Itazura
Na Kiss – The Marriage Proposal
By:
Ghostwriter
“Will
you marry me?”
Kinnousuke’s
words kept ringing in Kotoko’s ears even though she desperately tried to
push them away.
“Irie
Naoki will never repay your love. You will make me a very happy man if you
marry me, Kotoko-chan, and in turn I’ll make you a very happy woman.”
It’s
true, Kotoko
thought brokenly. Irie Naoki will never love her. She has been playing the
fool from the day they met – openly proclaiming her love for him.
Irie-kun
is right. I’ve been the big baka all along. Kin-chan is also right; my love
will never be returned.
Something
somewhere has to go.
***
“Irie-san!”
Naoki
turned around to see two girls waving at him. He immediately recognized them
as Kotoko’s girl friends. Kotoko’s presence must have been rubbing off on
him lately, because he actually stopped and waited for them to walk up to him.
“Have
you heard about Kin-chan and Kotoko-chan?” Satomi asked after the usual
pleasantries had been exchanged.
“What
about them?” Naoki asked casually. No doubt, Kinnousuke had done something
again in an attempt to win Kotoko’s love.
But
of course, that baka’s heart belongs to me,
Naoki thought, almost proudly.
“Kin-chan
proposed!” Zinko burst out happily.
“Yes,
and Kotoko-chan is going to answer him today,” Satomi continued, studying
Naoki carefully.
“Kin-chan
has been so brave! He actually popped the question at her even thought she has
turned him down again and again!” Zinko continued happily, oblivious of the
stunned look Naoki wore on his face.
“And
I think Kotoko-chan might accept him this time around,” Satomi confided.
Satomi’s
words hit home. Naoki couldn’t pin point the feeling he was experiencing at
the moment.
What
if the baka really says yes?
He
had always openly scorned her love for him, but of late, he couldn’t help
but notice that she had grown kind of distant. And he had always taunted
Kinnousuke by saying the one Kotoko likes is him. And of course, he had always
gotten the last word.
What
if Kinnousuke had finally gotten the last word this time around?
Can
it be that Naoki had finally lost in the end?
***
“Please
give me a bit more time to think it over.”
Kinnousuke
looked at Kotoko seriously. Unlike Naoki and his indifference to her,
Kinnousuke has always seen her as a woman.
“Iie
– Kotoko-chan, it is no use putting it off. You have to answer sooner or
later.
“I
cannot. Not now,” Kotoko said, looking away.
“Kotoko-chan,
look at me,” Kinnousuke tilted her chin to make her meet his eyes. “May I
kiss you?”
Before
Kotoko could react, Kinnousuke had already pulled her close to him.
Memories
of her first kiss with Naoki flashed through her mind.
“Irie-kun,”
she whispered as she pushed Kinnousuke away.
“It’s
still him isn’t it? Six years, I’ve waited six years and in the end, it is
still Irie Naoki!” Kinnousuke shouted angrily.
“Gomen
nasai (I’m sorry),” Kotoko whispered tearfully before she turned and fled,
leaving behind a devastated Kinnousuke.
Kinnousuke
could only stare at her back as he realized that he will never be able to have
Kotoko’s love.
He
had always thought that if he waited long enough, Kotoko would wake up from
the dream she has been leaving in and see that the one for her in the end
would be him, Kinnousuke. But not until this moment did he realize that what
he had always thought as a high school girl’s infatuation on the most
popular boy would be real love.
It
seems that Irie has gotten the last word again,
Kinnousuke thought glumly as he walked away. He
just doesn’t know how lucky he is to have her.
A
light shower descended as Kinnousuke walked away.
***
I
would probably never love another man other than Irie Naoki in this lifetime,
Kotoko thought miserably as she walked home in the pouring rain. She hardly
noticed the cold water pelting her or the warm tears streaming down her face.
She stopped short in front of a familiar figure.
“Irie-kun.”
Naoki
was standing right in front of her, in the rain, with an unreadable expression
pasted on his face. To Kotoko’s shock and surprised, he was wet from head to
toe. She immediately ran up to him.
“Why
are you standing in the rain? What a silly thing to do, Irie-kun. We need to
get you ho - back to your house soon, or else you’ll catch a cold.” Kotoko
corrected herself belatedly as she half attempted to lead him in the direction
of the Irie residence. It was his home, and not hers.
“Nanda
yo? (What is it?)” She asked impatiently when he refused to budge.
“I
was waiting for you,” Naoki said, answering her first question.
“You
could have waited for me at home,” Kotoko said, but she couldn’t help but
feel a tinge of pleasure when he admitted that he had been waiting for her.
“Or at least carry an umbrella!”
Naoki
studied her intently, “Did you see him?”
“Who?”
Kotoko was genuinely puzzled by now. First, the level headed Naoki was
standing in the heavy rain without an umbrella, stating that he was waiting
for her. And there was also that weird expression on his face.
“Did
you say yes?” Naoki continued.
“You
mean about Kin-chan’s proposal?” Kotoko asked, wondering how he heard
about it. A new horror struck her. Could it be that Kin-chan actually talked
to her father before he asked her and her father had talked to Naoki’s
parents?
“Well,
don’t worry about it,” Kotoko said jokingly. “At least someone else
wants me. You won’t be stuck with me forever.”
“Did
you say yes?” Naoki persisted tersely.
“It
is none of your concern,” Kotoko replied, flaring up. This was getting on
her nerves. They were standing in the middle of a heavy downpour with him
interrogating her about her personal life. He had never cared about her all
along. Maybe he was just happy that Kin-chan’s proposal signaled the exit of
her intrusion in his life.
“That’s
true,” Naoki answered stonily.
“Don’t
you even worry,” Kotoko said angrily. “I’ll be moving out very soon and
you can get on with you life. You can marry Sausuiko-san and I’ll marry Kin-chan!
Heck, we may even be able to convince our parents’ to let us have a double
wedding!”
“Do
you love him?”
“Of
course I love him!” Kotoko continued her ranting. “Kin-chan has loved me
since junior high, which is longer that the time I’ve loved you.” She
deliberately said the last part in past tense, hinting the fact that she no
longer feels anything for him any longer.
“Do
you have to love someone just because they love you?” Naoki asked her.
“What
is wrong with that?” Kotoko demanded. She added bitterly, “At least he
didn’t waste six years like me waiting for someone whom in the end decides
to marry another woman!”
Naoki
slapped her on the cheek, hoping to calm her down. Her revelations stunned him
and for the first time, he realized how much his indifference towards her had
hurt her. But his action only served to provoke Kotoko further.
“Irie
Naoki,” she said in a determined voice. “You cannot affect my life any
longer because I don’t love you anymore!”
Something
snapped in Naoki when he heard those words. “That’s not true! The man you
love is me and you cannot love another man!”
“It’s
true, but what can I do about it?” Kotoko shouted at him. “You don’t
feel the same about me. Irie Naoki, you’re truly a selfish person. You
can’t expect me to wait for you forever!” Tears were flowing freely from
her eyes as she said this.
Suddenly,
Naoki grabbed her and kissed her forcefully on the lips. He then hugged her
tightly as he whispered in a matter of fact voice to her, “You cannot love
another person other than me.”
“The
second time,” Kotoko said in a stunned voice.
“Iie
– no, the third,” Naoki said, still holding her.
“What?”
Kotoko asked, not getting his meaning.
“Nothing,”
He said softly as he kissed her cheek.
“Let’s
go home,” Naoki suddenly said as he pulled Kotoko in the direction of his
house.
“Why?”
Kotoko asked, confused. All the happenings in one day has somewhat stunned her
brain which operated in the simplest mode.
“Because
there is something I need to do,” Naoki told her as he rang the doorbell.
A
very glum Mama answered the door and she gasped in shock when she saw that
both of them were drenched. “What happened?”
Naoki
ignored her pointedly and demanded, “Is Kotoko’s father home?”
“Yes,”
Mama answered, “But…”
Naoki
brushed passed her as he half dragged Kotoko towards the living room with Mama
following behind them. When he appeared at the doorway, Sai, Papa and Yuki’s
surprised faces looked up at him. Not from the fact that both of them were
dripping wet and Naoki had his arm around Kotoko possessively, but because
Naoki that serious and determined look on his face.
The
look that always got him what he wanted.
He
released Kotoko and bowed dutifully to Sai and asked in a solemn tone,
“Aihara-san, will you please give me your daughter’s hand in marriage?”
Silence
filled the room, before Yuki broke the silence.
“You’ve
got to be kidding me! I don’t want her as my sister-in-law!”
Everyone
started talking at once. Mama was clapping her hands in delight whilst Papa
looked worried. Yuki was complaining that he didn’t want a klutz as his
brother’s wife and Mama smacked the back of his head lightly when he said
that. Sai held out his hand and everyone stopped talking.
“You
two are too young to get married,” Sai began. “You have a whole life ahead
of you and you shouldn’t make rash decisions.”
“I
don’t plan to get married so soon, but after Papa’s company has settled
down both of us have completed our studies. I don’t intend to lose her to
anyone else.”
Yuki
heaved a sigh of relief, “Baka Kotoko won’t be my sister in law after
all.”
Mama
hit him on the head again and demanded, “Why do you say that?”
“Knowing
baka Kotoko, she might never finish her studies,” Yuki replied snidely, only
to earn him another whack on the head.
“Naoki-kun,
are you sure about this? My daughter is not your picture of a perfect Japanese
wife. She can’t fry an egg without nearly burning down the house, her flower
arrangement looks worst than the weeds in the backyard and she can’t pour
tea without scalding herself.”
“Otou-san!
(Father!)” Kotoko gasped at her father’s blunt recollection of her various
faults.
“I
know every one of them,” Naoki said. “And I learned of them the hard
way.”
Sai’s
face softened at his admission. “But there is one good thing about her; she
is rather good at loving.”
“I
know,” Naoki said softly.
Sai
smiled approvingly at him. “Very well then, you two have my blessings.”
Mama
started crying with joy and hugged Kotoko, her future daughter in law. Her
fondest wish had been granted and those two are finally going to get married.
Papa wondered how to explain things with Sasuiko-san’s grandfather. But when
he remembered that he too had encouraged his son to marry for love, he too
congratulated them.
Yuki
kept muttering things darkly but deep down, he was also glad for Kotoko and
Naoki.
The events of the day proved to be too much for Kotoko as she fainted dead away.
Thank You.
ghostwriter15@hotmail.com