A/N: I've made Ayako Reiko's cousin instead of her sister so that she and Takendo can be first years along with Kotoko, Reiko and Irie.

Chapter Three

Alibi

"ABSOLUTELY NO WAY!"

...Well, at least that's what Kotoko's normal, reflexive reply would be, however recent events caused her brain to work like it never had before. The facts were clear in her mind:

1) She now had the sole responsibility of saving the world from an army of vicious demons and had lied to the Iries' about her disappearances and would probably have to do so many more times in the future.

2) Despite Irie-kun being rumoured to move out of the Irie home, he was suddenly becoming increasingly nosy about what she did.

3) Said nosiness led him to reveal to her friends that she had been meeting with a boy (or so he thought).

4) And that said misconception would now mean that her friends, and the ever relentless Kin-chan, would not stop until they found out who this so- called boy was and had found out everything about him.

Could this boy solve her problems? Still, she liked Irie-kun...

This Takendo guy mistook her quiet reflection as hesitation. He smiled at her, a kind, honest smile and Kotoko felt guilty about even thinking of agreeing to go out with him just to keep her friends off her back. She knew immediately that she couldn't use him like that.

"I already know about your feelings for Irie-san," Takendo informed her quickly. "You two are really quite famous over campus!"

"Eh?" She went a little red with embarrassment. She could only imagine how she was famous and knew it wasn't in a good way. She pushed that thought aside; Kotoko had never been one to care about popularity anyway. Kotoko studied this guy intently. "But then, you must know that I have quite strong feelings for him?" Kotoko asked falteringly.

He gave a nervous little laugh and ran a hand through his glorious brown hair. There was a faint pink tinge dusting his cheeks and Kotoko felt a jolt as she realised that she was making him feel like this. Takendo looked at her, looking a little shy. "Yeah, I know about that but I thought, since he has yet to return your feelings, and since you deserve a chance to be happy, maybe you would give me a chance to make you happy?"

Kotoko blushed again, more than a little bit touched and flattered at his confession and the fact he had delivered it knowing full well that she had been in love with the same guy for years. And, she was absolutely floored. Nobody had ever done such a thing for her before (except Kin-chan but he didn't really count as he didn't ask her out so much as demand it before sprouting creepy nonsense such as what their wedding would be like and how many kids they would have).

This was a completely new experience for her, for such a nice guy to want her. The rejection and constant put downs from Irie-kun had made her believe that such a thing was not possible but here this guy was asking her out!

"I don't hear you saying no..." Takendo pressed tentatively, looking at her hopefully.

Kotoko gave a nervous laugh. "I'm not sure what to say," she admitted. "Aside from my feelings for Irie-kun, saying yes feels wrong."

He smile faltered slightly. "Ah...I see..."

Kotoko saw that he had misunderstood her. "Nothing concerning you, really!" she added hastily, not wanting to hurt this nice guy's feelings. "It's just a situation came up with my friends today and if I said yes to you, you would get caught up in it."

Takendo looked at her curiously. "What sort of situation? Maybe I can help you out." They walked away from the building and found a nice spot to sit in.

"Well, it's like this..." Kotoko explained that yes, she did like Irie-kun a lot but had realised that he seemed interested in a much more suitable girl (that damned Matsumoto). She told him that she had decided that she wanted to improve herself, but this time not for Irie-kun, but for the benefit of herself (and the rest of the world).

Kotoko told him that she wanted to become good at tennis and just become fit and strong in general, just to push herself and see how far she could go. Her dad and pseudo family had noticed her disappearing a few times and she had made an excuse about studying with a guy friend because she hadn't wanted Irie-kun to find out, seeing as he always seemed to appear and hinder her efforts and mock her. She admitted that the part about studying with a guy friend was said flippantly and she hadn't realised what a big deal everyone else would make of it.

She then explained that Irie-kun had hinted to her friends that Kotoko had a boyfriend and that they would be practically stalking her for weeks, and if Kotoko did accept Takendo, him as well. Kotoko told him accepting him, although she had feelings for Irie-kun, would just feel like she was using him and she didn't want to do that to him.

Kotoko was surprised at the warm smile he gave her.

"Indeed, Kotoko truly is a kind person," Takendo said. "And honest too. Anyone else in the same situation would just say yes to solve their problems."

Kotoko squirmed slightly. She had considered doing just that before her conscience kicked in.

Takendo shoved his hands into his jeans pockets and looked at her thoughtfully.

"Hmm, I tell you what, I will help you out," he declared. "I'll pretend to be your study partner."

Kotoko exclaimed in surprise and began to protest but he hushed her with a quirky grin. "I would like to be Miss Aihara's friend, even if you don't want to date me. But you never know, spending time with me, you might reconsider going out with me."

She blushed again. Well, she couldn't help it; Kotoko had never had such a handsome guy ask her out before. Her love confessions could be counted on one hand, Kin- chan and, er...well, just Kin-chan...and now Takendo.

Kotoko contemplated him. He was nothing like Irie-kun, who rejected her yet she still pursued him after years of liking him. Nor was he like Kin-chan, who constantly tried to force his affections on her. She wondered wistfully what it would be like to be cherished by such a guy as Takendo.

Years of Irie-kun devotion had brought her nothing until this past year; however he still saw her as a nuisance. Yet here was Takendo, who was willing to stick by and just be a friend to her even though he wanted more. This guy, who before now was a stranger to her, was willing to act as an alibi for her, willing to give up his time for her despite the fact he did not know her well at all. Kotoko felt that she was being selfish and that she should give him something in return.

"You know, maybe going on a date wouldn't be so bad after all," she pondered aloud. Takendo looked at her in surprise and delight.

"Really?" he asked, his handsome face brightening. "Oh, but don't feel that you're obliged to me because I'm helping you. I really don't mind just being friends," Takendo added hastily. She felt her heart warm at this guy. Really, she what had she done to attract the attentions of such a nice guy? Kotoko felt moved by him and if only her feelings for Irie-kun weren't in the way, she would have accepted him without hesitation.

"Just as friends," Kotoko said quickly. "That way we can get to know each other better. We don't really know each other, do we? Relationships shouldn't be rushed." Takendo agreed to this heartily, happy to have the chance to hang out with her.

They talked for a bit and Takendo was adamant that he would not consider them a proper couple unless she wanted them to be. Kotoko agreed, this way Takendo got what he wanted, a chance at dating her/ hanging out with her, and Kotoko got a great new friend, a willing alibi and, with time, maybe a real chance at love. She tried to ignore the aching in her heart at the thought of replacing Irie-kun.

There was an exchange of numbers and they agreed to have their first date whenever they could find time. Truthfully she wanted to train as much as possible in her spare time. Takendo told her again it was fine to use him as an alibi whenever she needed it and they could even meet for real study sessions if she suddenly felt the need to improve her academic skills too.

Kotoko thought she might even take him up on that offer, she wasn't exactly the smartest person around and as it turned out from their conversation, Takendo had graduated top of his class from high school, Class A to be exact. Her mind boggled at the difference in demeanour between Takendo and Irie-kun.

She watched him go, a smile on her face. Kotoko felt uncertain too. She had liked Irie-kun for so long that it felt weird to even consider another guy. She told herself that they weren't really dating; they were just hanging out and getting to know each other.

Kotoko thought about how she had liked Irie-kun for years and although they were close, a year of living with him and they still couldn't be considered more than sort- of friends. True, he had kissed her and Kotoko had waited for something to happen since yet nothing had.

"I'm always waiting for Irie-kun," Kotoko said softly. "Maybe I'm waiting for something that will never come."

She remembered what Princess Minako had said to her just a few days ago when she had cried out for Irie-kun to save her. "Irie-kun, whoever that is, cannot save you. Only you can save you."

And that had been true; Kotoko had managed to save herself. She had saved herself without any help from Irie-kun; she had saved all those people without his help or anyone else's.

She was becoming startlingly aware of just how much she relied on him, she had to stop depending on him for, well, everything. How many times had she relied on him for help? How many of her actions had been done in the hope of claiming his praise and affections? How much of her thoughts were consumed by that boy?

Kotoko dreaded to think whether there would come a time when a civilian would get hurt because she was too pre-occupied with thoughts of Irie-kun to notice any danger.

Kotoko squared her shoulders. She needed to learn to do things on her own now. Her actions were for the benefit of the world now, not for Irie-kun. She had spent too much time agonising over him but now she couldn't afford such a distraction.

She wondered then if it was ok for her to be 'dating' Takendo, was she entitled to even go on dates with such responsibilities as hers?

Kotoko hadn't realised she had said this mentally until Ripo replied, telling her that this Takendo guy would be a great help. Not only would he be her alibi but he offered the chance for her to get over the huge distraction to her life that was Irie-kun. And since she didn't have strong feelings for Takendo, he was unlikely to be such a distraction to her.

Kotoko felt grateful for her guide's words although a large part of her was sad that she was willingly letting go of her crush, and if it were for anything less than in aid of saving the world, Kotoko might have had problems admitting it was for the best. As well as giving up on Irie-kun to improve her mental clarity, there was also the fact that Irie-kun was paying closer attention to her now for the wrong reasons. She sighed. If only he were interested because he secretly had romantic feelings for her.

Ha. Like that would ever happen.

This way Irie-kun would soon find out that she had a (sort- of) boyfriend and would (hopefully) stop asking her what she was up to. He would become uninterested and stop badgering her and maybe go out with Reiko Matsumoto after all. Then he would move out, putting even more distance between them and she would hardly ever see him but it wouldn't matter though because not seeing him meant that she could concentrate better on her mission...

She sighed, deciding to distract herself fast from these depressing thoughts.

"Say, Ripo, how does this sensing thing work? Can you see only what I'm seeing?" Kotoko asked mentally.

Ripo gave a mental WOOF. "No, I can see much more. I'm not really in your head, you know, that's just my voice," her dog spirit said with a canine laugh. "I can look any direction I please regardless at where you're looking at. In regards to that, did you realise that your friends have been spying on you these since halfway through your conversation with Takendo?"

He gave a mental nudge to look up towards the building she had left from and sure enough, there were Jinko and Satomi, squatting behind a trash can. Seeing that they had been caught, and that Takendo was long gone, they made a beeline towards her. Kotoko braced herself for their interrogation and refrained from sighing, only glad that Kin-chan was not there too.

Ripo, watching this and much more, neglected to mention the other person who had been watching her.

Naoki hadn't actually expected there to be another guy. He had thought (hoped) that it was just another ploy to get him jealous. He hadn't believed her flimsy excuses for a moment.

Studying?

Yeah right. Since the moment they had met, whenever Kotoko had something she needed help with, she would gain his assistance, whether he was willing to give it or not.

As he stood hidden from his vantage point, watching as tender smiles and blushes were exchanged, Naoki had to concede that he had been wrong.

How could she claim to love him yet act so carefree with this guy?

Part of him wanted to find a reason to storm over there and find a reason to scare that guy away. Another part of him wanted to walk away like he didn't care. Except he couldn't do that because he did care. A lot. Naoki felt his chest burn with an unfamiliar feeling which his mind told him was the emotion known as jealousy. Heh, pathetic. When had he started to care so much about that airhead anyway?

Yet Naoki couldn't deny that the sight of Kotoko talking to that guy bothered him a lot. Hell, the thought of her close to any guy except him made him mad (except Kinnosuke, but then nothing less than the end of the world would make Kotoko even consider that idiot).

Yes it was selfish and hypocritical of him considering how aloof he acted towards her but then again nobody had ever made him feel like she did. It was a new experience for him that he didn't even know howhe was suppose to act.

He wanted to turn around and storm away, casting the images of her away from his mind. But he was a masochist so instead he stayed to watch Kotoko and this guy, who Naoki could admit might actually pose the risk of stealing Kotoko's feelings.

Naoki was veryglad he stayed to spy a little longer.

His eyes narrowed as they exchanged numbers. Surely if they had met up for 'study sessions' a few times already, they would already have each other's numbers? With this intriguing thought, Naoki managed to squash down his jealous feelings and analyse the situation with a clearer head. Watching the two interact, Naoki realised that they didn't seem to know each other well at all. This might even be the first time the two had met.

Naoki didn't walk away until after Takendo had left. He had some investigating to do. It looked like Kotoko was hiding things after all.

"Is that your study tutor?" Jinko asked slyly.

"What's his name?" Satomi demanded.

"He's so good looking!" Jinko squealed.

"How old is he?" Satomi questioned.

"What does he study?"

"Where did you two meet?"

"Have you kissed yet?" Jinko pried.

"WHAT?" Kotoko spluttered. "Of course not! He only just asked me out!"

Satomi and Jinko stared at her slack jawed and Kotoko realised that they had only been teasing her.

"You mean...you two actually are going out?" Satomi stuttered in shock.

Kotoko blushed. "Takendo's been helping me study. He asked me just now and I decided it wouldn't hurt giving him a chance since he's a really nice guy. Besides, Takendo and I aren't dating; we're just getting to know one another better first." She looked away slightly. She hated lying to her friends. She had no idea how to answer the other questions. She didn't know what Takendo studied let alone how old he was. Kotoko made a mental note to text him once she had escaped this interrogation from her friends.

Satomi and Jinko exchanged glances wordlessly. "But, what about Irie?" Satomi probed.

"Yeah, you're just giving him up that easily? How long have you known this Takendo guy anyway?" Jinko demanded.

Kotoko rubbed her neck nervously. "Eh, not that long really..." she said vaguely.

"Irie..." Satomi probed again. Kotoko sighed at them.

"Aren't you always telling me to give him up anyway? Why the sudden concern for him?" Kotoko questioned. She really didn't think they would be so persistent.

The two girls looked at each other, realising that they were being quite hypocritical.

"Well, you always seemed so determined about him," Jinko said, a little unsure now.

Kotoko flashed a bright smile. "Yeah, but I've realised that you two are right. I need to move on. I spend too much time thinking about Irie-kun and it isn't healthy."

They were still a bit uncertain but then Satomi smiled. "Glad you finally see that. I've always said you can do better! Now, tell us more about this Takendo guy..."

News spread fast. Kotoko blamed Satomi and Jinko, terrible gossips that they were. At least they hadn't made a banner this time.

Sudou-sempai had called for an extra tennis practice today since there was a tournament coming up in less than a month. By the time Kotoko had donned her tennis whites, everyone in the club seemed to know about her new 'relationship'. She was immediately descended upon by the harpy Reiko, and Ayako Matsumoto, Reiko's equally beautiful but no- less annoying cousin, who was also a freshman and who shared her cousin's enthusiasm for Irie-kun. The two didn't stop bugging her all through practice.

Whilst Reiko took to the "So you've finally realised that you weren't good enough for Irie-kun?" choice of insult, Ayako took a different stance. Ayako didn't usually bother Kotoko, Kotoko suspected it was because her pursuit of Irie-kun was more to annoy her cousin rather than based on her own feelings.

Instead, Ayako seemed more concerned about how Kotoko had caught Takendo's interest. It turned out that the two had been in the same class since middle school and now shared the same law classes together. Kotoko gratefully stored away these new grains of information about her so- called 'boyfriend'.

"I just don't get what he sees in you," Ayako said nonchalantly as she circled Kotoko, eyeing the girl like a hawk. Reiko was long gone, having skipped over to Irie-kun's side, who had once again chosen to show up to practice.

"There have been lots of smarter, prettier girls who've asked him out but he always rejects them," Ayako remarked, stopping to put a thoughtful finger to her chin in contemplation. "He must be some sort of freak!" she deduced. Kotoko bristled in annoyance.

"Hey!" Kotoko said, about to retort but then she noticed Irie-kun walking over to her, smirking as he wiped his face with a towel.

"Talking about your study partneragain?" He emphasised those two words carefully making Kotoko shift uncomfortably, wondering what he knew.

Reiko butted in before Kotoko could reply. "That's right! Can you believe such a guy as Takendo Nakagawa is interested in Kotoko? He even dared to ask her out even though knew that she liked you!" Reiko said excitedly.

Naoki narrowed his eyes slightly. So there wasmore than studying involved. And now he knew this guy's name, he could get on and investigate him. It seemed as though Ayako knew him too. Perfect. Nonchalantly he said, "That's right, even if someone else discards her, there will someone else to pick her up. It helps save the environment too. What a nice guy."

Kotoko bristled at the double insult. She decided to ignore the slight against her and said instead, "How could you say that? He isn't like that!"

"He is either a guy with bad tastes in girls or a freak," Naoki replied, making Reiko giggle. Ayako frowned slightly.

Kotoko blinked back tears. She would not cry because she was supposed to forget Irie-kun, remember? There were much more important things to care about now. As always, that thought alone calmed her. She took a deep breath, looking at her ex-crush straight in the eye.

"Even if he is not as smart as you, Takendo is still a clever person, and he is very cute, has nice characteristics and is very gentle with girls." She said it in an uncharacteristically calm, matter- of fact way that left Naoki and Reiko staring at her in surprise.

""Ah, I'm so happy that I made such a good impression on you!" the sudden, chirpy voice made them all break out of their reverie. They turned as one to see Takendo standing on the other side of the tennis court cage, hands gripping the metal fencing as he peered through the holes at them.

"Takendo!" Kotoko exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here?" She didn't notice several of her audience bristle slightly at the casual use of his first name, particularly a certain male who she always addressed by his surname.

He smiled at her cheerfully. "Eh, you look so cute in your tennis uniform Kotoko!" Takendo exclaimed, making Kotoko blush again, again she didn't notice certain people bristle. He subtly flashed his phone at her and Kotoko at once understood that he had gotten her text.

Takendo looked towards Naoki. "Irie, if that's how you feel, then you won't mind if Kotoko goes out with me, right?"

Naoki shrugged. "Mind or don't mind...it doesn't concern me at all, she doesn't belong to me."

It took all of Kotoko's willpower not to cry at his casual dismissal. Instead she looked to Takendo, who smiled warmly at her, his eyes communicating that he understood how she was feeling.

"Yeah that's right," Kotoko said in an unwavering voice that made Naoki turn to look at her. "It doesn't concern him at all." Didn't I say that I would get over you once I started college?

"Hey Kotoko," he said with a smile. "Let's go out this Sunday!" She blinked in surprise and his smile grew wider. "It'll be fun, promise." His warm expression calmed her and Kotoko felt she could trust him, even though she had only met him today.

She nodded her assent, feeling the tears that threatened to spill receding.

"Finished practice?" Takendo asked.

"Yes," Kotoko stuttered out. He beckoned her to come over to him.

"Let's go! We can take a walk somewhere!" Takendo said enthusiastically.

She nodded again and made a dash to grab her stuff, blatantly ignoring Irie-kun and his groupies. Remember, you're doing this so he stops snooping around. It isn't safe for him to know
about your powers, she chanted to herself. Besides Matsumoto's right, I'm not good enough for him anyway.

They made their way through campus out onto the bustling streets. "I'm sorry!" Takendo blurted out. "I didn't mean to ask you on a date in such a way! I just couldn't stand the way he was talking to you!"

Kotoko smiled softly. "It's alright. He's always been like that. To me, anyway."

Takendo gave her a sideways look. "And you still like him?" he asked sceptically.

She made a small noise, a cross between a cough and a chuckle. "Yeah, crazy, isn't it? The more I got to know him, the more I realised he was nothing I had imagined him to be. But I found myself liking him more, even though he says such harsh things to me sometimes."

"It just shows that you were sincere in your feelings," Takendo said with a wry smile. "Miss Aihara is indeed a very sincere person."

They walked in silence for a little while before Takendo spoke up again. "Remember what I said earlier," he told her. "I want us to take our time getting to know each other. Even if nothing else happens, I want us to become good friends."

She nodded with a small smile on her face. Kotoko appreciated Takendo's gentleness and willingness to just be friends, so different to Kin-chan who constantly demanded her to forget her feelings for Irie-kun, something that was impossible.

Then again, how would she know if Irie-kun was the right guy for her if she didn't try dating other people? Heck, she hadn't even dated Irie-kun himself so how did she know he was the one for her? She shook her head slightly, scolding herself for thinking of Irie-kun again.

They talked for a bit more, exchanging information about each other, their classes, friends, hobbies, likes and dislikes. Kotoko was embarrassed to find how often Irie-kun related things came up in her list of hobbies. If that wasn't a sign that he was detrimental to her mental focus then she didn't know what was.

They even concocted a cover story of their first meeting, a coincidental meeting in the library where Kotoko had allegedly tripped into him and somehow they'd ended up talking. Kotoko knew those that knew her well wouldn't even think that she'd made up having a klutz attack considering how often she had them anyway.

After a while Ripo nagged at her mentally so and she bid farewell to Takendo and headed to the park again. Hopefully a bit of training would help take her mind off Irie-kun for a while.

"So they haven't known each other long?" Naoki asked in confirmation.

Ayako, leaning against a wall with her arms folded, shook her head and sighed. "No, not that I know of anyway. I've known Takendo for a long time and I've never seen them hang out together before." She straightened up quickly, blushing. "Eh, not that I take much notice of him anyway," she stammered, embarrassed by her slip up.

He hadn't noticed her slight confession; his mind was trying to puzzle together how Kotoko knew this Takendo guy. So far he hadn't made the connection.

Ayako leant back against the wall. "There has been gossip since the start of semester that Takendo had fallen for someone but I hadn't realised that it was Aihara. I don't even know how he would've come to know her; they don't share classes or belong to the same clubs."

Naoki wanted to know that too. Even if the two had only met today there had been no mistaking the look in that Takendo guy's eyes. That guy obviously had some feelings towards Kotoko.

But what did Kotoko feel towards this guy? He had seen her blushing earlier so she couldn't have been too adverse to him.

Did she really like this Takendo guy enough to forget about him? And now they were going on a date this Sunday, the weekend he had been secretly planned to move out of the Irie household. Naoki wouldn't even get to see her much after that except on campus but she'd probably want to hang out with this Takendo.

He felt like he was losing Kotoko.

Not that he'd done much to keep her, he admitted to himself, thinking of his snide comments earlier in tennis practice. He barely noticed Ayako murmur a goodbye before walking off.

He had said those things earlier because he wanted to see her reaction, to see if her feelings towards him were still the same. As Naoki expected, she had looked hurt that he seemed willing to give her away so easily. But then Takendo had asked her on a date and she had walked away without so much as a glance in his direction and his marvellous plan had backfired on him. Now she probably thought he hated her.

Naoki sighed. He may be a genius when it came to academics but when it came to things like this he still had a lot to learn.

She didn't speak much at dinner that night, instead acted like Irie-kun's words hadn't affected her at all. He in turn mentioned nothing of her date with Takendo, for which she was grateful, for Mrs Irie would surely have gone into hysterics. He did however ask about what she was studying with her 'study partner' and questioned whether that guy was of any help since they studied different subjects.

She wondered how he knew that but Kotoko didn't miss a beat and replied that Takendo, even though he studied law, was well versed in Japanese literature and eager to help. She added it made much more sense to ask Takendo for help rather than him, who was a student in the Science Faculty. He didn't have a good reply to that statement so instead changed the subject onto something else.

Kotoko's hand paused, fork halfway to her mouth. "Eh? So you really are moving out?" she asked. Conversation at the Irie table was always light hearted but today the conversation ground to a halt as they took in Naoki's statement.

Naoki regarded her coolly. "That's right. I'll be moving out at the end of the week, on friday. I've already arranged everything with the moving company. I've already managed to find a job to support myself with."

Immediately Mrs Irie started lamenting this, saying that he need not do such a thing, and what was wrong with home anyway? And why the heck was he telling them this so late?

"There's nothing wrong with living here," Naoki said simply. "It's just that I need to experience living on my own and doing things for myself. I can't always depend on other people." His mother looked slightly mollified after hearing that he had no issues with her housekeeping. Mr Irie seemed to agree with his son and Yuki was indifferent as always.

Naoki looked directly into his mother's eyes. "And I left it so late to tell you because I knew that you would make a big deal out of it and probably do something dramatic to sabotage the move." Mrs Irie looked embarrassed but didn't bother denying it. Everyone knew that was exactly what she would have done.

"I see." Kotoko resumed chewing her food. Truth be told she was very disheartened to hear this but she didn't let it show. After all, it was for the best. This way Irie-kun couldn't watch her as closely and would be less of a distraction to her. She was even slightly amused that the reason Irie-kun was moving out was for the same reason she had decided to get over him: to become more independent.

Kotoko only realised that her calm reaction had surprised everyone when the silence continued to prevail as they stared at her in shock. Her usual reaction, she reflected with a hint of embarrassment and remorse, would to become teary- eyed, over- emotional and over- dramatic. She could feel them watching her but she studiously ignored them and focused on her food. It helped that she felt wiped out from training earlier and her physical pain helped take her mind off any disquiet in her mind. Her muscles were stiff and sore and the main priority on her mind was to take a nice, long, relaxing bath.

The rest of dinner continued with a subdued atmosphere. Kotoko was left to her pensive thoughts as everyone else wondered why Kotoko didn't act as devastated as they had expected her to act.

Naoki glanced her way every now and again, wondering if he was really doing the right thing with continuing with his plans to move out. He tried to play down his unease. After all, he had been planning this for a few months now; he couldn't halt his plans now because Kotoko was acting weird. Sneaking another glance at the oblivious girl, Naoki vowed to keep a closer eye on her and this Takendo guy at college.

Kotoko slept restlessly that night. Her conscious thoughts as she drifted off to sleep consisted of wondering whether she was doing the right thing in deceiving Irie-kun, and the fact that he was moving out of the house and away from her. All the distress that everyone had expected her to display at dinner decided to appear and torment her as she drifted off to sleep. Kotoko had given herself good reasons to distance herself from Irie-kun but she was terrified about losing him, upset that for the greater good, she should stop pursuing him.

She had a nightmare in which she was confronted by a Harvester but had found herself rooted to the spot, unable to move her body. Kotoko had called out instinctively, blindly, for Irie-kun and to her relief he had come, come to save her. The next thing she knew his body lay crumpled on the ground and she watched in horror as the Harvester retracted its tail from his body with a vindictive grin, Irie-kun's body jerking violently, and blood splattering everywhere. His broken body lay still and his eyes were glazed and unblinking, staring unseeingly upwards and Kotoko couldn't do a thing to save him...

She had woken with a violent start, gasping harshly. If she had any lingering doubts about letting Irie-kun go then that nightmare had obliterated them. That sort of situation her nightmare had shown was exactly the sort that Kotoko wanted to avoid. True it would be hard for her to willingly not see Irie-kun but that was infinitely better than not being able to see him again because he had died. If that happened, Kotoko didn't know how she would cope.

She would fall to pieces, she knew that much, and she would be too distraught to carry on as a warrior and who knows what would happen to the rest of the world if she couldn't pull herself together. That, Kotoko resolved, was exactly the sort of reason why she needed to get over Irie-kun. Kotoko just hoped that she didn't become too dependent on Takendo too.