Naoki
tells Reiko to mind her own business and tell her
that his relationship with Kotoko is of no concern to
her. Kotoko breaks free from her friends' questioning.
After
school, Kin-chan and the others trail Kotoko home and
is shocked to see her with Naoki. They come to know
that Kotoko is staying with Naoki at the Irie
residence.
Kotoko
loses the lucky charm that Machiko gave her. In
actual fact, it is the photo of Kotoko and Naoki.
Machiko gives the remaining photos that she has taken
of them. Naoki grabs the pictures and Machiko teases
him for it. Kotoko then realises that her friends
have followed her home. Kin-chan keeps telling Kotoko
to leave the Irie residence but Naoki tells them he
will never fall for Kotoko even if there are no more
women in the world. Kotoko is saddened by Naoki's
remarks.
Kotoko's
dad comes home to find Kotoko sitting alone in the
living room. Kotoko tells him that they may be a
nuisance to the Irie family. He assures Kotoko that
he is constantly on the look-out for a house and they
will leave soon.
The next
day at school, Kotoko discovers that a poster has
been put up saying that Kotoko is cohabiting with
Naoki. Kotoko tries to explain to Naoki that the
poster is not her doing but he refuses to believe her.
Kin-chan punches Naoki in anger but Naoki retalliates
by insulting the 'F' class as a bunch of fools.
The 'A'
class form teacher insults the 'F' class and this
incurs the wrath of the 'F' class form teacher. The
supervisor tries to break up the fight.
Machiko
tells Shin-chan (Kotoko's dad) that she is trying to
bring Kotoko and Naoki together. Thus, the two
families will be able to live together forever. Shin-chan
thinks that it is too early to talk about this since
Kotoko and Naoki are still in school.
Junko and
Satomi tells Kotoko that the poster is their doing
and wants to apologise to Naoki. However, Kotoko
stops them and says that there is no point in doing
this. Their form teacher then tells them there is a
cross-country race between the Year 3s. Kin-chan
volunteers first and asks Kotoko to join in to defeat
Naoki.
Naoki
tells Kotoko that the cross-country race is a simply
waste of time and tells Kotoko that he can't be
bothered. Kotoko screams at Naoki and tells him that
if he doesn't put in effort, everything would seem
meaningless. She brags that her class will definitely
win the race but soon regrets her seemingly
impossible promise.
Kotoko
trains very hard for the race. The whole family
except Naoki and Yuki supports Kotoko but Naoki
thinks it is just a waste of time.
Naoki
makes a bet with Kotoko. He wants her to leave his
house if she loses the race.
Kotoko
trains even harder in order to win Naoki so that she
can stay on. She meets Yuki on the way one day and
saves him from being knocked down by a bicycle. Yuki
is guilty about it but tries to reduce his guilt by
saying that the accident is not his fault. Kotoko's
ankle is run over by the bicycle as a result of this
accident.
On the
day of the race, Reiko and her friends come to insult
the 'F' class as being a bunch of good-for-nothings.
The 'A' class form teacher tells her class not to
waste their energy over such a worthless race. Kotoko
feels pain in her ankle but forces herself to act as
if everything is fine.
During
Kotoko's leg of the race, she is running well and
leading. However, her injury causes her to limp for
the rest of the journey and lags behind. Reiko
reminds Naoki that he should conserve his energy for
the high school basketball tournament.
Naoki's
parents, Yuki and Kotoko's dad come to support Kotoko.
When they realise that Kotoko is far too slow, Yuki
tells Kotoko's dad that Kotoko is actually injured.
He then rushes to find Kotoko and spurs her along the
way. Naoki sees that Kotoko is injured.
When
Kotoko passes the sash, she passes it to Naoki
instead of Kin-chan and is scolded by Naoki. Kin-chan
promises that he will win the race for Kotoko. Kotoko
reminds Naoki that he should not forget their bet and
put his heart into the race.
Naoki
gradually overtakes most of the runners and is
heading for the finish point. Kotoko wants to see how
Naoki is running and limps all the way to the finish
point. Kin-chan tries desperately to win but Naoki
wins the race. Kin-chan is extremely disappointed and
collapses in fatigue.
Kotoko
fails to see Naoki winning the race and is very
disappointed. She is met by her friends who have come
for her. Although she is happy for Naoki, the win
would also signify that she has to leave the Irie
residence.
On her
way home, Kotoko bumps into Naoki and congratulates
him. Just then, Kotoko faints and in an attempt to
save her, Naoki suffers a fracture. When Kotoko
regains consciousness, she finds herself given a
piggy-back ride by Naoki. She is extremely happy that
Naoki cares for her. All this is seen by Reiko who
has followed both of them home. She feels jealous of
Kotoko.
Kotoko
packs her bags and plans to leave the Irie residence.
Naoki tells Kotoko that her hard work is evident to
him even though she is stupid. Kotoko begs Naoki to
let her stay and Naoki doesn't say anything. Kotoko
takes it that Naoki had agreed and stays on happily.
The next
day at school, Kotoko is slapped by Reiko who says
that Kotoko is the one who has harmed Naoki. The
injury that Naoki has incurred from saving Kotoko
forces him to quit the basketball tournament. Kotoko
is extremely shocked and feels guilty about it....
