Three weeks had passed since Naoki and Kotoko's meeting in the café. Her face was now in a better condition as well as her arms and legs. Kinnosuke left their apartment early to go grocery shopping for her dad's restaurant and would not be back until late at night. She breathed deeply to find some motivation to get out of bed. Last night she was afraid of a beating for not letting him sleep with her. He actually pushed her quite hard and made her fall, but immediately after, he profusely apologized just as he did every time he mistreated her. It was a neverending loop of treating her like garbage and then asking for forgiveness. At least he promised not to hit her in the face so her father wouldn't notice. Last time she was lucky Shigeo was visiting her mother's grave…

Would she ever let Kinnosuke have sex with her again? Never, said a voice in her head, but still she knew it was near impossible. She just needed to keep making up excuses to prolong the inevitable and pray for that day to never come. Their first time she forced herself to drink to numb the nauseus sensation but it didn't work as expected. She didn't like it though he tried to be as gentle and considerate as possible. How could she enjoy having sex with an obligation?

Lazily she got out of bed and dragged her body to the small kitchen to brew some coffee. She had never enjoyed being alone until she started living with him. She definitely missed being pampered by Ms. Irie or playfully fight with Yukki-kun. She missed Naoki. And by missing Naoki she felt pathetic for loving him so much it hurt. Three weeks earlier, though injured, she felt happy by seeing him and then being at his apartment was 'cherry on top'ish. Then going to that café with him, touching him, feeling his concern… None of those moments were happy, but she felt happy anyway. These last four months were a dantesque nightmare, so why not feel happy with something as small as seeing and touching him?

She washed the few dishes that were to be washed and cleaned the entire house. It was only 8am by then and her shift at the ramen shop started in a couple of hours. What to do until then? She was less and less fond of visiting her dad's restaurant just to avoid as much contact with Kinnosuke as possible. Maybe she could go to university to have a glimpse of… him. Not the smartest choice, but hey, nobody expected her to be smart, so… She wore a nice lacy white sleeveless shirt and a pair of jeans and took off to Tonan. She just wanted to look at him and then she would leave to the ramen shop. Only a short glimpse. Three weeks without seeing him was more than awful.

Kotoko arrived to Tonan and headed to the medical faculty. She didn't have much time so she walked quickly and hoped for a sight of him. Just when she was arriving to her destination, a pair of hands laid on her shoulders, stopping her and her heart.

"If this is Kinnosuke, I'm dead…" She shut her eyes closed, tensed her shoulders, covered her face and waited for a smack but nothing happened. She sacredly turned and saw a tired face, dark circles under each eyes, a dry skin and a somewhat messy hair. Still, his mouth was showing an almost imperceptible smile. Her heart went from no beating to beating way too much and a stupid smile showed to her face.

"Irie-kun, hi."

"What are you doing here?"

"I was just… well… taking a stroll, remembering good old times."

"I see." Naoki's face showed boredom, but he was ecstatic. It was the first time in four months seeing her smile. He needed more smiles like that in his life to stop feeling worried, lonely, angry and regretful. Her face had completely healed and her rosy cheeks were expressing happiness.

"It was nice seeing you Irie-kun. Say hi to your family for me please. Have a beautiful day!" Naoki didn't want her to bid him farewell, it was too short time to enjoy her presence.

"Are you leaving now?"

"Yes, my shift will start in 40 minutes and it is a long walk from here, you know… Hey! Where are you taking me?" As if it was their thing now, Naoki took Kotoko's hand and pulled her to one of the laboratories, the farthest one.

"What are we doing here?" Kotoko looked a bit surprised. She stood next to the door while Naoki looked outside the dusty window; it was obvious that this laboratory had not been used in a long time. He didn't answer her question, his head couldn't find an appropriate reason for them to be there.

"Irie-kun, I don't understand… Do you need to tell me something? Do you want me to tell you something?"

"No. Well, yes. How have you been? Has he…?"

"No, he has not beat me that much lately. Things are getting better, now he is not drinking that much and his grieve for his mother is not as full of anger as before."

"But he keeps thrashing you."

"I would not call it 'thrashing'…" He marched right next to and grabbed her shoulders.

"Then what do you call it Kotoko? Caressing? Pampering?"

"It's not like that. It's not something you need to understand or worry about." She walked past him and took a sit in an old chair, covering her face with both hands. "You just need to focus on studying and living peacefully. I'm focusing on making my loved ones happy." She looked at him and saw him kneeling in front of her.

"Am I still included in that category? Last time you told me I'm not but you came to look for me today. You still love me, don't you? There is a huge reason behind your relationship with Kinnosuke, am I right? You are hiding something and I will…"

Kotoko cradled his face in her hands. "You look tired Irie-kun. Is school hard for a genius?" She finished the sentence with a smile and kissed his forehead, keeping her lips close to his skin for a long time. "Stay healthy, eat correctly and sleep enough. I'm sure the girls in your class are not happy seeing your tired face." She traced his eyebrows with her thumbs, never letting go of his face. He closed his eyes in response and she caressed his eyelids lightly. After that she planted a light kiss on his lips. And then another. And then a longer one. And then a stronger one that made Naoki move his lips in response. He cuddled her face and kissed her deeper until she broke the kiss. She smiled to him once more, a sad look settled in her eyes.

"Don't worry about me, I know what I'm doing and yes, there is a big reason for me to live with Kinnosuke. You don't need to know that reason, no one does. Just trust me, I know how to handle this situation. I'm running late Irie-kun, take care of yourself."

Kotoko stood up and walked to the door.

"Why did you kiss me?" He was still kneeling in front of the now empty chair. She turned her face to him and smiled.

"Because I always wanted to have a second kiss, so stealing it from you was my best shot. I hope you don't wash your mouth with soap!" And then she left.

Naoki touched his lips, still warm and humid. "So it is true. The two things I've been pondering about for the last 4 months are true. She's hiding something. And I'm in love with her."

AN: Please leave your kind review! I'm not sure if I should make this fic rated M... What do you think?

Thanks for reading!