Kinnosuke was slowly walking around Osaka's park until he found a bench and decided that his 2 hours long walk was more than enough. His face was pale, seemingly dehydrated and his once abundant hair now was falling. He was so sick of everything… he was not enjoying cooking, he was not feeling comfortable while he visited his relatives in Osaka, he was not trying to learn new techniques from Shigeo and, worst of all, he was not even remotely happy with Kotoko by his side. This definitely was the foulest moment in his life, besides his mother´s painful departure, but for the last months he couldn't help but think: 'What am I doing with my life? Everything is so angsty... I always thought that Kotoko was going to fulfill my dreams, that she would bring me happiness and peace, that her smile would enlighten every single of my days, but now I only feel anger, stress, sadness…'
The once merry cook was now miserable, unable to sense any joy from his sentimental partner or any other aspect of his blue life. He never wanted to hit Kotoko, not even once. He never meant to sleep with her under the influence of alcohol. He never got any happiness from manipulating her and yet those pills that his family were weekly providing him made him violent and emotionally blind. He had to take them daily, otherwise the withdrawal syndrome would be straight awful, just like if someone was ripping his eyes and gut there and then. He had tried, many times, to drop from those pills, but it was near impossible to achieve. What had his life become? What was he making of Kotoko's life? He still loved her, but not in the way that he used to and that sheer fact was tearing him apart because all the misery and pain were not worth it. Those were not made in the name of love but in the name of drugs…
Besides, there was Christine… Her warm smile, her strong personality, her maturity, her beautiful face… Kinnosuke was dying to taste her lips or even only kiss the skin of her hands; he found himself fonder and fonder of her presence and determination. Nevertheless, what can he offer? An addict already in a sad relationship with a lot of money and abuse in the middle? No, he knew more than perfectly that Chris deserved better and still the flutter in his heart would not stop. His only option was seeking for medical attention and he was not feeling brave enough or even backed up enough. Who would help him? Not his family, for sure, they would only make fun of his weakness. He was even sure that their threats towards Irie and Shigeo were not ever going to lead to any real action, they were not as stupid as to make years of illegal loans go down the drain. It was their utter despite to his feebleness that he was scared of. Maybe he could tell them that he got bored of Kotoko and he now wanted another girl, that way they would leave her, Shigeo and Irie alone.
And Chris? What would his family do to her? At his age, it was unacceptable for them that Kinnosuke was not complemented with a woman of his ownership. His head was now ponding with piercing pain, he was nauseous, his gut was twisting agonizingly and he had to quickly stop a cab and direct himself to his relatives' home to look for another of those dreaded pills. He just plainly hated his life. A lot.
Later, for Kotoko and Naoki, became a couple of days. She obviously didn't have a job by now so all she had to do was patiently wait for Naoki to come back from university every day with a decent, edible meal and a clean house. She thought she could not do more for him and she was so very grateful to him that she did chores cheerfully, as if any time had passed since she lived at the Irie's household. Her feeling of belonging was so strong that she allowed herself to relax and forget her messy life. She was finishing a soup (her best plate) when she heard the door opening. A smile automatically touched her lips but she continued stirring the soup after tasting it. She knew that he would come to her and drop a sarcastic comment about her cooking to then just leave to the bathroom to take a needed shower and afterwards sit at the small dining room to wait for her food to arrive. A routine so comforting that was established in only two days and that she could happily live with for the rest of her life. He left the apartment twice a day: in the morning to go to uni and then in the afternoon to go to his practical or to the gym. This meant she had the pleasure of saying okaeri to her beloved treasure two times in a single, marvelous day.
Naoki smelt the soup as soon as he opened the door to his apartment and his heart smiled hard even though his face showed nothing. He approached the kitchen entrance, the first thing he saw was her back and it felt like home, so he announced an apparently aloof tadaima just to see her promptly turning with a blinding smile while saying her now favorite word: okaeri.
"I truly hope that watery mixture that you call soup is edible and not upsetting to my stomach." He tried to sound careless without achieving it, since a slightly goofy smile was set in his face while speaking.
"You will need to taste it to check. Either way I know you will eat it completely, as always." The was a mischievous glint in her eyes, which were shining with love. Naoki often found himself fighting not to stare for longer than needed into her hypnotic brown eyes. "Go take a bath, I have the dining table set once you are finished."
Naoki collected his toiletries and directed himself to the bathroom. But there was a need, a force that made him go back to the kitchen, turn Kotoko and kiss her deeply, with fervent passion. He knew said force was simple despair: this was the last day of having her in his apartment. She told him in the morning when he was getting ready to leave and it didn't feel right. Not at all.
He kept kissing the sense out of her, trying to imprison her in his embrace and tasting every single flavor that she could offer. Kotoko softly pushed him a bit to regain her ability to breathe. She understood his fears by only looking at his face. She knew he needed more reassurance than her in this moment.
"I'll be fine, Irie-kun. I've been telling you that I know how to handle this situation."
"He's physically stronger than you. Understand my fears, he may even kill…". She interrupted his sentence with a butterfly kiss and a tight hug. She talked to him while hugging and slowly rocking him, hoping to calm his nerves.
"I still have a couple of more hours before going back to my place. Let's focus on us, don't think in anything else." He broke the hug saying he needed a shower and left her in the kitchen without even looking at her. He locked himself in the bathroom. His mind was turmoil, which led him to do something he had never, ever done.
"Please, Kami. If you do exist, if you are real, please let her stay by my side… If you really are just and merciful, let her be with me, under my protection".