gasps and the screams of emotion from his mother. "Goodnight."

Afterward, he left the room, satisfied with his plan.

Things were going well.

AN: I love the proverb that gives name to this chapter.

Naoki doesn't know what will hit him.

Love, Karo.