A/N: Don't own.
Kotoko heaved a great sigh of relief as she turned in her last end-of-term exam. Thanks to Naoki's study tips and organization chart, she was confident that she had not only passed but had done well. Not enough to make the Top 100 chart, but it was certain her father would gloat that his threat of curtailing her extra-curricular activities had succeeded.
Eyes closed, her mind lingered on the special dinner which Mrs. Irie had promised to celebrate their success. So she was not a witness to the strutting approach of Kinnosuke from the far side of the room. Jinko tugged Satomi's sleeve, but, due to the altered seating for tests, neither of them was able to intercept the boy before he arrived at his destination.
"So, Babe," he leaned one hip on the desk opposite, "what d'ya wanna do this summer?" As Kotoko continued to fantasize about grilled shrimp, his volume rose. "Yo, Kotoko, I'm talkin' at ya!"
By then Satomi and Jinko reached him and, grabbing one arm each, dragged him to a vacant corner.
"What are you doing, Kin-chan?" Satomi snapped.
"Just tryin' to finalize our plans for the break," he explained. "Ow!" he bleated when Jinko kicked his ankle.
"Why are you assuming that Aihara wants anything to do with you?"
"She's a real studious person, and you're…not," Satomi pointed out with a tinge of malice.
"Yeah, but the term is over. Things're different now. Ya heard her: her Pa just wanted her to do good in class so she could do whatever it was she was aimin' for."
Satomi blew out a frustrated breath while gazing at him with pity. "Aihara is a real polite girl," she stated slowly and clearly.
"She was just letting you down easy, but you didn't get it," Jinko elaborated.
"Nah," he shook his head, "you two have it all wrong. She digs me, but she's, I dunno, subtle about it."
"You have got to be kidding me," Satomi exclaimed in disbelief.
"Yeah," Jinko agreed, "I didn't even know you knew the meaning of the word. But besides that, Kin-chan, we're just telling you this so you won't get hurt."
A grin spread across his face. "I get it now. You two want a piece of the Amazin' Kin-chan. Well, too bad for you. My heart belongs to Kotoko."
"I highly doubt that hers belongs to you."
"Me too."
He pulled his face into a faux-sympathic expression. "Now, girls, I'm sorry, but you just gotta deal with your failure."
"No," Satomi said, rolling her eyes, "but we're sure going to laugh at yours now."
"What she said." Jinko backed away with her friend. "What a tool."
"Yes," Satomi shot a concerned glance at the oblivious Kotoko, "and let's keep close to Aihara for a while. He may use the word 'subtle' but Kin-chan is anything but."
Kotoko returned the school slippers to the shoe box and headed towards the exit. As was her wont, she had taken the less traveled stairways and even headed across the grass instead of congregating in the graveled courtyard. With the din of excited students filling the air, even her sensei might have excused her for missing the footfalls trailing her on the soft ground.
The first warning she had of company was the sudden weight of an arm placed across her shoulders. A mere second after she registered the odor of a damp underarm and a hand within millimeters of her right breast, she moved and was soon standing over a winded Kinnosuke.
"What. Was. That?" she demanded, shooting daggers at him with her eyes.
Neither of them noticed the resultant hush from the crowd. Kinnosuke, finding himself in the classical prone position for burial, thought it fitting that he now had a glimpse of heaven. As usual, his mouth moved before his brain–what there was of that organ–engaged. "Pink with lace trim," he sighed unwisely.
Once more he felt the breath knocked from him as he was roughly flipped over and one arm stretched painfully across his back. A heavy weight rested there–Kotoko, he supposed–and a slight growling noise could be heard.
Luckily there was an interruption. "Aihara!" Satomi rushed to the site. "So sorry! We lost him in the crowd."
"Yeah," Jinko huffed, "we figured he would try some boneheaded move, but what you did–that was wicked!"
Her gushing was brought to an abrupt end by the arrival of the assistant principal. "Miss Aihara! Explain yourself."
"This…classmate," Kotoko stood slowly, "placed his hands on me unexpectedly. I have been trained to defend myself, and that is what I did."
"Some training!" Jinko breathed with glee.
"But he was already on the ground. Surely you could have stopped earlier."
"I was prepared to do so," she glared down at the yet-unrepentant boy, "until he made a comment which did not please me. At that point I escalated my actions."
"We will take this to my office, as the circumstances do not show this. Indeed, it appears that the other person involved is the more injured."
True enough, two teachers were needed to assist Kinnosuke back into the school. At the administrator's stern look, Kotoko gathered her scattered belongings and followed. Satomi and Jinko accompanied her, assuring her that they would provide background and defend her actions.
Some half hour later the three girls once more left the building. Jinko was listing the seasonal dessert menu at her favorite café when Satomi pulled all of them to a complete stop.
"What–?" Jinko sputtered.
Satomi pointed and hissed, "Irie-kun!"
Sure enough, Naoki was seated on the edge of the fountain, book bag at his feet as he read from a softcover book.
"Uh, look, Kotoko," Jinko patted her arm, "I'll call you in a day or two and set up a meeting time."
"Certainly," she smiled, "the strawberry cream cake sounds delicious."
"Unfortunately, I am allergic," stated Satomi. "And don't worry if you don't hear from us for a couple days. We'll have to get our summer school schedule and work around that, because I'm sure we didn't do as good as you on the finals."
"All right." Kotoko gave a head bob to both girls. "Satomi, Jinko, thank you for coming to my defense this afternoon. I was certain that Principal Sakai was convinced that I was a juvenile delinquent at best and a gang member at worst."
"Nah," Jinko grinned, "we've got your back. See ya!" The two waved and headed towards the bus stop, and Kotoko approached Naoki, who stood.
"You certainly know how to liven up the last day of school," he stated. She shrugged and he added, "Is everything okay?"
"It could be better," she admitted, "but Tonan has this rule that if you are not the aggressor in an altercation yet still resist, you must also be punished."
"They did not take into consideration that the philosophy of your sport would not allow you to respond in an overly violent manner unless the threat was severe?"
Kotoko again lifted one shoulder. "They are aware of that, but apparently rules are rules. And, being new, I didn't want to press the issue."
"It's your business," he agreed, "but will this be a problem for Aihara-san?"
"No," she shook her head, "he would not fault me for defending myself." She snickered, "If Otosan had been called, there wouldn't have been much left of the baka, and at least my punishment is practical."
"Do tell," he urged as they walked down the sidewalk.
"Once school starts back, I have to conduct a self-defense workshop for the female students. It is optional for them," she raised an eyebrow, "so I don't know how many will show up."
"Quite a few, I would imagine. I should tell you that the buzz after you went inside was mostly positive. You are quite the heroine."
"Really?" Kotoko was startled. "That's kind of funny."
"At least tell me that the boy received a more severe penalty, as he started it."
"Yes, and Satomi and Jinko–those two girls in my class–told Sakai-san that he had got it into his head that we two are dating. Or were going to be." She let out a groan. "Sensei is going to lay into me, not only for letting him get that close without noticing but for not paying attention to all his talk. But," she whined, "he talks ALL the time! How could I concentrate on studies if I listen to him?"
Naoki chuckled. "Yes, yes, I can certainly sympathize and understand, but his punishment…?"
"Oh, yes. It seems that he will be attending summer school every morning of the break and then will be in detention most afternoons. He will be cleaning, moving furniture, landscaping. They have quite the list for him."
"Perhaps that will cool his ardor and make him think twice about assaulting a seemingly helpless female."
"Helpless!" she huffed. "I'll have you know I could take you down just as easily."
"And recall that I said 'seemingly'. And I am also intelligent enough not to provoke you to such an action."