Naoki tells Reiko to mind her own business and tells her that his relationship with Kotoko is of no concern to her. Meanwhile, Kotoko breaks free from her friends' persistent questioning on her relationship with Naoki.
After school, Kin-chan, Satomi, Junko and gang trail Kotoko home and is shocked to find her walking with Naoki. They then 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, the lucky charm contained a picture of Naoki and Kotoko which was taken by Machiko. She then reassures Kotoko that it is alright to lose the photos and shows her the rest that she has taken. Naoki grabs the pictures and tells Machiko to stop playing the fool. Kotoko then realises that her friends have trailed her home. Kin-chan keeps telling Kotoko to leave the Irie residence but Naoki tells them that he will never fall for Kotoko. Kotoko feels sad at Naoki's remark.
Kotoko's dad, Shige comes home to find Kotoko sitting alone in the living room. Kotoko tells him that they may have caused inconvenience to the Irie family. He assures that he is constantly on the outlook for a house and they will move as soon as they are successful in getting one.
The next day at school, Kotoko discovers that a poster has been put up on the school notice board 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 it. Kin-chan punches Naoki in anger but Naoki retalliates by saying that the F class is a bunch of fools.
The 'A' class form teacher Izumi-sensei insults the 'F' class and this incurs the wrath of the 'F' class form teacher. The supervisor then tries to break up the argument between the two teachers.
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. Shige thinks it is too early to talk about this but Machiko is self-absorbed in her imagination.
Junko and Satomi tells Kotoko that the poster is their doing and wants to apologise to Naoki but she stops then. Just then, their form teacher enters the class and announces that there will be a cross-country race between the Year 3s. Kin-chan volunteers almost immediately and persuades Kotoko to join in his fight against Naoki.
Naoki tells Kotoko that the cross-country race is a simply waste of time and tells Kotoko that he can't be bothered about it. 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 but soon regrets her seemingly impossible promise.
Kotoko trains very hard for the coming race. Naoki tells her that her effort will be futile but Kotoko maintains that if she has worked hard, nothing will be in vain.
Naoki's dad trains Kotoko for the race. The whole family except Naoki and Yuki are behind Kotoko and Naoki thinks that Kotoko is just wasting her time.
Naoki makes a bet with Kotoko and wants her to leave his house if he wins the race. Kotoko agrees to it for the sake making Naoki put in effort into the race.
Kotoko trains even harder in order to win Naoki so that she can stay on in the Irie residence. She meets Yuki on the way home one day and saves him from being knocked down by a bicycle. Yuki is guilty about it and tries to reduce his guilt by saying that the accident was 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. Izumi-sensei 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 alright.During Kotoko's leg of the race, she is running well and leading the rest of the pack. However, her injury causes her to limp for the rest of the race and thus lags behind. Reiko reminds Naoki that he should conserve his energy for the high school basketball tournament.
Naoki's parents, Yuki and Shige come to support Kotoko. When they realise that Kotoko is far too slow, Yuki admits to Shige about Kotoko's injured ankle. He then rushes to find Kotoko and spurs her along the way. Naoki also sees that Kotoko is injured.
