The late great Kaoru Tada is the creator of Itazura na Kiss.

Spring

"Kotoko, you have a new customer in booth five," Seira, shift hostess of Donny's, informed her.

"Thanks." Kotoko smiled listlessly in response.

It had been a stressful day. Following Irie-kun earlier in the day had brought her nothing but pain and misery when she found him in the library with Matsumoto the younger. The sense of déjà vu was strong; it reminded her of the year before when she and Sudo-sempai had shadowed him and the elder Matsumoto sister on a date. Those two then, as well as the current pair, matched so well in appearance, intelligence and athletic ability. Again she felt isolated, outside of the circle of brightness that seemed to shine from them. Gloom had descended upon her, and she had determined (once more!) to give up on her one-sided love.

Added to that, she had felt the pressure building for several days to break off the sham relationship with Taketo-kun. She could no longer reconcile her conscience to encourage him when she didn't like him the same way he liked her. But before she could take action on either of her goals, Taketo-kun discovered her and became irritated when he realized that she was still chasing after Irie-kun. Urging her to forget the older boy, he had then tried to kiss her, only to be sucker punched by Kin-chan, her own personal stalker.

Taketo-kun had retaliated quickly, and the two had refused her entreaties to stop as they continued to pummel each other. Heaping humiliation on top of embarrassment, Irie-kun had heard everything and halted the melee by reminding them that it didn't matter who won, for Kotoko liked only him.

She sighed noisily. Irie-kun was so arrogant about her love for him yet refused to accept it. What was there for her to do but quit? She stopped at her assigned booth, started to smile and greet the customer, and promptly dropped her order pad.

"Hello, Kotoko-san" Taketo spoke softly, offering a tentative smile, wincing a bit as he did.

Bending down to pick up her pad, Kotoko looked around to make sure there were no witnesses, then leaned over to whisper, "What are you doing here? I thought—"

"I'd like to walk you home tonight."

"But—!"

"I won't try any funny stuff." He took hold of her hand, his eyes pleading. "I just want to talk with you for a few minutes, away from everyone else."

"Okay," she finally replied. "My shift is over in half an hour. Where would you like to wait for me?"

"Bring me an iced coffee and I'll wait right here," he responded.

"All right. One iced coffee coming up."

As Kotoko prepared the drink, she ignored Irie-kun, even though she could feel his eyes on her. She was sure that he was aware who was in her serving area of the restaurant, and she was definitely not in the mood to listen to any sarcastic comments from him.

Taketo looked up and smiled when she returned to the booth. "That was quic-," he began but was cut off when a folded napkin filled with ice pressed into his cheekbone.

"It may be too late to stop the swelling," Kotoko told him, "but it can't hurt."

"Thank you," he said as his hand replaced hers on the cold pack. "It feels good. I'll see you later."

They walked together in silence for several minutes, both of them with eyes to the ground; Taketo's were shaded even more by the bill of his cap.

Finally he spoke. "First, I really want to apologize to you, Kotoko-san. I shouldn't have-"

"No," Kotoko interrupted him. "Please, I'm the one who owes you an apology. I should never have continued to date you once I realized that my feelings hadn't changed. I was unfair to you, and caused people to make fun of you because of it." She blinked her eyes rapidly, fingers playing with the hem of her blouse. "I guess I'm just really pathetic, liking someone who will never like me in return."

"Kotoko-san," he tried again. "Once I got over my anger this afternoon, I thought about our relationship for hours. Did either of us really try our best?"

She stopped and turned to face him. "What do you mean?"

He grasped her elbow lightly and propelled her forward again. "I'm the one who pressured you into dating. I even told you that I understood that it would take time for your emotions to change. You can't erase four years of love in that many weeks. Yet I still became impatient and tried to force my feelings on you. I broke my promise. I'm sorry."

Kotoko shook her head. "It's just that it was so sudden. The kiss, I mean. I wasn't expecting-"

"I know. That wasn't the Japanese way, was it?"

"Well, sometimes…" Kotoko began, remembering her only other kissing experience. "But, what do you mean, 'Japanese way'? That makes no sense."

"My family spent five years in the United States, Kotoko-san. I don't always speak and act properly, like when I bugged you over and over again to go out with me. A true Japanese gentleman would have taken you at your word and left you alone. But we only returned my first year at Tonan, and I still find myself slipping up. I'm not saying that I'm sorry that I kept after you, but today… Affection and dating are treated more casually over there, and I let my feelings overwhelm my sense of location." He sighed. "Kotoko-san, if you will give me another chance, I give you my solemn promise that it won't happen again."

Her eyes filled with tears. "Taketo-kun, didn't you hear me? I still like Irie-kun. I can't go out with you and give you false hope."

He gripped her shoulders. "Kotoko-san, were you truly trying to get over him?" Her silence provided the answer and his hold loosened. "You seemed to always know where he was supposed to be. I mean, he's studying in a different department than either of us and we kept running into him entirely too often. Even on our first date you made sure that he knew where we were going, so I wondered if I was being used to prod him into jealousy."

Kotoko's hands covered her face. "Mrs. Irie is just so certain that he loves me deep down but won't admit it. She says that over and over- She told me that dating you would make him realize his feelings for me once and for all. I wasn't even going to go out with you but—"

Taketo turned the bill of his cap to the back of the head, then, slowly and carefully, watching for any shrinking away, he put his arms around her and hugged her to him gently. "I'm not holding it against you. I thought it was something along those lines." He patted her back gently. "Mrs. Irie is highly invested in her son's love life, isn't she?" Kotoko nodded against his chest. "Didn't we have fun when we were together, Kotoko-san? At the amusement park, eating out, just walking and talking together?" She nodded again.

He pushed her away slightly and wiped a tear with his thumb. "Let's try it again. No more plots on your part. Nice and slow on mine. We'll work on this gradually and see what happens. How about it?"