Little Secrets

Chapter Four

I was in class when I wrote this, suddenly a teacher started talking about Pineapple Pizza, because we were having homemade Pizza, and this really sweet girl who always has her makeup on fleek, says that if he says it again she'd hit him with a piece of chicken, kept talking about it. This girl pulls out her headphones, turns to him and pulls out a chicken's foot and stared at him dead in the eyes.

A week had past since Kotoko's unfortunate encounter with Mr. Intelligent and his trophy fiance, and since christmas was nearly almost a month away and Labor Thanksgiving day was just around the corner the single mother had her hands full with working and finding time to show Hiro around her home town.

Although she is dying to show Hiro around and let him experience everything an almost four year old could in Tokyo, he didn't want to run into Naoki once again. She had no energy left to see him again or any of the Irie's, even if she longed for a long and well deserved hug from Mrs. Irie, the one's that would calm her troubled heart on the heaviest of days.

Kotoko placed down seven bags of groceries onto the entrance floors, a heavy and exhausted sigh escaped her soft lips. "Hiro, Papa! Help me bring these to the kitchen!" Kotoko is answered with silence.

Again she called "Hiro, Papa!" once again no answer. Groaning loudly she picked up each bag, she carried them to the kitchen and placed them all around the kitchen counters. As she turned around a soft beige colored note caught her eye, looking close at the note she read 'Hiro and I went out for some bonding time, won't be back til dinner - Dad'

Kotoko stared at the note for a bit until a thought entered her mind 'Bathtime~' after putting away all the things she bought, she ran off to the bathroom where she spent the next five hours pampering herself.
~

Kotoko sat on the couch with her laptop in her lap as she drank some lemon flavored tea with a hint of honey, she ransacked her mind for a new christmas theme line for the upcoming winter season. As she began to start sorting out digital clothing around a fake person on her screen, her iphone began singing some Kpop song.

Without looking at the caller ID she answers in english "Hello?"

"Kotoko?" Jinko asks unfamiliar to the english greeting.

Kotoko jumped up from her lazy position nearly spilling her tea over her laptop "Jinko!?"

"Oh good it is you. Are you busy right now?"

Kotoko listened as her best friends, Komori Jinko and Ishikawa Satomi, talked about how life ways while she was away. Even though Kotoko tried her best to keep up with them, after awhile it became harder to even send a 'Hi, how are you texted'.

"So Kotoko,"

Kotoko hummed a response as she filled her friends' drinks with delight "Ojisan that you haven't told the Irie's about Hiro yet."

Kotoko's hands clutched onto her cup that she was about to refill with lemon tea, her eyes stared intensely at the magazine with her new fashion line 'Fall for the Kisses' plastered on the cover. Calming her beating heart, she stood up and placed the tea kettle on the oven as she replied "There is nothing to tell them. Hiro has no reasons to know them."

"Didn't you tell Ojisan that you wanted them to meet Hiro?" Satomi ask as she tried to read Kotoko's expression. 'She's gotten better at hiding her feelings' she, purely out of annoyance, thought.

"Yes, well... like Naoki once said feelings can change." The two girls stared at Kotoko, both of them worried for the girl who stood in front of them. They both knew their best friend in high school was gone and they had no idea how to bring her back.
~

All the Iries over the age of eighteen sat at the kitchen table with Sahoko, her mother and her Grandfather. Yuuki sat in the living room watching TV with Chibi.

Sahoko clung to Naoki arms like a hungry mosquito to blood, while they all talked the soon to be wedding each Irie had dreaded.

"Now that Mr. Irie is well enough to work once again and Pandai is running smoothly, let's once and for all plan out our children's wedding!" Ms. Oizumi excitedly exclaims as she passes out a five mini booklets with different types of wedding things organized on important.

"I think the date should be on December 24th, isn't that precious? We could celebrate our wedding on the most romantic day of the year!" Sahoko explains as she watches Naoki glance over the booklet.

Faking her happiness Mrs. Irie says "That's sounds lovely Sahoko!"

Sahoko grinned at Mrs. Irie, 'She's finally accepting me!' She thought.

"Sahoko! I found the perfect wedding dress while I was in Los Angeles!" Sahoko's eyes brightened at the sudden talk of a wedding dress.

"It's by the newest fashion designer! Her clothing are magnificent!"

"Really!?"

"Yes! I sent up a fitting meeting with her next week!"

As the two girls talked about the wedding dress across the table sat a very displeased Mrs. Irie who stared at a lace covered dress with a soft silk on the chestal area.

'Kotoko would have looked so pretty in this,' Mrs. Irie looked up at her eldest son who just stared at the booklet absentmindedly, then turned her head to Sahoko. 'Kotoko would have made a better match for Onii-chan...'

"Mother-Irie?" Mrs. Irie snapped her eyes up from staring at her son to Sahoko's pleading eyes "Will you come us to the fitting meeting please?"

Forcing a tight smile Mrs. Irie nods "I would love too." Sahoko smiled gleefully as she went back to speaking with her mother.

Mrs. Irie let out a quiet sigh full sorrow 'Kotoko why did you leave me?'
~

As the adult's began talking the stupid wedding Yuuki sat on the couch staring intensely at the TV with questioning eyes. The girl he once insulted on a daily occurrence, was on the tv screen with her arms holding onto a blue blanket swaddled around a sleeping newborn baby boy.

'The new rising model and fashion designer, Aihara Kotoko, who started out her modeling career when her manager, Joey Rice, took a surprise photo of her when she was just nearing her sixth month of pregnancy.'

The picture on the screen changed to Kotoko standing in one of Los Angeles beaches, even with her shirt and shorts, her belly stuck out. It was clear she was pregnant.

Yuuki paused the TV on the photo, his mind raced as he tried finding an explanation other than his deepest fear. But none of them made any sense, they all seem unrealistic. To him there is no way Kotoko could have another man's child, Yuuki was sure Kotoko still loved his brother. Is it wishful thinking? It has been five years since she left, could she really stop loving Naoki?

Yuuki now understood why his brother has been acting weird lately, 'He knows about Kotoko, she and her new family.' A sharp pain stabbed at his heart, his weak hands clutched onto his shirt 'Kotoko were we just your implacement until you found your real one?'